Why would you design a camera like this? 

Interestingly, this shows how important the photographer's style and post-processing are: this may be a very different camera, but the photographs look and feel just like James's pictures.

On most Olympus’s or OM’s the function lever can be reassigned as the power switch, so one handed operation is back

FYI, the lever on the back panel can be used as a power switch, so you can use with just one hand

My eye just really likes that 4:3 aspect ratio.

Lol, never once have I ever considered the position of the power button - but I will now! As others have mentioned you can ascribe power on/off to the function lever on the right should you want to. The power button where it is pays respect to the the aesthetics of this line of cameras going back to the analogue OM-1 from 1972. I think it's a little reductionist to consider MFT's only advantages are size. I'd say more impactful advantages are things like, higher frame rates, for example, or having double the effective depth of field for the same field of view at the same aperture, allowing for far easier zone focusing, or for wider apertures to be used when extra stops of light are beneficial.

So, James, how do you feel about the power switch? I wish you had covered that in your video.

You could call the series "NitPics" There are so many features of this camera that could have been mentioned (like you can actually reassign buttons for power) but it was a 12 minute whinge about the on/off switch and the battery. The EM/OM 5 series is obviously an exercise in form over function.

A pity you didn't find out that the ON/OFF function can be assigned to the FN lever. With this simple adjustment you would have improved your feeling with the camera a lot...

I now own an OM-5, having had Canon, and I agree about the power swtich, but everything is remappable on the OM-5, so you can really make it your own. Having multiple batteries is the answer, as with any camera and letting standby do its job. The really frustrating thing about camera design, try being a left hander and having to shoot and do everything right handed no matter what camera you own that can be frustrating. This was a really interesting to hear your thoughts on the OM-5 and the M4/3 format. Looking forward to the next 'a day with' video. Thank you.

User Manual: _The Fn lever can be configured to turn the camera on and off. Custom Menu B > [Fn Lever/Power Lever] (P. 275)_

1st world problems....wahhhh...power switch on left...didn't know one could remap lever on right to act as power switch... Sometimes I wish the supply chains completely freeze up and we make do with the amazing gear that we already have....

Just bought the original mark 1 EM5 used exc cond for £160……absolutely fantastic alternative to the ridiculously priced compact market and in most ways better / higher spec. Love it 🎉

Couldn't care less about the power button position but it can be moved on the OM5

I'm sorry but you're going to have to re-do this video now that you know how to fix the on/off situation lol. Also, the images looked great. Definitely speaks to the fact that a big heavy expensive camera isn't needed to get good photos.

Bloody hell, you've certainly been catching some flak in these comments! Hope you don't take it to heart, it's good to have many points of view, and I think it's to the detriment of us all if we sit siloed by manufacturer/lens mount and merely congratulate ourselves on the unique brilliance of the system we use. Appreciate your videos James, cheers from Derbyshire

I really think Olympus is the ultimate travel 📸 camera 😊

Don't forget that the 1.4 gathers more light than the 2.8 on the Sony

I may be wrong but I think I picked up a hint that you didn’t like the position of the power switch?

Great pics as always! but… if all you’re going to do is complain about a couple of nitpicks you dont like about a camera bc you didn’t spend the proper time to actually know it well (like you can change the power switch in this one) or compare them to your way more expensive Sony, well it doesn’t see like a series I’d want to watch. This has been the first one of your videos I haven’t actually enjoyed

I really have not learned much from this apart from James not liking the power button on the left.

What a lovely place your home turf is. I could see myself spending the hole summer there

Hello James. Been a few years since seeing your videos. What brought me to your channel was Micro4/3 - Lumix but lost me when you changed to Sony and FF. You sold me on the 4/3 format with my first G7 then up to G9. Have so completely enjoyed the fulfilling hobby and wonderful experiences with lightweight and versatile format. Now I'm looking towards retro Lumix cameras such as GF1 or GX85 as simplicity and old age creeps into my life. I hope you perhaps explore some of the older, simple Lumix 4/3 cameras that bring still life to life. Honestly, just not interested in the complex, heavy and huge full frame cameras any longer as I am 71 years of age and to begin again isn't in the bargain. As long as I still have eyes that function, I'll be taking photos. Thanks, James.

