Is the Olympus E-M5 III worth $1,200? 

Something you forgot to mention about the Olympus is its weather sealing as opposed to the M6 lack of.

Notes: 1. Battery can be charged via USB cable (yes even with battery packs, but i find more practical to have extra 2 batteries with me) 2. Auto ISO is limited to 6400 which is "native" value for the sensor. This limitation can be lifted in the menu and it would go straight to 25600 if you want to - at cost of noise ofc. 3. You can limit shutter speed to not go below ... lets say 1/60 in Aperture mode. 4. PRO lenses for Micro 4/3 are not much larger as the one you used, but there is a wide variety of much smaller and much cheaper (usually prime) lenses. 5. I took over 100 photos two days ago in a club with black paint on the walls and ceiling, with a flash, and the dynamic range (at ISO 200) was excellent. I was barely able to find any spots which were over or underexposed. The dynamic range is really THAT good. 6. There are three lenses. Check M.zuiko 12mm F2,0 (which btw has autocus?). Also check M.Zuiko 17mm F1,2 PRO. The first one is much cheaper, smaller and lighter compared to Panasonic Leica. Also Fish-eye effects (in wider pro lenses) can be digitally compensated, even when i understand its not a way to go. In most cases I would not go below 14mm focal leght (28mm full frame) as its where the distortion might become more noticeable. Most importantly M5 Mark III is not about being cheap hobby camera. It has almost all features as the M1 Mark II and its not much about being small.

1) In the video noise test, the Olympus was clearly under-exposed relative to the Sony. It could be that the T-stop of the lens on the Olympus is higher than the one used on the Sony. I wonder how the noise would compare if you adjusted the exposure so that both videos were equally bright. 2) You mention that the Canon M6II is shorter, but that is without the attached EVF. Your usage may vary, but I almost always shoot with the EVF. 3.) In terms of wide, fast primes for M43, there's also the Laowa 7.5 f/2. I don't know if that's too wide for your purposes.4.) At least for me, having a high-quality standard zoom (24-70 or 24-105 equivalent) is more important than having a bright, wide-angle prime. The Canon EF-M only has slow crappy kit lenses and the Sony E mount finally has the 17-55 f/2.8, which looks awesome, but whose current price is way too expensive now. I have the Olympus 12-40 f/2.8 on my EM5.2 and I love it more than any Canon L lens that I had when I used to shoot full-frame.

I agree with many in the comments, seemed pretty biased from the start. Also you didn't even bother to mention some of the big perks of the Olympus... The weather sealing being a huge one. Comparing the size to a camera that lacks both stabilization and a EVF doesn't make much sense. The stabilization might make the body slightly bigger, but now you no longer would need a gimbal and in many cases even a tripod. For taking shots in the real world and wilderness not having to worry about weather and lugging a tripod up a mountain or around a city all day is HUGE. There's also the ability to easily compensate for the smaller resolution by stacking, stiching, or using the high res mode. Yes of course with the smaller sensor the low light performance takes a hit. And the ISO noise is of course worse. But honestly with the stabilization allowing for hand held shots with such longer shutter speeds, it allows for the ISO to be kept nice and low.

I would love to see you do this video again showing your work with the use of Olympus lenses on a Olympus camera body. It was a mistake not to do so. Anyone who knows Olympus cameras will tell you " in order to get the best image quality while using an Olympus camera, use Olympus glass ".

Good info man. Thanks for making this.

