Olympus EM5 mk3 - Is it Wise to buy a used or end of stock one in 2023?

[@trevorfillingham7317]

Thanks for reviewing my camera Brian. Happy I made a good choice for my needs.

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

Thanks for the loan of the gear to do so

[@zayacz123]

I miss David Thorpe. He’s the reason I bought my EM 5 Mark 2. I also have the EM 1 Mark 2 and the OM 1. I love them all.

[@johnbradshaw5900]

Excellent video, I an advocate of buying run-out models, unless the new model really does offer something major. A good camera doesn't stop being good just because it's been superceded and in most cases it is an evolutionary process. Incremental gains. Run-out models are often heavily discounted and a great way of getting a nice new camera for a lot less. I bought my E-M1X in the run out phase with a 45% discount, new with an official dealer warranty stamp and love it. The fact it's an obsolete model really doesn't bother me. With cameras I tend to keep them for the long haul.

[@Brightsparks1960]

I agree Brian - Despite having the OM1, Panasonic G9 and the EM5 mkii I have just ordered an EM5 mkiii as this size of MFT camera is the sweet spot for me. Absolutely agree that if I had to have just one camera it would be the EM5 mkiii. Anyone interested checkout HDWE Cameras as the EM5 mkiii is under £600 and currently with a further £25 off!

[@jamesbowmanphotography]

I love my em5 mk3 - it’s a great little camera. If I was in the market now (and assuming I can’t afford an OM-1) then I’d be taking the EM5 over the OM-5 - basically the same camera. I’m not convinced there’s any difference in weather sealing - my camera has been well-tested. I also prefer having the Olympus badge, although perhaps a bit nostalgic.

[@kevinbourke4038]

And, with the om5 mk3, we get a battery charger - came with the camera.

[@pgy8863]

IMHO, the Olympus EM5iii is the best camera, pound for pound, dollar for dollar. Period. Totally agree with you Brian. I believe that for photographers, tech plateaued about 10 years ago and the EM5iii had evolved the ergonomic and added a modern sensor with phase detect autofocus. Bells and whistles have been added since, but 99.9% of what 99.9% of people need exists here. It helps that MFT glass is almost universally good and mostly great value!

[@ianprescott7378]

There's not much wrong with buying used kit. My last three purchases have been used, two lenses and a body all financed by selling kit I no longer use. I've a bit more to sell yet but it needs repairing first. I've downsized from Sony full frame to, mainly, Lumix mft. The exception being a used Olympus 75mm f/1.8 ( what a beauty that is!). All done for health reasons, a combination of Parkinson's and arthritis. My latest purchase, delivered only today, is a truly mint G90. It'd hardly been out of the box.

[@davebellamy4867]

Keep photographing! Especially with that 75mm f/1.8. I got one this year since the price came down and it changed the way I felt about the system. Plus the 12-40mm f/2.8, the first edition.

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

@@davebellamy4867 I ADORE THAT 75mm f1.8 lens. I need to buy one soon.

[@Martina_Elizabeth]

Were the first three minutes recorded with Olympus G100? The video footage seems to be of a much better quality, at least colour- wise and exposure. I'm deciding whether to buy omd em5iii or G100..

[@mehulshewakramani8218]

Great video, literally just picked up an EM5-III with the 12-200 on Black Friday with the incredible deal that OM-System had on (only £1059) and they threw in a free spare battery too. Haven't had a chance to use it properly yet, but I'm sure I'll love it!

[@davebellamy4867]

9:40 A really nice non-mirror shutter sound actually.🤣👍 Actually, the shutter sounds very quiet and actually classy. Any background noise and people won't even hear it.

[@dirkvanhoorn2105]

I use the electronic shutter in silent mode. Then it is really silent. Very nice if you want to picture animals.😢

[@trishf29]

I upgraded from EM5iii to EM1iii but am keeping the EM5iii as a travel camera as it’s still a little better than the EM10iv I have! Don’t take videos. Good video Brian!

[@louiebodenstaff6772]

Another great video Brian! Please consider doing a vid on the E-M5 Markii (16mp sensor) versus the 20mp sensor Mark iii, would love to hear your thoughts on comparisons around image quality differences, thank you Sir!

