Reviewing the OM SYSTEM OM-5

Hey, what's up guys? David Johnston here for Outdoor Photography Guide, and I want to tell you about a really cool camera today from OM SYSTEMS. This is the OM-5, and if you remember, we already reviewed and looked at the OM-1 that they came out with. This is like the younger brother to that, but coming from a younger sibling myself, sometimes the younger sibling is a lot more exciting. Now, I love this camera because it is so small and lightweight. If I take the lens off of the front of this camera and just throw this up and down, this is extremely lightweight. Like, is any technology even in this? It's about the weight of a full soda can, so you can kind of measure how big you want your camera and how heavy you want your camera to be off of that. And that vision for small, lightweight and compact carries over into their lenses. This is a 12 to 45 lens that can basically do anything you want it to, coming on this camera. Now, even if you wanted to go up to a telephoto lens, this is their telephoto lens, about the same size as the entire camera here, and about the same weight too. This is a 40 to a 150 lens, which with this sensor in here, a micro four-thirds, this camera lens is about a 70 to a 200. So this is basically anything you want to do in outdoor photography, you can do with this entire system that I'm holding in my hands. And this is so lightweight, small, and compact that you can take this anywhere. So when we're talking small, compact, lightweight, who is this camera actually for? I think it's for anybody who wants a camera. Number one, this is for the photographer who wants a camera where they can go out and adventure and be focused on being outdoors, in the moment, and in the adventure and taking photos along the way. This is like for the person who loves being outside and wants to document what they're doing outside. That's hiking, that's paddle boarding, that's boating, anything you want to do, this camera can do it. Now again, when we look at the entire size of this system, I mean if you wanted to do anything hiking, this could do anything you wanted it to while you were outdoors and not weigh you down with a lot of the other stuff. Now, maybe you already have like a full frame camera and you just want a second shooter to have as a backup or to do video or anything else in the outdoors, pick up this camera because this will get the job done. Even if you have other cameras from other brands, you can pick the OM-5 up and do anything you want to as a second shooter. That's a great option for this camera too. And again, I know I'm harping on the lightweight here, but as a second shooter camera, you can use this and not add much weight to your bag whatsoever. This could easily fit in just one of the sleeves of your camera bag. Now I know I've mentioned you can take this anywhere. Well, you literally can. OM SYSTEMS actually packed a lot of their durability features into this camera right here. So this is essentially dustproof, extremely water resistant. You could spray water on this camera for five minutes at a 45-degree angle and it would still work. That's literally incredible. Freeze-proof, heat-proof, this camera can actually go anywhere you want it to, and in such a small body, that's pretty astonishing. This is the best weatherproofing that I've seen on a camera in my entire career as an outdoor photographer, and that spans now over 12 years. So who is this camera for? Anybody. The adventurer or the person who wants a second shooter, pro photographer and beginner photographer. Now I want to tell you about some of my favorite features on this camera. A lot of camera companies don't have this, and this is actually a sealed LCD screen on the back that you can take out, flip around, and then flip out so you can actually see what you're doing on the back of the LCD screen. That's a really cool feature that also protects the LCD screen. And as somebody who, yeah, I'll raise my hand, has had broken LCD screens in the past, that is a great feature that I've wanted in a camera for a long time. That goes into a lot of their weather ceiling and protecting features for this camera. One of the other things I love about this camera is the speed at which it shoots. You can shoot extremely fast frames per second on this camera and not miss a shot. So you remember when I told you this camera is for everybody, this will get those shots of wildlife in those clips. So you're not going to miss a shot as a wildlife photographer using this camera, and the lenses that they have for you. You're going to get the shot because of the speed at which it shoots in the frames per second category, one of the fastest cameras that I've ever used. The auto focus on it is actually really good too. I was using it earlier today, and was pretty shocked at how fast this was auto focusing on exactly what I wanted it to see, and focus on so that you can be sure that you're not getting any photos out of focus, which can be a huge annoyance to photographers, you know what I mean. Now, I'm not always the biggest fan of bells and whistles that they've put in cameras, 'cause honestly, I don't really use 'em all that much. But with the live ND shooting on this camera, I would use that all the time. And that is a feature where you can actually hold your camera and see what the ND feature on this would look like if you had an ND filter on that. What it is is a really dark filter that you put over your lens that lengthens and smooths out the surface of the water, whether that be waterfalls or a lake where you wanna smooth it out and get those nice silky reflections. This camera does it in camera. It's pretty crazy to watch because you can put live ND shooting on, and just hold your camera and shoot a live ND shot right there, and you can see what it's actually going to look like in the camera. That is a fascinating feature that I've never seen before, and one that I would actually use all the time 'cause my bread and butter and what I love to shoot most is waterfalls. So I would use that so, so much with this camera. So again, let's hit the high points on this camera. Number one, small, lightweight, and compact. Great for any photographer who wants to be on an adventure or somebody who wants a second shooter. Now, let's look at durability. I've never met a camera on the market with as much durability as these OM SYSTEM cameras have. Big check mark there for me. That goes over to the LCD screen, protecting that, and the lens selection that you have on this camera as well with this 12 to 45, a 40 to 150, and you even have ultra wide angle lens options for this system too. You're not gonna be afraid to switch out lenses or upgrade lenses, you're gonna have all the lenses you need with this system. And lastly, the bells and whistles. Like I said, not always a fan of bells and whistles, but this camera has some really cool features in it that you're gonna love. Whether you're shooting photos, videos as a second shooter, this camera can do it all, check out the OM SYSTEM's OM-5.