Thank You for uploading. Very informative 🇨🇦❤🙏

I do appreciate the effort of putting online another video about Olympus E-M5 III. I don't understand the perspective from which you are making the appreciations : are you a professional photographer, a prosumer wannabe or a hobbyst? What type of photography do you shoot? I do understand that is various scenarios with various light intensities but you have specifically implied that the MFT sensor based photos don't have the same quality, which is very generic, what exactly do you mean, sharpness, resolution, shallow DOF? At the end, the mobile phone camera is suggested as a solid replacement for MFT sensor cameras. Or that if you don't shoot in mid day bright light, there is not much use with MFT. You basically state that a mobile phone with a sensor size 7 times smaller that MFT and gathers 35 times less light than a FF frame sensor is as good as a MFT sensor which gathers half as much light as a FF...really? I mean, as others said already, those are verdicts and when you start making them, your photo game should really be at a higher level and right now, you lack of experience is really obvious when making a comparison between such complex topics like MFT vs APS-C vs FF sensors. I found really helpful in my research this video, is logical and easy to comprehend : ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-hi_CkZ0sGAw.html First big flaw in your comparison is not taking in consideration the crop factor when it comes to the Aperture comparison. You cannot keep the same F settings on both and this is the reason why Sony is "running hot", to quote you. The APS-C sensor is gathering more light at F5.6 that MFT at F5.6 and even though you keep the same focal length ( debatable, as seen in video crop) and Shutter speed 1/50 ( double the frame rate rule) you should have multiplied the 5.6 x 1.5 so your F should have been 8.4 . You can see also the shallower DOF in your video on Sony that confirm what I am saying. If you would have kept the Aperture at F8.4 probably Sony would not have overexposed so much. As a conclusion, it is not easy to make a serious comparison between systems that use different sensors. Olympus does offer value and I personally don t agree at all your conclusions on video and I will tell you why : - for B Roll Olympus will be better, due to the IBIS. Sony can only compensate with the faster autofocus, but in most cases will not be needed. - for vlogging when moving Olympus is better due to IBIS, no need for gimbal or post production editing on image stabilization ( by the way you should have used the sensor+digital stabilization in your video comparison, it is even better). Also on Sony you cannot use the flip up screen if you mount a mic, and for vlogging you MUST do that. - for studio video work I cannot see what is the advantage of A6600 beside no limit recording. Neither of cameras are designed for studio video, there are better options there but both can work. The S-log can be an advantage but this implies advanced post production work and most of the people that will use it will probably go with a different camera, like FF Sony or GH5 for MFT. - low light video is not really that bad on MFT compared with APSC. If you compare MFT with FF there is truly a big difference but really APS-C...No professional that trully needs low light performance will chose APS-C over FF. - Autofocus is better with Sony but is Very Good with Olympus, so the edge Sony has does not make any difference in real life. It is not like we compare Sony autofocus vs Panasonic MFT autofocus, is a different story. - weather sealing is very important when traveling so this has to be mentioned too, Olympus is actually weather sealed meanwhile Sony is not. You can confidently use it when it rains, snows, when you are near water that can splash onto your camera. - to be honest, for the regular RU-vidr that creates content when travelling / moving I find way more important the outstanding IBIS performance of MFT sensor than the shakiness of Sony, it just does not make sense really. Sony does have some advantages but really the price comparison is not fair and making Olympus expensive for what it offers is really a narrow perspective that reveals a lack of real life usage needs for this type of camera. Your frustrations with MFT mostly come from the lack of know how in photography, the more you will progress the more you will understand the real differences and limitations of different systems. The last point I wanted to make is regarding cheap feeling factor. I recently compared the A6600 with E-M5 III before making a decision. I could not really favor any of them but when you put a 15mm PanaLeica F1.7 of just 120 grams into the the Oly mount you understand where MFT really is strong. You just cannot be more compact than that and still be able to shoot amazing photos and great videos with just 550 extra grams in your hands.

You don't have to stop recording in order to raise the ISO. You have access to the settings, while filming, with touch control on the screen. In photo mode, you can tweak the auto ISO by setting, in the menu, the lowest Shutter speed you want the camera to raise the ISO. As for lenses, there is also the Olympus 12 mm f2.0.

The M6ii overheats in 4k and in photos the shutter is horrible, not well dampened and prone to shutter shock, esp on that high resolution sensor. And you could pour a glass of water over the Olympus. Try that on the Sony or Canon. And the olympis colors are second to none sooc, up there with the Fuji’s.

Thanks for a very clearly-explained video. The only angle I would add is that it seems today’s Micro Four Thirds cameras are larger because of the extra components required for that great in-body stabilization you demonstrated so well. I say this as a Canon M5 owner who keeps looking at other systems that do have IBIS. There used to be a class of MFT cameras like the Panasonic GM1 and GM5, truly tiny but without IBIS, showing what can be accomplished for small size. Those still fetch upwards of $500 on eBay, suggesting that there may still be a market for truly pocketable system cameras.

