Who needs Prime Day when the 5-star OM System OM-5 II travel camera is
already such a great buy?

Date:
Wed, 08 Oct 2025 12:01:00 +0000

Description:
With its rugged build, wide range of lenses and smart computational modes,
the OM System OM-5 II a dream travel camera.

FULL STORY ======================================================================OM System OM-5 II: two-minute review The OM-5 II is an affordable enthusiast camera that can turn its hand to just about any genre of photography. (Image credit: Rod Lawton)

What the OM System OM-5 II lacks in sensor and video specifications it makes up for with photographic features. If you want to go full-frame, or get a
more powerful APS-C hybrid, then go for it; if you need these things, you
need them. But if what you need is a small, affordable and supremely
versatile camera that can follow you anywhere, then this is it.

What do you want to shoot? Landscapes? Nature? If youre okay with 20MP, then the OM-5 II will do perfectly, thanks to its lightweight, hike-friendly size, weather sealing and rock-steady IBIS. Will you need to use any ND filters?
The cameras in-built Live ND can give you up to four stops longer exposures perhaps not always enough, but it helps.

If you're into nature photography, and particularly macro work, you can use the in-built focus-stacking mode to keep your whole subject sharp, or focus bracketing if you want to merge the frames later in software. Is the OM-5
II's high-res mode just a gimmick? I'm not convinced the 50MP handheld mode delivers a lot more detail, but I set this shot up to check the 80MP tripod mode... (Image credit: Rod Lawton) Here's a zoomed-in comparison that shows the 80MP tripod mode (left) does offer significantly more detail than the regular 20MP version (right). (Image credit: Rod Lawton)

Fancy some night photography? Experts will insist you need the low noise of a full-frame sensor, but the OM-5 II does pretty well with a fast prime and its Starry Sky AF. While youre at it, you can use the Live Bulb mode to see long exposures build on the screen in front of your eyes, or use the Live
Composite mode to capture bonfires, fireworks or urban light trails,
recording only new light so that the image isnt overexposed.

What about sports and wildlife? The OM-5 II is not a dedicated action camera, but it does pretty well, shooting at up to 10fps with AF and up to 30fps with focus locked on the first frame. It also has a Pro Capture mode, which offers a rolling buffer of 14 frames with the shutter button half pressed so you
dont miss the moment the action starts. The OM-5 II has a 20MP Micro Four Thirds sensor that's really not far behind the quality of APS-C and
full-frame sensors, and features excellent image stabilization. It's a generation behind the stacked sensors in the OM-1 II and OM-3, though (Image credit: Rod Lawton)

There are limits. The OM-5 II does not have the newer stacked sensor that's
in the OM-3 and OM-1 II, and it uses an older 121-point AF system rather than OM Systems new subject-tracking quad-pixel AF. But at this price somethings got to give, and the OM-5 IIs AF is still quick and effective, and fine for everyday use.

Video isnt a strong point either. The OM-5 II peaks at 4K 30p, and while it can do the slightly wider C4K format, thats only at 24p. You do get Flat, OM-Log400, OM-Cinema1 and OM-Cinema2 profiles, but since this camera shoots only 8-bit video theres a limit to how far youll want to push any color grading later.

Theres one more thing to mention: the OM Art Filters. Fujifilm fans make a huge fuss over Fujifilm Film simulations, but thats nothing. From gritty black-and-white (with borders, if you like!) to super-saturated pop-art to HDR-like dramatic tone effects to vintage, bleach bypass and instant camera looks, OM System Art Filters are a fantastic playground for creative photographers. Yes, you can shoot a raw file at the same time as a backup heck, you can even bracket Art Filter effects to get multiple alternatives
for each image. Can the OM-5 II handle high ISOs? I would probably stop at
ISO 6,400, but you can get good results beyond that, especially with today's AI denoising tools (Image credit: Rod Lawton) Beware of Lightroom's default noise settings for raw files! If you shoot raw you might be dismayed by the noise at ISO 25,600 (right), but the OM-5 II's in-camera JPEGs (left) show
how it should be done (Image credit: Rod Lawton)

The OM-5 II does have limitations of course it does. Youll want to stay away from sky-high ISOs, its AF cant match the latest AI subject-recognition tech in rival cameras, and its video features are basic.