James, I’ll not go on about how you can remap the on/off location to the right side. What I will go on about is the photos you took. They are every bit as good as your current camera. I have always loved the look you get and these are right there. By the way my everyday carry is a Pen E-P3 which has the film like look that I like.

heyyy, I'm just here to say a few words, I really like the way you do your videos and basically with time you've become my favorite youtuber covering photography stuff and the only one making such content that I consistently watch, I'm basically just starting my adventure with photography and you've been of great help and inspiratiom to me, personally I'm using a Sony A6400 with the Sony 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens plus a Sigma 30mm f/1.4, though I mostly just go for the Sigma lens, and the strap the camera came with isn't very great unlike the strap my parents' old Nikon dslr came with so when I come home I'll look for a better one, but yeah, I suppose what I'm trying to say is just thanks for making this content and letting me relax, listen about interesting things amd learn some more.. that's a long one, but if anyone reads it feel free to reply and maybe give some random tips and all heh

You can set the camera to sleep when idle and wake when you half press the shutter button. With the E-M1 MkII and possibly with the OM-5 you can allocate a lever on the right to be an on-off switch instead of the left hand side lever. EDIT, I notice that others have made the same point, which rather negates a whole lot [10 minutes?] of your video rant.

Great new series. You may not like the camera but you’ve taken some fab shots. Glad you loved the Orig E-M5 and thanks for confirming that we all get grumpier with age .. thought it was just me 👍

You can configure the buttons and switches on the OM-5 and change the Fn Lever on the right side on the back of the camera to a off/on switch so it's NOT AN ISSUE!!!!!!!!!

Great stuff James! What I find refreshing about your photography is that your images tell a story!!!

"One Day" over a three day period. Love it. I noted that the 40mm is f2.5 vs. the f1.4 of the OM.

Love these shots, well done

Sleep mode is your friend! Toggle this on in the menu and the camera will go to sleep within a few seconds of shooting to conserve power. Half press the shutter button and it is instantly on again. I only use the on/off button to turn mine on at the beginning of the day, and turn it off at the end (or when I know I won't be using it for an hour or two). Sleep mode uses a tiny amount of battery, and I always carry a spare battery or two - at 46g each they weigh next to nothing and slip into the smallest of pockets. (As an aside, video eats battery on the OM-5, but just taking photos a single battery lasts for as long as I can reasonably get away from the family to indulge my photography interests.) Also, if lens size bothers you on this tiny camera (it does me - I like to be able to pocket it) then the 17mm f/1.8 is half the size and weight, and cheap. For landscape and family photos the difference between f/1.4 and f/1.8 is negligible. The 17mm is plastic, not intended for wet weather, and doesn't have perfect IQ (though more than good enough for most styles of photography). If it dies after being out in the rain (I used non-weather sealed lenses for years without much of a problem) then simply buy another - you can afford three for the price of the bulkier 20mm PRO. I would only choose the 20mm PRO if I was going to a sandy beach, the weather was awful, or if I really needed that extra speed (less than one stop) or a razor thin DoF. Also the Pana Leica 9mm f1.7, which is weather sealed and has amazing IQ, pairs fantastically with this camera if you are looking for an fast ultra wide compact setup for indoor and outdoor work.

Re the power switch saga. This shows the importance of the reviewer reading the manual....

Exited to see more of this series!

Meanwhile me over here always accidentally turning cameras off when power switches are exposed on the right by the shutter...

