I've not used the E-M5, but I do have the OMD E-M1 Mark II, and I really love it! I bought it initially because I wanted a good wildlife camera that would provide me with lots of "reach" and with good pixel density for reasonably high res images. The 300mm f/4 Pro lens for the system gave me exactly what I was looking for due to the MFT 2X crop factor, providing 600mm FF equivalent. The "5-axis sync" image stabilization (in-lens + in-body, working together) is truly amazing! I can take sharp handheld shots as slow as 1/20 shutter with the 300mm lens, which makes up for having "only" f/4 at WOA! It gives me something like 5 stops worth of compensation. Image stabilization is so good in fact that I seldom ever need to use a tripod even in fairly poor light. I pretty much just leave aperture set at f/4 all the time, shoot in manual mode with auto-ISO and only adjust shutter speed per the light conditions. The Oly 300mm f/4 Pro lens is an amazing wildlife lens, producing superb IQ!
My only real criticisms of the Oly MFT sensor is that its autofocus performance and high ISO noise suppression still doesn't quite compete with DSLR bodies and larger format sensors. In most cases, the outstanding image stabilization at least partially makes up for the noise suppression limitations at higher ISO by allowing me to use slower shutter speeds than I would ordinarily. This only becomes a problem for shooting in burst mode on moving subjects. Since I primarily shoot wildlife, landscapes, and portraits, this seldom limits IQ for me.
As long as you nail focus, burst speed is very fast, and I love the "pro capture" mode, giving me crazy fast FPS. Olympus lenses across the board are very good, and a couple of the Panasonic/Leica lenses for the MFT system are superb.
My only other reservation about Olympus in general is what the future holds for their stuff now that they've been bought out.
I would say that unless you're primarily a sports/action photographer or if you like to shoot extremely shallow depth of field, Oly and the MFT sensor lenses will serve most people's needs up to and including some professional work. Even if you need a very shallow DOF portrait type lens, the Panasonic-Leica Nocticron 42.5mm (85mm FF equivalent) f/1.2 lens for MFT has you covered there. It's as good or better than any FF portrait lens I've used.
Last edited by RifleDude; 08/12/20.