[@alangamble3236]

Hi Brian…my only regret is I bought the black version. On reflection I would have preferred the silver. Olympus were selling the em5 mkiii for Black Friday with a 12-200 lens at £1059 which was an amazing deal. The EM5 mkiii is a great travel camera i have mine coupled with the 14-150 at the moment and find that it does all I really need. I always enjoy your videos keep up the great work.

[@p.io7]

The silver version gives it away that it is made of plastic way quicker especially when it starts developing scratches. Black version is the right choice for EM5 mark3 and OM-5. If you like silver version then it works best on EM5 original and EM5 mark2 which are made of metal.

[@davebellamy4867]

I think the black version is better. I wouldn't the want a silver camera that's not metal. Now the EM10 Mark ii silver or EM5 Mkii silver are different. They are metal and gorgeous. I have silver and black EM10 Mk ii. The black one is super gorgeous and so is the silver one. A friend asked me what the silver one was. He thought it had a superb appearance. Both very high quality of finish. The black EM10ii has the nicest black finish of any new Olympus OMD camera hands down IMO. It's the same for the lenses. The silver plastic lenses feel cheap to me but the metal silver 75mm f/1.8 looks and feels like a treat.

[@alangamble3236]

@@davebellamy4867 hi Dave thank you. I do have the silver em10 mkii and agree the silver finish looks great, very reminiscent of the original Olympus OM1 film camera that I am also lucky to have. Maybe my purchase of the black EM5 mkiii was the right decision!

[@alangamble3236]

@@p.io7 thank Pavel

[@richardwalker4518]

The worst thing you can do with an EM5 iii is pick one up and start using it for a while. After it has liberated the moths from your wallet, you'll probably find yourself doing 80% of your work on it.

[@fillerbunnyninjashark271]

Ain't this the truth as it's now strapped to my side with the sigma 30mm

[@micksjoint]

Glad I bought this camera now. Cheers mate.

[@WilliamWallaceRoss]

I buy from KEH Camera without any problem and purchased my E-M1 that only had 500 shutter count. It came with everything and might have been sold because someone's mom or grandparents had passed on and no one in the family wanted it. I have a E-M10 Mk4, E-P5, and the E-M1, thinking of getting either the E-M5 MkII or MkIII used from KEH Camera.

[@durium3113]

I'm impressed with the image stabilization. Last year, I rode on a truck festooned with banners in the Independence Day parade in Anaheim Hills, California and made a video from the truck to give viewers a view of the parade from the inside. The ride was very rough, but the footage was smooth. Had I used a Panasonic GH4 or GH5S, it would have been unwatchable.

[@ridealongwithrandy]

HAH! I noticed that you have the larger eyecup, though I was the only guy who had that. I love this lil camera as it my main youtube video camera, and in a pinch, I use it for emergency desert hikes. I like it because I consider it my mini EM1X, which I have 2 of those, has the same sensor so the post processing is the same. I use the Olympus ME51S plugged with a sock for the microphone. I have ALL of David Thorpe's videos BTW. No USB C, could not care. These days the EM5 mk3 is a steal! I have done videos in amazing places and have never worried about a single card slot. Period. If you go to my Flickr and my website ... if I was only allowed one camera it would be the this camera. Nuff said! Cheers!

[@davebellamy4867]

The EM5 iii is also affordable on the new market if you shop around with full warranty. 2½ or 3 years.

[@2rue]

Used em5mk3 models are currently just as expensive as my new one I bought over a year ago. Still angry that it got stolen along with my small but fine collection of lenses. om-5 is really price heavy - but for what exactly?

[@alang253]

What color profile are you using to film this? Greens and colors look amazing. Thinking about picking one of these up used as a EDC alternative to my em1iii to use with my small primes. Love m43, been trying fuji/Ricoh and it just makes me love m43 even more.

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

Mainly iEnhance and minor adjustments on exposures/contrast etc

[@grain_eyed_photography]

I own this camera and I love it. The age of the camera is irrelevant to me because when you see the results taken by this camera, how old this camera is, dissolves to oblivion 😊.

