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A37 On Test
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ompAct system cAmerAs (cscs) are small and light, but they offer
the same level of control as
DsLrs and you have a choice of lenses. Image quality is
comparable too. even better, competition in this market is pushing
the technology forwards at a rate of knots, bringing us better
cameras at a lower cost.
this is evident in the e-pL5, one of olympus’ recently launched
cameras that refresh the lower end of its peN range. As with all
the peNs, this latest peN Lite model uses the successful micro four
thirds system (see box, page 79), but what’s impressive about the
e-pL5 is that it features the same 16-megapixel sensor found in
olympus’ flagship csc, the om-D e-m5. the e-pL5 is nearly
two-thirds of the price of the om-D e-m5, so olympus has brought
top-end technology down to an affordable level to a similar price
as an entry-level DsLr.
Cbeyond the sensor, the e-pL5
boasts some other significant upgrades from its e-pL3
predecessor. the Iso sensitivity reaches a maximum of 25,600,
compared to the 12,800 maximum of the previous model, giving extra
room for manoeuvre in low light. the range of Art filter modes has
been expanded from the existing six as well, with Light tone, pale
& Light colour, cross process, Dramatic tone, Gentle sepia, Key
Line and Watercolour the new additions. on top of this, the maximum
continuous shooting rate has been almost doubled to eight
frames-per-second.
the e-pL5 also sees the introduction of touch-screen technology
to the peN Lite. this lets you select your focus point and release
the shutter by
.
.
. 01DIAL MODE The E-PL5’s mode dial gives DSLR-like control of
shooting modes. Options are Auto, program, aperture-priority,
shutter-priority and manual, Movie, Scene and Art. 02 FINGER GRIP
Unlike its predecessors, the E-PL5 has an optional finger grip on
the front that makes it easier to hold.
03 LENS OPTIONS The kit lens is a 14-42mm zoom, but the E-PL5 is
compatible with a wide range of Micro Four Thirds optics.
04 FLIP AND TOUCH SCREEN The LCD screen can be tilted up or down
and flipped up above the camera for self portraits. It’s also a
touch screen, which can be used for focus point selection and
shooting.
05 OPTIONAL VIEWFINDER The E-PL5 has no viewfinder built in, but
an optional electronic viewfinder can be attached via the hotshoe
and socket.
06 OK BUTTONThe OK button brings up an on-screen menu that lets
you change almost every setting.
SPECIFICATIONResolution 16.1 megapixels
Max image size 4608x3456 pixels
Raw shooting Yes
Autofocus points 35 fixed, 800 manual selection
LCD resolution 460,000 dots
Vari-angle screen Yes
Metering modes ESP light, spot, centre weighted, highlight,
shadow
Focus modes Single AF, continuous AF, single AF + MF, AF
tracking, touch target, manual
Frames-per-second Up to 8
ISO range 200-25,600
HD video 1920x1080, 1280x720, 640x480 at 30fps
Card type SD, SDHC, SDXC
Dimensions 110.5x63.7x38.2mm
Weight 325g (with battery and memory card)
>> £599 STREET PRICE >> www.olympus.co.uk
olympus e-pL5 On Test
The latest Olympus PEN Lite features the sensor from the
company’s flagship camera at a fraction of the cost. Ian Fyfe finds
out whether the E-PL5 is a bargain or a false economy
Olympus E-PL5FIVE-PAGE TEST ON OLYMPUS’ FIRST TOUCH-SCREEN PEN
LITE
touching, as well as swiping between images and zooming in
during playback mode. Navigating menus and changing settings is
still all done with buttons though. the screen itself is also
tiltable and can be flipped to face forwards – perfect for
self-portraits.
What else does it have?the e-pL5 has just about everything you’d
expect on a DsLr in terms of control. there’s a shooting mode dial,
and direct access controls for focus point selection, exposure
compensation, flash control and drive mode.
everything else is quickly accessible via a user-friendly
interface brought up with the oK button. everything you’d want at
the touch of a button is there – Iso sensitivity, metering mode,
focusing
0506
07
03
ABOVE In this scene, the E-PL5’s auto white-balance has done
well to accurately reproduce the colours of both the warm yellow
light that dominates, and the cooler blue light in the
background.
The E-PL5 has just about everything you’d expect on a DSLR in
terms of control… shooting mode dial, direct access controls…
mode and filter effect to name just a few. even image
stabilisation mode selection is there. What’s more, if you’re not
happy with the way the controls are set up, you can customise every
button to do what you like.
there are a few extra gems hidden away in the menus by default.
exposure bracketing lets you set up sequences of shots with
different settings, such as exposure for HDr, and white-balance to
make sure you get the best colours. you can even set Art
bracketing, which saves each shot with every art filter applied.
Double exposure mode lets you get creative with overlaying two
shots in-camera, and Digital teleconverter mode effectively doubles
the focal length of the lens you’re using without reducing the
image file size – great for saving on extra kit.
Another highlight that’s filtered down from the om-D e-m5 is
Live bulb mode, which allows you to see the progress of a long
exposure on screen.