For outdoor use where you would be exposed to weather, would you still go for the Sony? If yes why?

Great video! Thanks for all the comparison stuff in spec as well as lens combo examples.. For a beginner like me looking to get my first upgrade from a cell phone for my vlog/automotive videos, I really like the idea of a camera that will “check all the boxes”. I want the best bang for the buck, auto focusing vlog video, as well as a camera I could turn around onto the track and get epic shots of others! Where to start? My wife has some cannon lenses, while my dad has Olympus so that may sway my body choices too.

m5 mark iii record video from entire matrix or central part?

Nice video-actually the strength of the micro 4/3 system is Image Stabilization (because of the sensor size) and the longer lenses from 28 up to 1200mm- prime wider zooms or lenses they cost a lot - make a comparison with 90mm FF equivalant.. the size of olympus 45mm (200$ and 90 mm ff) or even better the oly zoom 40-150 (80-300) (99$) is half the size of any bigger sensor size. As we talk about vlogging the Panasonic 12-32 pancake is perfect and the smallest ever zoom of any system.. 80 gr.

I think it's really compact. Use it with the 1.8s and 1.7s prime lenses. You just have an option for faster glass, at a bigger and more expensive cost. I currently use Fuji. I'm a previous M43 and EOS M3 user, but I do miss the micro four thirds system.

Great video. I’ve been thinking about getting into photography and for my first camera I’m looking at the Mark III. my question is would this be a friendly camera for the first timer or the Sony or the canon you compared in this video. Majority of my phots would be outdoor/backpacking and family outings.

I got A6600 and I'm thinking about EM5 Mark3. You also got Oly 12mm F2. It's equivalent of 24mm F4 in fullframe terms, but seems really good for vlogging. EM5 + Oly 12mm is 543g with remarkable IS. A6600 + Sigma 16mm F1.4 (not many other options on 16mm) is 908g. Almost double the weight. Sure Fstop is F2 (in FF terms) but it lacks of IS (A6600 IBIS is a joke). I'm a bit concern about lack of auto ISO in video mode. How it's even possible? :o

Olympus makes incredible cameras, loaded with features - and outstanding lenses. However, in this case, I feel that use of a plastic body does NOT warrant charging $1200. Had they continued a proper M5 line from the E-M5 II with a magnesium body, it might well be worth the money.

A really good comparison, thank you very much. I was surprised that the A6600's image stabilizer was so much worse than the E-M5 III. I also found the A6600's outdoor photos and videos a bit overexposed while I liked the studio shots in the ISO test better than with the E-M5 III. An autofocus comparison would have interested me, and above all now a comparison of the E-M5 III to the Canon M6 II.

you can use auto iso in video when use P/S/A mode but not M mode

The em5 miii is an excellent camera, extremely capable, weatherproof, with excellent stabilization, great AF and incomparable portability as a whole. Those who work professionally with video or photo have an excellent alternative. For tours at Disney it is best to take the Smartphone. Important aspect: sensor size does not make the photo good or bad. Just as a large sensor does not make the photographer a better photographer.

Hello. Great video. I just bought the EM5 MKIII as a hiking vlog camera. I've been using the GH5 with the 8-18 lens, but for long distance multi-day hikes I wanted something smaller, with flip out screen, good autofocus, mic jack, 4k and stabilisation. The size and weight were a real selling point for me. I've paired it with the Olympus 9-18 which you can pick up for £300 in the right shops in the UK, also got the 14-42 EZ pancake, a great travel lens. I agree though that it is a bit pricey at the moment, if it was about £750 it would be fair value. (you'll have to convert all my costings into dollars - apologies).

Actually, dynamic range testing at low ISO show pretty similar results between new Olympus sensors and Sony apsc.

does it have mini hmdi

EM5 iii with 12-45 f4 Pro lens for $1,300 - Best mid-range camera deal currently.

I've been considering the om5iii vs getting a fugi camera (possibly the xs10). From this video I think I'm leaning more towards a fugi.