And no, its not a huge advance on the old camera, the OM-5 ; but as I've
said, it doesn't need to be. If you stand back and look at what this camera can do, at this price (unchanged from the Mark I version, by the way), its an absolute pocket rocket, even today. In my book, the OM-5 II is the best affordable travel camera going. OM System OM-5 II: price (Image credit: Rod Lawton)

You can buy the OM-5 II for around $1,199 / 1,099 body-only or $1,599 / 1,499 with the 12-45mm f/4 kit lens. Dont underestimate this lens; its small, portable and offers excellent image quality well beyond the typical kit lens. OM System calls it a Pro lens, and it is. And, like the OM-5 II, the camera
is weather sealed. You can get cheaper starter cameras than this, but none which approach the OM-5 IIs feature set. OM System OM-5 II: specs

Sensor

4/3-inch Live MOS sensor, 20.4MP

Lens mount

Micro Four Thirds

ISO range

200-6,400 (64-25,600 exp)

Autofocus

121-point phase/contrast AF

Burst shooting

6fps mechanical with C-AF, 10fps electronic with C-AF, up to 30fps electronic with S-AF, Pro Capture mode with S-AF

Video

C4K 24p, 4K UHD 30p, FHD up to 120p

EVF

2.36m-dot OLED

Rear screen

3-inch 1.037m-dot vari-angle touchscreen

Storage

1x SD UHS II

Battery

BLS-50, 310 shots

Size (body only)

125.3 x 49.7 x 85.2mm, 418g OM System OM-5 II: design This gives you an idea of just how compact the E-M5 II and 12-45mm lens combo actually is remember, this lens is equivalent to a 24-90mm in full-frame terms (Image credit: Rod Lawton) Reshaped grip for better handling Excellent top-mounted twin control dials Weather sealed (as are OM Pro lenses)

The OM-5 II is a small camera with remarkably good ergonomics. The grip has been reshaped so it handles larger lenses better (just as well, because the old add-on grip no longer fits), and the top-mounted control dials are easy
to reach with your thumb and forefinger and have a precise, quality feel with just the right amount of weight.

This also applies to the main mode dial, which has a central locking button
to prevent accidental adjustments. The buttons are a little less impressive, and seem a bit on the small side for anyone with big hands, but they work fine, and theyre clearly labelled and well spaced. Theres a new CP (computational photography) button on the top to make it easier to access the cameras clever computational features, though you still have to turn a dial
to select the one you want.

Ill admit the button placement here did annoy me. The CP button and the video Record button are just too close together, and too hard to tell apart by touch. Hitting CP instead of Record was endlessly annoying during my video tests. I think the OM-5 II is actually pretty good for casual video work, but the placement of the Record button is annoying, and it's too easy to press
the CP button by mistake. Those twin control dials, however, are superb
(Image credit: Rod Lawton) I'm not a big fan of power switches away from the shutter release, but I do like the drive mode and display mode buttons on the top (Image credit: Rod Lawton)

The OK button on the back activates the cameras Super Control Panel where you can make practically all of your day-to-day settings adjustments, and one of the key improvements in this camera over the old one is the redesigned menu system. That doesnt sound like much of a thing, right? In fact, it transforms the experience of using this camera if youve used the old menus, youll know this was long overdue.

The EVF is not the highest-resolution, but its clear, contrasty and crisp,
and its fine, especially at this price. The vari-angle rear screen is great too and if you have the touch-shutter mode enabled, you can tap to focus and shoot in a single action and the response is practically instantanous.

For its size, this is an exceptionally well designed camera. Yes, if youre
new to it you will have to learn where things are, as with any camera. But once youre past that phase youll find this camera fast and intuitive to operate, with fewer button presses and less lag than many of its rivals. What the OM-5 II lacks in state of the art specs, it makes up for as a pure shooting tool. OM System OM-5 II: performance Only 121 AF points, but fast Excellent detail ISO best kept to 6,400 or below The 12-45mm f/4 kit lens is great for travel photography. This was taken at its 24mm equivalent widest setting (Image credit: Rod Lawton) At the opposite end of the zoom range, the 90mm equivalent focal length gives you a much flatter perspective for tighter cropping and fewer distractions (Image credit: Rod Lawton) The color
rendition is great and there's plenty of detail from this 20MP sensor (Image credit: Rod Lawton)

The OM-5 II is an extremely responsive camera. It starts up fast, it switches between the EVF and the rear screen in a fraction of a second as you move
your eye to and from the viewfinder, and the autofocus is extremely fast too, especially using the tap shutter option on the rear screen. The only respect in which the AF system is starting to show its age is the relatively modest 121 AF points on offer, and the fact that the individual AF boxes/targets are fairly large, though you can swap to a more precise Single-S (small) option.

