Olympus PEN E-PL5 mirrorless camera review

It seems that the PEN Lite lineup will be the smallest in the future Olympus “system” cameras, forcing the budget-friendly Mini series out of the market. Amateur photographers are likely to see an updated version of the E-PL in the fall. For now, you have to make do with the E-PL5, the newest member of the lineup released in the fall of 2012.

Olympus PEN E-PL5 digital compact camera with interchangeable optics

16.1 Megapixel 14-42mm, F3.5-5.6 3″ $590

However, the camera was packed to capacity when it was released. E-PL5 gets the 16MP sensor and processor from the E-M5. That made for very decent image quality. The photographic toolset here, as in all Olympus cameras, is extensive. The differences, understandably, lie in the ability to quickly access certain options. In this case, the newcomers don’t need most of them, and it’s better to hide them out of harm’s way. At the same time, a more experienced amateur photographer who occasionally wants to tamper with the camera will be able to find the right settings in the system menu. Amateurs will love the abundance of customizable software filters.

The camera supports shooting speeds of 8 fps with locked and 4.6 fps with active autofocus. The E-PL5’s sharpness is determined purely by contrast detection, but it’s pretty fast thanks to its high speed sensor reading and optimised image processing algorithms. Tap the screen to focus and shoot. The Olympus XZ-1 is a high-resolution digital camera that tilts up, down and 180 degrees, so you can comfortably frame shots from difficult angles and take self-portraits with ease.