[@Jonathan-hu3lk]

Two questions on the em5iii, or any other more recent Olympus cameras than the pen f… When using manual lenses and shooting in b&w, does it still switch to colour while you focus with focus peaking? And does the magnification aid still not work when using lenses with no electronic contacts? I have a Fuji x-e2 that doesn’t have either of these issues which makes it more of a joy to shoot, than the pen f, with lenses that have no electronic contacts. I love my mft gear, but that is a minor niggle

[@davidmill7289]

Well said Brian. I got my EM5 mk iii lightly used having previously bought the EM10 mk iv for travel. Both great cameras.

[@andreatilli6227]

How do they compare?

[@davidmill7289]

@@andreatilli6227 EM5 has phase detection focus which means in theory it’s a bit better (but I’ve never had an issue with the EM10’s contrast system). It also has some additional features but the main benefit for me is the weather sealing.

[@philipchesleyiii]

The first camera i ever bought was a point and shoot. Still a ok camera, thee enormous Nikon Coolpix P1000, but then i bought the Olympus EM5 MK3 4 days ago. Love the camera. I use to use the nikon primarily in auto, because its bottom/dials (or lack of for that matter) locations. The 5mk3 on the other hand is super easy to use in manual. Using it in auto is kinda a turn off. Simply dont need to. Of course sence i already own one of the best cameras for range, the Nikon. I decided to go with the M.Zuiko 60mm 2.8 macro to try my luck with macro shots. Loving it so far. The 5mk3 was a enormous jump in quality, and ease of use. Bought both the camera and lens second hand off KeH. Kinda of a novice photographer hobbyist. But i think the 5mk3 is great. Esp as the 2nd camera I've ever bought.

[@danieleno7407]

Can I ask what camera you used for the first three minutes of the video? That footage looked much better to me.

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

Lumix G100 with 12-32 f3.5-5.6

[@kamilpotato3764]

I still use my em10 mk2 in addition to xe1, xt2 and xt4. I feel tempted to get next year em5 mk3 and 12-40 pro as my go to weather sealed setup.

[@davebellamy4867]

I have that combo now after 5 years having the EM10 Mk ii. I still love the feel of the metal EM10ii cameras but the EM5iii is a lot more functional, except that I like the video magnify feature on the 10... kzbin.info/www/bejne/oHSZYaB5fNKhesU Shot on EM10ii and 12-40mm f/2.8 PRO. That lens also has useful close focusing and is highly usable at f2.8.

[@gregfeeler6910]

Excellent review! I think the OM-5 is a smart move by OMDS because a) it gives them two (out of three) IP53 rated bodies, b) it is an upgrade from the E-M5 Mk III, and c) it buys them time to upgrade the E-M10. I believe the OM-5 will be replaced by a Mk II version in only about two years, and that will have the features many wanted to see in today's OM-5. Having said that, I bought a new E-M5 Mk III on close-out in early November because it was $300 off and having and OM-1, the added features of the OM-5 didn't justify the additional cost, for me. Also, I'm planning on getting the OM-5 Mk II when it is released. I love it! I had an original E-M5 years ago as my first OM-D body but sold it when I moved from an E-M1 to an E-M1 Mk II, but always missed the small size and great handling. My new E-M5 Mk III is always with me in a small Peak Design Sling bag, along with a couple of lenses to cover 98% of what comes up. I got the silver body and then ordered a leather half case - I'm a sucker for that retro/vintage 35mm SLR look from the 60's. I get lots of complements on it, especially from people under 30. I think the formfactor of the E-M5/OM-5 is the sweet sport for an MFT body for all but demanding professional use, even though I have an E-M1 Mk II and an OM-1.

[@georgemccann5024]

Hope they go back to the OLYMPUS badge though ...

[@gordon3988]

Great video…loved the row boat photo! I looked at the new OM5 the other day as the EM5 III was sold out. It is a great camera (small EM1iii in many ways), slightly improved over the 3 but both would be great cameras for folks who go outside and light, small and weatherproof are key. Agree if you can find a 3 on sale, what a great deal!