As usual it has to be a great day when a new James Popsys video comes out :)

James, you are the archetypal MFT-shooter! You find something to get upset about. 🤣 Apart from long lenses, I find the zoom ranges available attractive. When I look at other systems, it's hard to go from 9mm m43 at the wide end to 300mm m43 continuously for kitzoom money. Or even continuously for a lot more money. If all things photography are a hobby, I think it's one of the most accessible entries. Oh, and the good old Lumix 20mm f/1.7 is way smaller.

I used to feel the same way about power switches on the left side of the camera. I was so used to the switch being around the shutter release. However on my Canon EOS R which has the same design flaw, I realized that turning the camera on and off was much slower than allowing the camera to go into sleep mode and just waking it with any button press. And there was no noticeable difference on battery consumption.

I think it was a fun video and enjoyed it very much. The OM owners will probably go nuts over you comments.😃

According to my thinking, it is simply not possible to adequately test any modern state-of-the-art camera in two days. You need at least three days just to read the user manual. I have possessed my present camera for over three years, purchased a special book on it, and I bet there is still something I do not know about it. And this is the case although I already knew my way around the menu system of a forerunner quite well. And as I have now read in further comments, the on/off switch is reprogrammable. Something you obviously missed. This proves my point. You cannot deliver any type of useful information about a camera based on testing it just for two days.

One thing you might consider for your camera series would be something like: "So, what is this camera's biggest strength?"

A few years ago I sold all my Olympus gear and switched to Canon full frame. Long story short, I am back to Olympus 😂, although I kept my favourite FF lenses . The size and weight difference is still big. You picked one of the smallest ff cameras, that hardly anyone uses for photography,and paired it with one of the smallest lenses...I like landscape, macro, astro and architect photography, and if you use more lenses than a 40mm for all of that, mft of course beats ff any time regarding size/weight. I am quite happy now to have the best of both worlds to me, and I also reduced my gear a lot.

really like youre edits. inspirational.

Love my OM-5!

I always enjoy watching your channel and I love the fact you don’t take anything (perhaps, especially yourself) too seriously but you are clearly ‘serious’ about what you do. I do worry that every photography channel either is, or becomes, a gear channel. I’ll keep watching but please keep talking about your vision, intent and realisation of your images. Cheers 😁

Enjoyed the video. Look forward to more in the series.

Agree 100% about the power with for one-handed operation. I got more shots with my Panasonic GF1 and 20mm pancake because I kept in my right pocket and could operate the camera quickly with one hand.

Heres an idea : go use the Lumix Gx8 with the LUMIX 20MM f1.7 and compare it to the OM5. It would be interesting to hear your opinion on that seeing how the form factor changes, and the idea that we dont need PRO glass all the time..

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the OM. Brings back memories of my 35mm OM10 I used in the late 70's early 80's.

Cheers James, it’s Sean in Atlanta! I am so much like you in that I just purchased an OLYMPUS EM5 MIII, new, for $600! Deal! Go into your menu and disable the power switch on the left and change it to the lever on the right where the AEL/AFL button is. I’m shocked that you bought the OM5, I just could not justify the price difference between these two brand-new cameras. I like the new series and I hope you, your wife and baby, are well! Sean

Thanks for the video! If you want a smaller sized lens, it might be an option to use the olympus 25mm 1.8. It is much smaller and the image quality is also very good. As you compared it to a 40mm 2.5, so the aperture still is much wider. As others have pointed out already, you can reprogram the on/off switch to the AEL/AFL switch. Then this disadvantage can be mitigated as well.

You have been watching Camera Conspiracies. He had a freak out about the on off switch last week. Hilarious. Thanks for another great video.

I would like to see you playing with the Leica Q2 monochrom. JP being forced to take bnw pictures would be a hoot.

Based on your video I went ahead and bought me the OM5 in black with the 12-45 pro lens. I stopped listening to ‘reviewers’ so long ago

Olympus has put their power switch on the left since their SLR film cameras of the 1970s. Doing so in this century is the action of an obstinate retrogrouch. I don't care that I can, in theory, remap some other button to fix their mistake. There aren't enough function buttons to start with, so I don't really want to dedicate one for power, and 1-handed operation should have been thought about by the designer.