Have you checked that exposure on both cameras is the same? I suspect you have average on Olympus and spot on Sony

Really appreciate your work on the video performance, and Olympus' neglect of auto-ISO in manual movie mode. It's a really frustrating feature to leave out for $1k. So if I want to take really smooth video of a scene without light changes, the EM5MKIII has me covered. Thank you for taking a good look at video performance. Lots of viewers/reviewers give the EM5.3 a pass because they only care about stills, but that's a pretty serious bias right there. Seriously hope OM Systems can bring the EM series up to Sony 2016 video performance one day.

Great video, man. I'm a Canon kid, but a buddy of mine loves his Olympus cameras, so I'm always curious what the deal is on this side of the fence. As an EF-M user, I'm super envious of the Olympus 12-40mm 2.8, but I can make do with the EF-S 17-55 2.8, even though it's gigantic. Quick question for ya, if you've got a sec: what mic are you using for your videos? It sounds fantastic, and that's one thing I know I need to step up for my stuff. Take care, and keep at it!

It's hard to compare Olympus PRO grade system with non-PRO Sony and compact Canon system. First of all there are no PRO grade CA-less lenses for Sony and Canon compact systems, only mediocre lenses. Even for full frame systems there are no available lenses of the similar quality like PRO lenses for MFT. It's feasible for MFT to produce and sell high quality lenses because of smaller size of the sensor. Equivalent lenses for full frame will cost above $3000 and most photographers could not afford them. Second: Olympus is a system full of featuries working with synergy - one makes path for another. Sensore stabilization - lenses are made w/o stablization but with very fast AF (instant AF). Instant AF makes possible to shot with series shooting with refocusing between shots, with electronic silent shutter, adding tracking AF with face recognition allows to photograph fast moving people, esp. children. So when you will have real task to photograph certain events Canon and Sony cameras will appear completely helpless. I wintess this every time when I photograph different sport events. Poor AF speed and too shallow DoF - the reqults are very awkward.

You can remove the 6400 cap on Auto iso for stills

What a about a used em1 mark ii the price can be less then 1k gets the same and even better features great video, im looking for a blogger companion to my gh5 i was going for this one because of the size but now im thinking about just start buying sony glass...

8mm f1.8 defished???

Thank you for your comparison. I still like Olympus E5 III

This is a decent critical review of the E-M5 Mk III. But I think you're doing your viewers a disservice by nitpicking and filtering all the lenses down to only two expensive options! There are so many excellent pro-grade zooms that are smaller, lighter, and cheaper than the FF equivalents. (Indeed, for the A6600, you're forced to buy the FF FE lenses if you want anything decent.) And to compare it against the Canon M series? Who still makes lenses for that?

Hi Ben, actually nice video. Yes, you have an opinion but looks like you tried to highlight all pros and cons, which is nice. As few folks mentioned before there are not many cameras (not in Pro segment) which have elements of weather resistance. For some it is not important, for some - very. Excellent iso, battery life, grip is not important if you can not take your camera out of bag because of rain, snow or cold weather. If you can name smaller camera than Olympus Om-d e-m5 with weather sealing, it would be great. You mentioned wide angles, strange you did non mentioned Olympus 7-14/2.8 which is cheaper compare to Sigma 14-24/2.8 and lighter. But no matter what, as I said great video. Thank you.

Interestingly I find your critique to be rather biased against the Olympus. Your tone is more of a verdict and not very deep on your m/43 knowledge and know-how.

Think when comparing aperture should be different. For photography the m4/3 is good for wildlife as zoom lens are lot lighter and smaller. Also think the touchscreen is better than Sony. Not sure if canon has a evf but agree wish Olympus was cheaper.

Is it worth it......not when you can pick up a Mk2 version (body only) for under $350 with only 1000 shutter actuations. Add to that a second hand 12-45mm f4 or a 12-40mm f2.8 for $500.

what an excellent review, i recently bought the M5 III and your observations are very helpful, shot Leica M's and Oly OM's years ago and the micro 4/3 lenses from Olympus are the beat for the money coupled with the amazing IS

In your ISO test the Olympus has far more field of view! That is really important to people who want their subject actually in focus. What the point of high ISO performance if all you can get in focus is the tip of a nose?