[@gambo47]

I have had Olympus digital cameras for years, I then sold all my lenses and EM1 Mk3 and thought I'd be happy with a Sony RX10 iv, I've just ordered the EM5 Mk3 and the 12-200 lens (used to have one previously, but found it wasn't smooth for video zooming). I just can't give up on Olympus, but also cannot justify the huge prices of the OM5 or OM1. Thanks

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

Nothing at all wrong with the 5/3 I did a review on one just before Christmas and really loved it and also did a review of the 12-200 at the same time. Again loved it

[@kevinhugo]

Bought one last year unused but open box for a great price. You can save 3 custom modes with the em5 mk iii although you can only select one with the dial. The other 2 can be selected in the menu.

[@CheikoSairin]

Because I take pictures as a hobby in my spare time and I still use the Olympus OMD EM5 mark I. And I find it to be a good camera for my bird-watching activities. And in fact, I record videos with the camera for my KZbin channel content. Maybe, I will consider having an EM5 mark III if I want to upgrade my camera in the future. Anyway, thank you for sharing your views on this camera. You 1 like from me. Have a nice day. Greeting from Singapore.

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

Greetings Singapore. My Father was stationed out at Tengah with the RAF in the early 1950s and he always looked back at his time with huge affection. He loved the country and the people. Yes, my first M43 camera was a mk1 EM5 which my niece still owns. It was brilliant and I loved using it. I had the two part battery grip where the grip was separate to the battery box. I normally used only the grip part as it transformed the handling. Wonderful little camera.

[@imagenatura]

I would agree that this is the best value camera for its size. I've just sold mine to fund a gh6 purchase, but I have some regrets too. Absolutely loved this camera, even with its non-usb c port!

[@fillerbunnyninjashark271]

I really wish it was USB c 😅

[@dominiclogue5924]

Great communication. Thanks

[@davebellamy4867]

Does the number of EM5 Mark iiis on the secondhand market mean that the OM5 is selling well?

[@p.io7]

Not necessarily, the community is quite disappointed with OM5. OM1 however was a great release with a new stacked sensor at last, probably some are upgrading to that.

[@Smaffs59]

Sept 2024. I notice that the used prices for an EM 5 MK 3 and an EM 1 MK 3 are identical. Which would you go for?

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

@@Smaffs59 difficult choice. The em1 is a superior camera but also bigger and heavier……but not much. If I were a normal photographer not specialising in anything in particular and it was my only camera then probably the EM5. Unfortunately doing YT videos on M43 cameras means my usage is not normal so I’d go for the EM1 if the prices are the same. Plus if you have a particular style or speciality then it may point to the EM1 too e.g. I shoot lots of portraits so the battery grip is essential for me, only the EM1 has that option.

[@buggersofoz]

Wow, that's another great summary and a super bold statement about this potentially being your only camera. As an E-M1 user (having switched from Canon 7D2) i cant go past the smaller grip and E-M1 mkII is at least $200 less expensive than E-M5 mk iii here in Australia, so my next camera is a bit of a no-brainer too 😉 but I'd die to find this 12-200mm lens on the cheap to replace my 14-150mm... unfortunately I have a feeling that it might forever remain niche and not get cheap enough on the used market.

[@peternumber19]

To me, the 12-200 is a heavy lens. The 14-150 is a nice weight.

[@keithyjoe5094]

My question to you, would you still opt for the E-M5 III over the E-M1 II given that the E-M1 II is currently £235 cheaper? I'm struggling to decide between these two and of course the PEN-F. Also, it's difficult to justify paying the price the E-M5 III is currently at when the E-M1 III is only £60 more. Any help is much appreciated.

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

Oh, thats sooooo difficult. Head over heart time. Head says for £60 more than the em5/3 the em1/3 is a no brainier, it’s a far better camera. Real head voice says that I would have to go for the em1/2 being so much cheaper. My heart still says the em5/3 as I fell in love with it’s smaller form factor. Sooo difficult. However as I think mine is awesome, I’d say the em1/2. By far the best deal of the three. Watch my video from the middle of the year (2022) on the em1/2 for my review on holiday. It really is still a superb camera

[@keithyjoe5094]

Thank you, that's really helpful. I guess what I'm kind of stuck with is portability. How much bigger does the E-M1 II feel compared to the E-M5 III? My favourite ever camera was the X100F, but it doesn't have weather protection. I used that camera all the time, I would take it everywhere, it was a beautiful camera and the size was perfect. In terms of size the E-M5 III is very similar to the X100F, but of course, with the added benefit of weather protection. I know the E-M1 II is larger, but is it significantly so, at least enough to notice? I think I'm more likely to pick up the E-M5 III if it significantly more portable.