01
02
04
05
06
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TOP LEFT The Dramatic Tone Art filter emphasises shape, giving
the gnarled subject on the left more impact. TOP RIGHT The Art
filters can change the atmosphere of a scene, and in this image the
Dramatic Tone filter produces a surreal effect. MIDDLE LEFT In
scenes with high contrast edges like this one, you might expect
some purple fringes, but this wasn’t the case with the E-PL5 and
its kit lens. LEFT The 14-42mm kit lens focuses as close as 25cm,
and this image was taken at that distance. You can get in close,
and the high image quality ensures there’s plenty of detail. ABOVE
The Grainy Film Art filter adds drama, and in this image I combined
it with a dramatic angle for maximum impact.
On Test olympus e-pL5
ISO TEST ISO performance in the E-PL5 is impressive. ISO 1600
sees the first noticeable effect on image quality, with some loss
of detail. By ISO 6400, this becomes significant, with detail being
smoothed out. I’d definitely be reluctant to use settings above ISO
10,000. For small on-screen displays though, images are acceptable
even up to the maximum ISO 25,600.
The E-PL5 is a winner in this area too. At low ISOs, detail is
crisp and at high ISOs, it’s still impressive
ISO 6,400
ISO 200
ISO 25,600
this is fantastic for shooting light trails or for light
painting, since it takes the guesswork out of the exposure
time.
While it gives you full control, the e-pL5 also has Live Guide,
which offers quick ways to adjust the settings to suit the scene.
for example, if you want to change the white-balance quickly, you
can enter Live Guide and adjust the image colour – until you exit
this mode, the camera effectively takes control, regardless of
which shooting mode you’re in. the same can be done for brightness,
saturation, blurring the background, or freezing movement. Live
Guide also has a shooting tips section, which offers snippets of
photographic advice – how to photograph children, pets and flowers,
as well as tips on framing and using accessories to name a few.
What’s it like to use?I loved using the e-pL5 for two reasons –
firstly because it’s so user-friendly, and secondly because it
produced great results. I found the controls exceptionally
intuitive, and after just a short time with the camera, I felt I
knew it well. this meant I was never worrying about the settings or
how to change them, freeing me up to think about the shots I was
taking.
Its size also makes it great for street photography, since it’s
less conspicuous than a DsLr and doesn’t make your shoulder ache to
carry it – I really enjoyed exploring the city with it. I did miss
having a viewfinder, since this feels more natural to me, but an
electronic viewfinder that can be attached via the hotshoe is
available.
the excellent Art filters are fun, and other features like
Double exposure mode and Live bulb help to maximise creativity. the
only slight difficulty I found was that, with so many Art filters,
switching between them was fiddly and took some time – I missed a
couple of shots because I was in a filter I didn’t want and it took
too long to switch. you can solve this by using Art bracketing,
although this clogs up your memory card. shooting in raw also
helps, since this lets you change your mind and apply filters later
on.
one of the highlights of the e-pL5 is the autofocus system,
which is as fast and reliable as many DsLrs. this is often a
downfall of cscs, since they rely on less sensitive systems than
DsLrs. olympus’s system locks on fast, even in low light, and only
failed for me when I deliberately tried to focus on areas of plain
colour with no contrast.
of course, all this useability is no good if the image quality
doesn’t measure up, but the e-pL5 is a winner in this area too. At
low Iso sensitivities,
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Nikon D3200 On Testolympus e-pL5 On Test
GOOD: Great image quality, easy to use, fast autofocus, good Iso
performance
BAD: fiddly to switch between Art filters, no built-in
viewfinder
detail is crisp and image quality matches that of many DsLrs. At
high Iso sensitivity, some graininess reduces the quality, but for
this type of system, it’s still impressive. When there’s a big
difference between the brightest and darkest areas of a scene, the
sensor can still record detail in both, and the metering system
copes well in these situations too.
Should you buy the E-PL5?one thing to consider before shelling
out on the e-pL5 is that the e-pm2, its smaller brother that was
launched at the same time, uses the same high-end sensor, but is
about £100 cheaper. there are some significant differences in
handling, most notably a fixed LcD screen and no mode dial, which
make it feel more like a compact.
but if you’re looking for a camera that you control like a DsLr
and delivers equal image quality, just in a smaller package, then
the e-pL5 could be your answer. I didn’t find it lacking in any
area, and it combines user-friendliness with great results. buying
into the micro four thirds system also gives you a great range of
lenses to choose from. the price is extremely competitive
considering the top-end sensor it uses – it comes in at less than
other cscs that arguably struggle to match up in terms of
performance.
ThE MICRO FOuR ThIRdS SySTEM The Micro Four Thirds (MFT) system
was developed by Olympus in tandem with Panasonic, and it was the
first CSC format to hit the shelves. The sensor is smaller than the
APS-C sensor in most DSLRs, with about two-thirds of the surface
area, which means it needs to work harder to match the image
quality and low-light performance of its bigger cousins.
Because CSCs from both manufacturers use the same lens mount,
their lenses are cross-compatible and optics are also available
from third parties such as Sigma. This gives one of the widest
choices of lenses for a CSC format. Together with the compact and
light bodies that the mirrorless design and smaller sensor allow,
it’s a system that offers the same flexibility and control as
DSLRs, but with less bulk.
TOP LEFT The Key Line Art filter is great fun and is one of my
favourites, giving images an illustration-style look. TOP RIGHT The
sensor in the E-PL5 can cope with big differences in brightness
across a scene. This picture shows how well it retains detail in
the shadows while not overexposing the sky. RIGHT AND BOTTOM The
E-PL5 is small, making it great for taking pictures of people in
the city without feeling too conspicuous.
KEY LINE FILTER DYNAMIC RANGE