The OM-D E-M5 is an incredibly capable, fun camera that you won't easily tire of.

Great battery life; Superior image quality; even in low light; You can really push ISO without sacrificing resolution; Durability; Very powerful auto-focus and image stabilization technology

Button design; No pop-up flash – accessory only; There can be some in-camera digging before you get your customized settings up and running

The Olympus OM-D E-M5 takes its design cues from Olympus' much-loved 35mm OM SLR range and is the first of a new line of Micro Four Thirds OM-D series cameras. Find out if the E-M5 is a natural successor to this line of classic cameras in the What Digital Camera Olympus OM-D E-M5 review.

Lovely design; premium build; solid performance and great images

Base ISO of 100 would be welcome

The Olympus OM-D E-M5 is the latest Micro Four Thirds compact system camera from Olympus and its first with a built-in viewfinder. Announced in May 2012, the E-M5 design is based on the popular and, for it's time, diminutive Olympus OM series of SLRs, from the late 1970s.

Tough weather-sealed build quality; Outstanding High ISO noise performance; Great quality viewfinder and tilting OLED touch-screen; 5-axis image stabilisation which works with any lens; 2; 3; 5 and 7-frame auto bracketing

Screen only tilts and there's no touch functions in movie modes; Distracting whirring noise from stabilisation motor; No built-in mic socket; Flash unit clips-on rather then being built-in; Continuous AF not as consistent as a phase-detect system

Olympus reached back to its design roots when crafting the new OM-D E-M5 micro four thirds camera. The original OM line of film SLRs was known for its rich feature set and stylish, compact design. Now, released as a digital body, the first offering in the new OM-D line is the E-M5.

Good macro mode on 12-50mm zoom; Highly customizable feature set; Compact design; Wide selection of accessories and lenses; Art Filters add fun factor; Outstanding image quality; Fast autofocus and burst mode; Weather resistant body

No built-in mic adapter; Soft humming noise when powered up; Small buttons can be difficult for large fingers; Menu system can be daunting

The Olympus OM-D E-M5 is certainly the most capable Micro Four Thirds camera we've reviewed and arguably the most likeable mirrorless model yet. It falls down a little bit on its continuous focusing but we have absolutely no complaints about the image quality.

Very good image quality; even at high ISO; Bright; punchy JPEGs make the most of camera's capability; Very fast autofocus with most Micro Four Thirds lenses; Weather-sealed body; Built-in image stabilization helps increase number of sharp shots; Good level of direct control despite small body,...

Focus tracking distinctly unreliable; Small controls sometimes awkward (especially with cold/gloved hands; No in-camera correction of CA (which can be problematic with 12-50mm kit zoom; Default JPEG settings a bit keen to blur detail away; Several useful features hidden in obscure and...

The Olympus OM-D E-M5 has a wealth of features sure to impress most keen photographers, enthusiast or those new to micro four-thirds cameras. Excellent photos, good build quality and a blistering autofocus make the Olympus OM-D E-M5 one to check out.

One of the first things you'll notice when holding the Olympus OM-D E-M5 is its very high build quality; It's tough, robust in feel and comes weather sealed to protect itself against grubby dirt particles and moisture, making the Olympus OM-D E-M5 ideal for shooting in testing conditions, The...

At around the £1,000 the Olympus OM-D E-M5 does not come cheap, which is likely to put many off, or encourage enthusiasts to go for alternative DSLR cameras; A lack of microphone output means that the more enthusiast among photographers will have to spend extra on an adapter

Resurrecting a popular design from its past proves fruitful for Olympus: Not only does the Olympus OM-D E-M5 look great, it takes great pictures, meeting or exceeding the quality of some pretty surprising competitors.

Attractive body design; Well-built, weather-sealed body; Excellent image quality; Excellent image stabilization; Very fast autofocus, Appealing body design, Smaller camera is easy to hold and quite small, Battery grip makes the E-M5 feel like a tiny professional camera, EVF works well, Tilting OLED...

Exposure compensation dial changes easily; Small buttons; No in-camera chromatic aberration correction; Bundled flash is weak; Video compression artifacts with rapidly-moving subjects, Odd power switch location, Exposure compensation dial changes easily, can't be turned off, Small buttons, EVF...

Olympus's OM-D E-M5 is the company's best camera yet, but battery meter and focusing issues may be a dealbreaker for some.

Incredibly fast autofocus; 5-axis image stabilization; Manual/auto-zoom kit lens

Expensive; Battery meter issues at launch; Poor focus accuracy in low-contrast scenes

It hasn't taken Olympus long to speed into our hearts with their retro-inspired compact system camera lineup. The Micro Four Thirds PEN series was well-received not only for its style, but its image quality and usability.

Incredibly fast autofocus; Shot-to-shot speed that touches 10+ FPS; Durable; weather-sealed body keeps out moisture and dust

Sensor is improved; but dynamic range lags behind best in the class

Olympus has delivered a fantastic camera, which, along with its premium CSC cohorts, has the potential to be a game-changer, stealing focus from certain areas of the DSLR market. There's a lot to love about the OM-D, especially the great image quality and its retro appeal - it will be interesting to...