As before, the new Olympus PEN Lite E-PL5 is smaller than the Olympus PEN, but bigger than the Olympus PEN Mini E-PM2. The compact system camera also accepts interchangeable grips that are fixed onto the body by a chunky screw, and boasts a touchscreen.
We weren’t able to examine the shots we took on the pre-production sample of the Olympus PEN Lite E-PL5 that we got access to a few weeks before its official announcement, but since it has the same 16.1MP sensor and TruePic VI image processor as the Olympus OM-D, the prognosis is good.
The image quality from the Olympus OM-D has impressed many photographers, and the possibility of getting the same results from a more affordable camera is an enticing option.
Like the Olympus PEN Lite E-PL3 that it replaces, the Olympus PEN Lite E-PL5 has a tilting screen, but this 3-inch device is now touch-sensitive. The touch sensitivity doesn’t extend to making menu selections, but it functions with the Live Guide that helps novices make settings adjustments and the Art Filter options.
In addition to the grip, the tilting screen is the main difference between the PEN Lite E-PL5 and the PEN Mini E-PM2, which has a fixed touchscreen.
As the screen tilts almost right up, it is possible to use it when composing self-portraits, and the image flips over so it looks correct as you face the camera.
The bottom section of the screen is obscured by the top of the camera, but Olympus says that this compromise was made to enable the screen to also be tilted down for better viewing from below when shooting overhead. We’re not convinced by this argument as Sony seems to have managed it.
There’s also a helpful self-timer that can be customised to take a sequence of up to 10 shots with different time intervals between them.
Autofocus
Although the AF point can be selected in the usual way using physical buttons, it can also be set with a touch of a finger on the screen. There’s also a Touch Shutter mode that sets the camera to focus on the point selected on the screen and fires the shutter as soon as the subject is sharp. These modes are selected by touching an on-screen icon and toggling through the options.
As with the Olympus PEN E-P3, the size of the AF points can be reduced to make it easier to select a small target, but the newer cameras enable this to be done however the AF point is selected, not just when the touchscreen is used.
According to Olympus’s Akira Watanabe, one of the key aims for mirrorless camera manufacturers is to increase autofocus speed and reliability, especially when focusing continuously on moving subjects. Olympus claims that it has the fastest AF system around, and that the PEN Lite E-PL5 and PEN Mini E-PM2 can focus a lens in 0.1 seconds.
It certainly seemed quick when we used preproduction samples of the cameras, but we are looking forward to using them in more challenging conditions, to write our full reviews of each CSC.
Low light usually causes contrast detection systems such as the one in the Olympus PEN Lite E-PL5 to slow down and become more indecisive, so we will be testing its performance in a range of lighting conditions.
Watanabe says that contrast detection AF systems improve with the camera sensor’s ability to control noise. Since the sensor and processor combination in the Olympus PEN Lite E-PL5 is claimed to give a ‘1-stop’ improvement in noise levels, we can expect the new camera’s focusing system to be more proficient than the E-PL3‘s that it replaces.
Creative options
Both the Olympus PEN Lite E-PL5 and Olympus PEN Mini E-PM2 have an HDR bracket mode that enables up to five frames to be captured across a range that covers 12EV.
There’s also the clever Live Bulb mode that was first seen with the Olympus OM-D (but called Live Time) and shows the image building up during long exposures. Rather than guessing or calculating the exposure duration, you simply close the shutter when the image looks OK on the screen.
In addition, the Olympus PEN Lite E-PL5 has 12 Art Filters, adding the new Water Colour effect to the list found on the Olympus OM-D. Olympus is well known for its wide array of art filters, and has added some new functionality.
As before, the Art Filters can be used in P, A, S, M modes, enabling creative control over parameters such as aperture to be retained. Images can also be captured in both raw and JPEG format, enabling the filter to be removed (or even swapped for another one) in the post-capture editing stage.
Some of the filter effects will not be to everyone’s taste – we weren’t especially keen on the new Water Colour filter’s results, for example, but we like the Cross Process and Dramatic Tone options that were seen before on the Olympus OM-D.
Although the Olympus PEN Lite E-PL5 doesn’t have Wi-Fi technology built in, it is compatible with Toshiba’s new FlashAir SDHC cards, which creates a wireless network that smartphones can connect to. Provided the appropriate app is installed on the smartphone, images (full or reduced resolution) can be transferred to the phone and shared via the internet using the phone’s 3G or Wi-Fi connection.
While the FlashAir card can also be used in older PEN cameras and the OM-D, only the new Olympus PEN Lite E-PL5 and Olympus PEN Mini E-PM2 provide some control over the transfer process. At the time of our meeting with Olympus, it hadn’t been decided if the cameras will come with the card or not. However, the cards are available for sale.
Early verdict
The Olympus PEN Lite E-PL5’s interchangeable grips are an option we have seen before with the Olympus PEN, and its a great idea that enables you to find the grip that suits you. This, and the tilting LCD screen, makes the Olympus PEN Lite E-PL5 a more versatile camera.
While we have yet to examine images from the new Olympus PEN Lite E-PL5, we can be fairly confident that it will deliver decent results, given the Olympus OM-D origin of its sensor and image processor.
This camera’s raw files (after conversion to TIFF) are able to trump those from the Fuji X-Pro1, Panasonic Lumix GX1, Sony NEX-7 and Olympus E-P3 for dynamic range and signal to noise ratio.
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