The Ricoh GRiii and iiix are one handed cameras and tiny!!

I live in Llandudno but don't get out as much to take photos of the town. But over the next week or so I'm taking the photos for Llandudno in Bloom. There are some gems of photo ops in this town hidden away.

Like your videos James. Can’t wait to see more like this. I actually just bought the om5 and have a em5 mkii. Mkii is broken atm. Also a Sony a6300. I do agree that the on/off switch should be on the other side but to be honest I use a camera strap so if I use it one handed I turn it on then pick it up. I guess it just doesn’t bother me as much. Each to their own I guess. Keep up the great work.

I've been shooting MFT since the E-M5 launched for work, and I shoot lifestyle portraiture in remote regions. The benefit for me is I get my main lens, the Olympus 75mm f1.8. I ask anyway to try and find a 150mm equiv FF lens with f1.8 worth of light on the sensor, all in the same size footprint as the 75mm f1.8. I'll wait, but no matter how long I wait, no one will be able to get an answer to that. The reason that combination is important, well, try having a job involving taking natural undisturbed portraits of people's day-to-day life in remote regions of the world without having people stare at you in the frame. It's a niche use case and obviously MFT isn't king for portraits, but it annoys me when people write the system off for anything but wildlife or hiking as a weight savor. I'll admit that the 75mm f1.8 is kind of an oddity or outlier, it's just that good for my use case. I've been asked to try a Z8 and 135mm Plena, less than an hour in I packed it up because everyone in the village scenes were staring at the foreigner with a big camera/lens. The rest of my kit could be handled entirely by my fp L (and even the 75 mostly by using the 90mm f2.8 in crop mode, that's still 25mp and 135mm of reach/fov). The G9.ii's updated handheld hi-res works well for portraits, depending on the environment/subject. That said, I usually use my Pentax K-1.ii or 645Z for that kind of work. Great shots, your pastel blues and overall colors, regardless of format, are hands down my favorite.

"souu, am pretty set on gear. Yup, no more new cameras, no more new set ups" :)

Actually, you can remap..... HA! Just wanted to pile on. Love your videos.

Not sure why you bother constantly playing with different cameras and lenses. From the vids I've seen, your photographic style seems to largely be taking snapshots from eye level. Nothing wrong with that, but you could do the same thing with any modern cell phone.

I nearly spit my SD card out as I saw the video title! Going back to mft! False alarm 😂. But you are right, i switched from Nikon to Olympus around 5 years ago and the on/off switch still does my head in.

Started with em5mkii, still love it after moving to em1mkiii. I bought extra batteries for the em5mkii, theyre tiny to put in small bag. Even the em5mkii computational features are awesome, the OM5 much more so.

Didn't discuss image quality, sensor, price, OM's features, research the functions etc. Pretty weak video and bland. Not usually like this

First comment ! Love your work James you are a big inspiration of mine

Re. the power switch: My Canon 6D Mark II has the power switch on the left and the shutter button on the right. I don't find it an issue, mainly because my lens makes it heavy enough for two hands to be required at almost all times, so one thumb is always close by. I can see how it would be an issue if the setup was lighter, though.

I used to sledge there in the winter as a kid. ahhh the memories.

Oh come on James read the instruction book before you shoot! Llandudno one of my favourite places to visit been there many times and I love that noisy pier, you can buy almost anything on there and the bar at the end wow! I have not been there for some time but I will never forget that policeman hitting that poor lady with his baton! shame of him then a man came round for payment so I left the kids there to finish watching Punch and Judy! joking aside thank you for your time telling us all about your new toy for the day I found it very interesting...

Don't get the point about the powerbutton. I switch my camera on only once on a day's hiken when I arrive on the location. I just let it go to sleep, just touching the shutter is enough to wake it up again in no time...