I'm surprised that you had to use that low of a shutterspeed at iso 6400. It must have been completely dark in that star wars ship? I own the same camera, and took a bunch of family pictures a at Christmas in rather dim light. I was able to shoot at 1/100 sec, f. 1.8, and isos between 1600 and 6400. It's noisy at 6400, but usable. The colours become all weird at high isos, but the photos look fine in black and white. Also, you can set a lower limit of your shutterspeed if you want to be sure to freeze motion.

What is the thin about 3/4 sensors? It must be the 'micro' bit that confuses people because the system is really great. Seriously.

Pana Leica 16/1.7 about $450, Olympus 17/1.8 about $350 and plenty alternatives from Sigma et.al

I think you might have had more success with the EM1 II. Especially a used model on ebay for $650. The battery is much better. Handling better. Yeah, the lack of auto ISO in video sucks. Also can't store video settings in custom mode. But still, for the price the camera is hard to beat.

Fuji has what you are looking for in a lens XF 8-16 f/2.8

why dont you go higher iso and take pictures insteas of video ?

Words of truth ! Thank you for this video

I see people complaining about him cutting down the camera. I am the biggest Olympus fanboy there ever was (check my gearlist at dpreview, my name is Crazy Micro Four Thirds dude), and this guy isn't cutting down the camera he is saying it isn't good value for the price (which has dropped since then) he is right. Besides 120 fps video, why would anybody buy this camera vs an e-m1 mark 2? How about telephoto? Thats where your common person sees the "small package benefit" when it comes to lenses in M43. Thats also where you would see a heavy increase in stability differences. Say, anything telephoto, besides pro sports (then talking the price difference as well), the m43 kicks the competitors behinds all day long. I find it funny, there only side by side of wide angle stuff, sure that's useful. Now i want to take a picture of the bird and get a real close shot.....now your bigger sensor sucks, or you have to have this giant lens, and probably a tripod. Sure a 300 f4 is a bigger m43 lens, but not nearly as big as the full frame 600 f4. Both sensors have their advantage, one just happens to be from the telephoto end. You know, Olympus cameras are kind of runoff research and development from their medical devices, which are mostly microscopes, they work on telephoto technology, they couldn't give a crap about the bigger sensor camera and vlogging.

Interesting video, I just bought a camera so I went through similar reasoning. M6 mark II has soft 4k (upscaled 3k) and bad mic preamps. At the current price e-m1 mark II seems more attractive than e-m5. However, I went with a g9 because Olympus mic preamps are bad as well. Autofocus works well on Sigma 16mm f1.4 and the old Panny 12-60 (not the Leica version). Sony a6600 lacks stabilization and slow motion, otherwise I would have gone Sony.

12:08 Twin monitor set-up, and as I heard you say it was your perfect focal range, I had the L Rumors page open showing a rumor for a 20-60mm F/3.5-5.6 full frame lens: www.l-rumors.com/leaked-image-of-the-new-panasonic-lumix-s-20-60mm-f3-5-5-6-lens/

Why would someone use a Panasonic lens on an Olympus camera, and expect it to work optimal? It's well known that, while Olympus bodies and Panasonic lenses are compatible, the results are not optimal, since they are different camera manufacturers... Use an Olympus lens, for Xmas sake!... And then do a proper review...

I’m going to Disney in 3 days and taking this camera.

I totally agree with this. I tried out this camera this weekend and I really enjoyed it for video but for shooting photos I hated it. My biggest problem with it is the size and grip of the camera and the way the buttons are layed out. For the price it does not makes sense. The is no way I could replace my DSLR for this.

Good attempt at this comparison, but there were so many inaccuracies in the tests that your conclusions aren't really noteworthy. I'd suggest getting to know the cameras you test significantly more in the menus before making a proper judgement. Also in 2022, there are now significant options for M43 + AF lenses under 150g and wider than the 24mm equivalent (pany 14 + Pany wide-angle adapter or Pany 9mm f/1.7), both are perfect for vlogging. No other system will give a lens/camera combo with excellent IBIS in 2022- not FF, not APSC, not even Panasoinc in M43... ONLY OMDS or Olympus and the ONLY lightest camera with PDAF is the E-M5 iii. Strange, but true!