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

@@keithyjoe5094 it is larger and yes, noticeably so, however, it’s not massive nor ungainly. If size is of maximum importance then go for the em5/3

[@czerwonysledz]

Thanks for the video! How do you find em5 mk3 for birds?

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

Unfortunately I didn’t get the opportunity to test it on birds but it’s essentially the same camera innards as my EM-1 mkii and that works excellently with its phase detect AF the same as the EM-5 has so I’d guess it’ll work well

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

One other thing has just been reminded to me, Trevor, the guy who owns the review camera and loaned it to me shoots around 90% of his shots are birds with excellent results

[@LEVUAProduction]

Hi! Please tell me, can I put LOW ISO (64) when I record 4k video? Because the lowest iso in this mode is 200 but sometimes it's too much😞

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

I’ve tried on my EM-1mk2 and cannot find a way of using video in the extended iso range. I do not own a 5mk3 as I borrowed the one for review but the inner workings of the 1mk2 and the 5mk3 are almost identical. Id suggest investing into a set of good ND filters or seeing if the amount of light can be reduced

[@LEVUAProduction]

@@ThatMicro43Guy Thanks! I think we need to tell about that interesting feature to om system developers😁

[@TCizauskas]

Fascinating that the EM10ii has more custom settings than the EM5iii!

[@GB-ez6ge]

You can use two C modes: one on the C dial position and C2 or C3 loaded into PASMB. Not perfect but twice as good as one. 🙂

[@giuseppethesantis]

What do You think, Is it worth a good price used mkIII if I already have a MkII? (I do not care about video). Great video anyway! ✨

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

I would say it is a good buy as there were big improvements in each of the EM5 over the predecessor’s. Effectively it’s the same as the EM1 mk2 but with a few less direct access buttons .

[@giuseppethesantis]

@@ThatMicro43Guy So kind thanks, so overall do you think its a good step up in terms of autofocus and image quality (low light performance too)? I found one em5 mk III at 600 euros (im from Italy)

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

@@giuseppethesantis image quality…yes in so far as resolution, image quality harder to say as I do still love the 16mp Olympus sensor but it’s a yes it is better, auto focus yes and features yes too it also has a better processor . Ergonomically I find it sits in the hand a little better than the mk2 although they do appear very similar. Low light, yes it is better and €600 seems a good price

[@giuseppethesantis]

@@ThatMicro43Guy Amazing, thank You so much! I thinks I will take it! I wish you the best for future!

[@lorenschwiderski]

Well the Lumix GX-9 with a 12-60mm lens for $799 is certainly a steal as well. 🤓 Take care, Loren

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

It certainly is. Brilliant little camera.

[@ToniHilfiger]

The E-M5-III plus the 40-150mm f4 PRO is my outdoor, hiking combo. I typically add a LUMIX 12-35mm f2.8 in my bag, so I am covered from wide angle to 300mm eqv. at f2.8-4, weighing just a bit over 1kg. Where else can you find that? 20MP to me is the sweet spot for my "enthusiast" use-case: reasonable file sizes and enough potential to crop to 16MP (sufficient for an about A3-sized print at 300dpi) or even 12MP (displays brilliant on my 4k screen). The "party tricks" or computational photography features as they say - were one reason for me to go for the E-M5-III, but then I found the computational modes either poorly integrated in the user interface (compared to todays smartphone standards) or not working with my non-Olympus lenses or resulting in artefacts which ruined the image. There are also some build quality flaws: the rubber coating on the thumb rest came off. And I do not trust the base plate / tripod mount much: There is only plastic around the mount, which visibly deforms a bit when fixing the EM5-III on a tripod. The weather sealing - well: while I do not shoot cameras in pouring rain, I never paid all to much attention to environmental conditions either and I never had a problem with a camera in 30 years - so I'd say: it is at least as good as any other camera. So overall: I certainly didn't do any wrong going for this camera, it's PRO enough to be an enthusiast's working horse - but don't expect miracles ... as with any other camera.