I have exactly this combination of camera and lens. Love the weather sealing, weight, size, image stabilization and myriad of functions such as 50MP handheld high-res shot mode, pro capture and live ND filter. I dislike that the camera doesn't have a normal USB-C charging port and that I can't use the camera while it is charging.

Micro four thirds is cheaper aswell, thats a big consideration for me

Two nitpicks: Sony 40mm 2.5 vs. OM 20mm 1.4 are different creatures. If you wanted to be more comparable, you could have used the Pany 20mm 1.7, that'd be a more meaningful size comparison. As far as battery life, I don't know what's happening with you, but I get 300 photos from one battery. I do carry a second, but it'd be a very big day to need to get into a second battery. One day with... would not be enough to see how to reassign the power button, or half the cool features that camera has...

The Micro 4/3 cameras are great if you don't always want razor thin depth of field. I still miss my Olympus Pen F. Stabilisation. Fast. Focus. Nice controls. Menu wasn't great and neither was high ISO but it was fun.

One great all round small travel camera is the LUMIX LX100

I use the 20mm on an OM1-ii and while it's my favourite focal length for walking around, unfortunately the difference between it and the 17mm 1.2 or the 25mm 1.2 is very noticeable. The battery on the OM1 is remarkable, especially if you put the camera in airplane mode.

The power button on the left is a nod to the original 1970’s OM-1. Can’t add a photo here but give it a quick google and you’ll see it’s very similar, even the lever and font.

I know you won’t want this to be Olympus heavy, but the OM1 (mark 1 and/or 2) would be useful as someone who is considering upgrading from an original E-M1.

Comparing the size of the Oly f1.4 with the Sony f2.5 isn’t really fair though, James. The LUMIX f1.7 or the Oly 17mm or 25mm f1.8 versions might be a better comparison?

I wonder how many people have told you that you can rebind to the lever on the back for power.. I stopped counting

Recently I have a lot of fun using the olympus optical viewfinder Vf-1 on a pen epl3 body and lumix 20 1.7 lens. Since it is mounted on the hot shoe, I'd suggest you to get one and use it on a olympus pen or a lumix Gx or Gf. The viewfinder has 17mm references but also with the 20mm is good. It's a very nice accessory and permits to focus on the composition. Usually I shot in aperture priority and once I decide the aperture, turn off the screen retroillumination.

James totally agree with your sentiments and analysis, M43 brilliant, its lightweight & compact for FL over say 200mm, wildlife especially, but also macro no real advantage to be gained over FF at short to standard FL, in terms of size and weight, so might as well opt for better IQ and LL performance of a small form factor FF kit

I enjoyed the video, James, and the resulting images and can certainly understand your frustration with the positioning of the on/off switch. The paddle steamer is, of course, the Waverley. I was born in Greenock on the River Clyde and sailed 'doon the watter' on it on numerous occasions growing up.😄

I agree with the power button position it makes a huge difference, especially when travelling or street photography. Your home town looks lovely I will have to take a look next time I am in wales.

Hi James, i’m just glad i am not left handed as the world is right handed

Thanks for this new video series! I was wondering about the new OM series, and would not have noticed the issue with the power switch until too late. Re-assigning the power "function" seems rather cludgy to me, and it makes you lose the possibility of assigning a real function. That aside - the photos look amazing, so it's great to see that OM has maintained the Olympus quality. This helps a lot in keeping M4/3 a relevant system. Regarding power-switches on the right and joysticks under your thumb, I hope you have the Panny G9ii on your list. This is the first model Panny with the "proper" autofocus, so it would be very interesting to see how you find it in comparison to the OM-5. Oh yes, since it is MPB doing the sponsoring, please don't forget to pull in some old cameras as well! I have a GX80, old G5 and a gaggle of old GX1's - none of which holds me back in terms of quality photos. If a photo comes out a dud, it won't be my old camera's fault! 😛 Damn, I have to come visit Llandudno soon, what a gorgeous place!