Dude really said “ I don’t like these cameras and let me tell you why for the next 15 minutes.” There isn’t really any reason for anyone to watch this video unless they hate Olympus camera 🙃

Great video! Keep it up! Subscribed! 👍

900US now :)

I found the review a bit biased. While I absolutely agree that m43 will never be as good in low light as FF cameras, and the absence of auto ISO in manual video mode is strange, it can do many things out of the box better than the Sony and Canon and I would argue is a better, more versatile package. If Canon wanted to put comparabe IS into their cameras, the bodies would grow by atleast 30%. But for now, the only way to get stable image with Canon (or Sony) is to drag a gimbal along. I’d say it makes a huge total size difference. You can also get fast, small and cheap f1.8 Oly primes, that Apsc and FF don’t have an answer to (size-price). When you want to go super wide, go with Laowa 7,5mm f2 non-fisheye. Also, while there’s no LOG, there’s still Flat picture profile, that’s very gradable (in c4k). So unless night photography with moving subjects is one’s priority, the Olympus is a very attractive proposition indeed.

I’m the 1000 subscriber 😱

The comparison with Canon M50 would be devastating for Canon if you compare the lens lineup (and the (lack of) physical controls the camera has). M50 is so small, with such small lenses, but they can't produce fast zoom lenses... It's just a niche camera or a camera for casual photographers... They can't produce anything beyond f/3.5 in zoom lenses. That is the only reason the canon EOS system sucks... All the rest is looks perfect with small cheap lenses and good autofocus...

its like you want the sony to be better

Probably correct on the price of the Olympus, but in general, if you don't like M4/3, why review the camera? Also, maybe label the video as video-centric. Many of us don't care about video.

Grabbing a new camera you don't know and shooting for a weekend... THEN doing a hit on it... !?

Erm "Daytime outdoor vlogging" is niche? Really, up until then I thought you were making sensible and more or less spot on remarks and then you lost me, sorry what?

Highlights blown out on the Sony videos, colours much better on the Olympus.

The Sony color science is not good on that model... the Oly looks much better, I think the self cleaning sensor system they have, ibis and weather sealing worth the $999 that it retails for now.

For me the 5 mark ii is a fantastic camera, the new one is not for me because i thing a great camera must have a great body, plastic?? No thanks

What in the actual F@!K is going on with all the downvotes on this video!? You’ve done a GREAT job, shown examples and operationalized each of your points. I’m literally struggling with finding a small camera for home/travel video. We have two A7R3’s and two S1’s for our professional work but want something small and cute for non-paid work. This video helped A LOT.

Maybe you should learn how to do photography before making camera reviews.

Before you review a device you better study the process not the likes of yours. Click bait.

This review seems geared for people who would be better off using their iPhones. Pretty terrible ISO test: the Olympus is obviously worse there, but in your test the Olympus video was better video because it wasn't blinding me with your chrome dome:-) Your bias is quite clear as you aren't being objective. You rationalize how the Sony would destroy the Olympus in dynamic range by changing the Sony's default settings... when you don't then optimize the Olympus cameras settings, that's... what... bias... is!

Appreciate all of the comments on this video. Wanted to respond to the allegations of bias by saying that I rented the camera with the intention of loving it and in the end just wasn’t happy with the images I was getting. As someone who primarily shoots stills of fast moving subjects in dry conditions and varied lighting I concluded that other camera systems offer better value for $1,200. It seems Olympus agreed as they discounted the E-M5 Mark III by $200 less than three months after release.

Not sure it matters, both have terrible skin tones. Get an M6 II

Mark ii better package, better looks. Too much plastic this revision.

After seeing reviews in youtube, I bought money to go local shop to buy the em5 mk3, but after holding it for a while, I came back home with a Nikon Z50 kit. EM5 is too old fashion and feels like a toy omg…..

I hate olympus, I bought this camera and sold in 3 months with loss of some money, But I only liked two features, first is image stabilisation, second is buil-in ND filters electronically. SO, for landscape photography you don't have to carry set of ND filters. the features I didn't liked is sharpness, ISO, bokeh quality, low light performance battery is very weak and the list goes on and on.

AF is totally useless on any OLYMPUS. They are expert at focusing to background.