Detail rendition is excellent with OM Pro lenses like the 12-45mm f/4 pro and OM primes like the 17mm f/1.8, 25mm f/1.8 and (especially) the 45mm f/1.8.
All optical corrections are carried out in-camera, applied automatically, and embedded in the raw files as manufacturer correction profiles. Dynamic range is really good too, though you cant drag up really deep shadows more than 2-3EV before they start to get a little noisy this is where a larger-sensor camera will often do a little better (though not always). The IBIS on this smaller sensor verges on the uncanny. I shot this handheld at 1/2 sec to blur the windblown grasses in the foreground. (Image credit: Rod Lawton)





This was taken handheld with the Computational Photography 4-stop ND option
to slow the shutter speed right down to 1/2 sec. I'm not quite convinced by the movement in the leaves and the grass, but it's great if you don't like carrying filters The OM-5 II's raw files process very nicely, with similar highlight recover to larger sensor cameras, though you might not want to
bring up the shadows quite as far (Image credit: Rod Lawton) What I
especially like about the OM system is the consistent quality of the Pro lenses. With the 12-45mm f/4 you don't have to worry about edge detail or longer focal lengths it's great at every zoom setting and every lens
aperture (Image credit: Rod Lawton)

The maximum standard sensitivity on this camera is ISO 6,400, but it does offer an expanded ISO range up to 25,600 personally Id stick at ISO 6,400.
At this setting the OM-5 II still produces very good results, though if you shoot raw files and use Adobe Camera Raw/Lightroom you might see a little
more noise than you bargained for. Thats Adobes raw engine, not the camera.
Of course, these days you can get some terrific AI noise reduction tools Ive used them on OM camera raw files and the high-ISO image quality is transformed.

As for video, check out the sample below. The conditions were pretty wild,
but the OM-5 II did a great job under the circumstances

If you do use the OM-5 II for video youll get decent results. It wont track you as effectively as some other hybrid cameras as you move around the frame, but if you keep reasonably still you should be fine. The OM-5 II is not designed for video in the same way that many hybrid mirrorless cameras are, but if you typically use video straight from the camera without any fancy grading effects, its fine, especially for social media use. Should you buy
the OM System OM-5 II? Buy it if

You need a go-anywhere camera
The OM-5 II is a rugged, affordable travel camera that can tackle just about anything, from landscapes to travel to night photography View Deal

You're fine with 20MP
Most full-frame alternatives are only 24MP anyway. 20MP is fine for even larger wall art, and for online/social use you'll be downsizing your images anyway. View Deal

You don't want a cotton-wool camera
You don't need to baby the OM-5 II. It will shrug off rain and sea spray, it won't care about dust, and it's inexpensive enough not to make you anxious about it. View Deal Don't buy it if...

Your main interest is sports and wildlife
The OM-5 II's burst mode is nippy enough for casual shooting, but for any serious work you should look for a camera with subject-tracking AF and faster burst speeds. View Deal

You're a serious/pro filmmaker
The OM-5 II shoots decent 4K video with excellent stabilization, but you have to drop to full HD for faster frame rates, and its 8-bit video is not ideal for heavy color grading later. View Deal

You already have an OM-5!
The updates in the Mark II version are useful but probably not enough to make you swap. The OM-5 II is probably aimed more at new users rather than OM-5 upgraders. View Deal How I tested the OM System OM-5 II I tested the camera for two weeks I used it with OM System's 12-45mm f/4 kit lens I shot both stills and video in a variety of conditions (Image credit: Rod Lawton)

Ive owned several Olympus and OM System cameras in the past, so Im very familiar with their strengths and weaknesses and exactly what they're capable of. I spent some time with the OM-5 Mark II, comparing its improved handling and menu system with the original OM-5 which I've also reviewed, and also
with the E-M5 III before that.

I used the OM-5 II and its 12-45mm f/4 kit lens for a variety of projects including landscapes, street/travel shots, and video in wet and wild weather conditions. I wanted to compare the detail rendition with my full-frame cameras, the image quality at higher ISOs, and the effectiveness of the IBIS in order to explore the compromises and advantages of this smaller format. First tested: October 2025 Read more about how we test



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/cameras/mirrorless-cameras/om-system-om-5-ii-review


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