[@weizenobstmusli8232]

Besides the computational modes, the EM5 Mark 3 is more or less the same camera. Like Em1 Mark 2 and 3. For me personally, the computational modes were worth the upgrade.

[@deanrobertnoble138]

I know they have moved away from the ‘My Sets’ feature but even on my Em10 mkii, i can map presets to either a button or assign them to little used PASM modes on the dial so i can have upto four effective custom modes. Is it possible to do similar on the later models?

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

You can have more custom modes via the screen but only one on the mode dial whereas the em1/2 had three on the dial

[@SimmanGodz]

You'd really take the M5.3 over the M1?

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

@@SimmanGodz if restricted to owning just one camera? Yes

[@SimmanGodz]

@@ThatMicro43Guy Very Interesting! I have an M10.3 that I'm thinking of replacing with the M5.3. It looks like a worthwhile upgrade. Thank you for the excellent videos!

[@gambo47]

PS moved to South Durham 3 years ago so know some of places in your videos.

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

I love Durham, as does the American author Bill Bryson who lived there for many years

[@thegroove2000]

Instead.... maybe upgrade camera skills more importantly as they may not change just because of another camera body. The money saved can go towards locations.

[@russ1231000]

I would have my em1 anyday.

[@thegroove2000]

I literally bought the EM5 mark 1 the other day. IT'S TINY. Got to get the battery grip to beef it up.

[@thegroove2000]

First olympus so testing the waters.

[@thegroove2000]

Not interested in the video side just for photos.

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

@@thegroove2000 beware, I did that once, bought an EM5/1 and ended up selling all of my APSC and FF cameras and buying even more MFT equipment lol

[@genesamit1487]

Enjoy the camera. I don't see the need to buy any other camera.

[@BingoBongoBengo]

Really appreciate this video! Was on the fence but you've swayed me to switch from my compact Canon G7x Mk2 to the world of M43 :D

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

Welcome to the club

[@johnallen3423]

...some good deals for this camera on mpb < £700

[@MrStueyr]

I love this camera (I have one in every colour!) but am a bit surprised when I see the bigger lenses used on it, like this 12-200. To me this negates the point Brian is making about the camera being so small and light. My preferred lenses have become the 3 'new-style' smaller and lighter PROs, the 12-45, 20 1.4 & 40-150 F4. As Olympus used to say, 'Break Free'!!!

[@JornKnuttila]

I have this exact setup and it's my most-carried. This lens has such a great focal range I don't find myself needing to swap whilst out in the field. I have broken free from swapping my glass. ;)

[@lw2978]

I have pretty much the same kit-the EM5Mk3, 12-45 and 40-150 plus accessories fit perfectly in a Lowepro Nova AW II shoulder bag, with a Panasonic 20 1.7 Mk ii for low-light lens duty in a pocket should I need it (it's tiny, 87g/3oz, but just big enough to not fit comfortably in the bag with the other kit!)

[@thierrygraphie5521]

The body is NOT plastic, it's polycarbonate. Polycarbonates are materials for technical use, hard and rigid, difficult to burn, whose main properties are mechanical and dimensional stability with exceptional impact resistance.

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

Really? “Polycarbonates (PC) are a group of thermoplastic polymers containing carbonate groups in their chemical structures” so plastic. Plastic isn’t an insult. When I was in the RAF we still had awful, heavy, uncomfortable steel helmets for warfare, they now have comfortable, lightweight composite helmets which are also far stronger.

[@WhoIsSerafin]

I never ever buy used cameras but have no problem with end of stock it’s new and under full warranty. It has been a fantastic camera I prefer it over the em1 and om1 models. Om5 tempts me for the handheld high resolution shot

[@davey3765]

If your doing events and shooting weddings "making money" and buying M43 then your wasting your money and your not serious. I shoot full frame for the serious stuff and m43 for street stuff. Weddings are not street photography. PERIOD.