I use Olympus. Have 4 batteries for my EM5iii which are also compatible with the EM10iv, and makes life easier. Usually get about 300 images for each battery. As for the power button, I tend to leave it on standby but also turn it off. You do need two hands. The EM1iii, which I also have, has far better battery power than the cheaper models. Try the OM1 or OM1ii. I believe the latter is great, but once again, two hands are needed. The EM1iii, and OM1 and 1ii have joysticks. The Panasonic G9 and G9ii has the power button on the same side as the shutter. So another MFT to try???? Interesting video, James.

I have this camera. Focusing and recomposing is easy

I have the OM-1. Agree that the on-off switch on the left is a pain. However, the OM-1 does have a joystick. I do a lot of super macro with my OM-1 and combined with the 90mm macro plus 1.4 teleconverter, it is the best camera on the market. (5.6 x magnification). I also have a Nikon Z8 for Street, landscape and wildlife.

I really don't think a camera needs to be one hand operable for me. I want a second hand on there anyways, to balance and stabilise the camera and I don't find myself running around, camera in one hand and wildly shooting things left, right and center. So for me that is totally fine. With the size, it is completely weather sealed and you still get a couple stops advantage with the M43 lens, compared to the Sony. So that's where the size comes from I guess. Where the difference really starts is with longer lenses and zooms. The 12-40 2.8 is so tiny compared to a 24-70 2.8 FF lens. The 40-150 2.8 is still smaller compared to a 70-200 2.8, even tho it has significantly more reach. And getting to shoot wide open, while still getting a good depth of field is something I really enjoy, as a landscape photographer in a not so sunny part of Europe that's worth a lot lol. Makes me leave the tripod at home more often than I used to.

Good idea, could even be a Channel 5 series. How about a day with a focal length?

I do like the styling of this camera. As you briefly mentioned the Sony 40mm (which I used to have and loved) with a a7c is a mega combination I think.

While it was not the main point of your video, I really loved the way how you combined video clip and the final image from same scenes. I've been lately wondering whether to get back to photography or start videography as new hobby (with something like DJI Pocket 3) and the way you combined those showed that they both have their own benefits over the other.

Oo, also, try the Pentax K1ii, I use one and they're amazing and so underrated. Also the power button is by the shutter button 😅

I could never understand why the power could be assigned to the lever, but I guess here is the market. 😂 I’ve never owned a camera with power cluttering up the dense right hand area of the camera. OTOH, yes, battery life is abysmal for my E-M5 Mk III, basically the same camera. Really surprised that OM Systems is trying to get social media boost from a random very off-user-base channel and apparently dropping their legacy influencers. Seems dumb to me.

I like the concept of the series, James, looking forward to it. Would love to see you spend a day with my camera: the Nikon Z 8. Cheers!

Good video, I had the OM5 for a few weeks but just couldn't get on with it. I am not sure if it was the fact of the power button or it just simply being Micro 4/3 but for me, I just didn't feel right. It has some great features but I ended up trading it in to MPB, you may have mine actually lol, and went back to a Fuji X-T2. Llandudno btw, I know that place like back of my hand.. Takes me back!

Love this series idea, I'd love to see you have a look at the Lumix gx80, seems pretty popular, would love to see what you think/do with it. Would also love to see you hop on the ccd sensor hype with a Nikon d300 or Fuji S5 pro to see if it's all hype or you think there's a bit of magic with those older sensors.

ive got its little brother, the E-M10 mk2. Its quite similar looks wise with a similar power switch. It atleast make sort of kind of sense. It matches the power switch on the original OM cameras. ive resorted to the standby solution. I do a day of hiking and shooting on one, sometimes 1.5 and i have 2 spares so im not too worried about it.

Interesting. Carry on. 👍🥂