Features & Controls

Here you can see the E-5's body, which is constructed with a rugged, yet light weight magnesium alloy chassis. The body has a comforting size and weight measuring 5.6 inches (142.5mm) by 4.6 inches (116.5mm) by 2.9 inches (74.5mm), and weighing 28.2 ounces (800 grams). This unit's body, built-in flash, terminal covers and LCD are all splash proof and dust proof, making the E-5 a prime candidate for those who often need to take photographs in bad weather conditions. You'll also find splash and dust resistant models of Zuiko Digital lenses that are as tightly sealed as the camera.



Here's we can see the E-5's lens mount. It follows the Four Thirds Specification which defines the standard diagonal length of the 4/3-type image sensor, suitable image circle of lens and an interface between lens and body. This promotes compatibility among camera bodies and lenses regardless of manufacturer. Located around the mount you can see the lens release, flash sync port, infrared remote sensor, DOF preview button, and the AF assist lamp.

The E-5 is equipped with a 12.3-megapixel Live MOS Sensors, which offers image quality comparable to a CCD sensor with the low power requirements of a CMOS type imager. The E-5 also offers in-camera mechanically IS (sensor-shift), and Olympus' Supersonic Wave Filter dust reduction system.



Here we have a bird's eye view of the top of the camera, where you can see various controls, the flash mount, and the data LCD screen (aka Control Panel). One item that appears to be missing is the Mode dial you normally see on a dSLR. Changing the exposure mode is now handled by the mode button on the left hand side and rotating the rear control dial. The flash hotshoe allows you to mount external flash units as well as other optional accessories like a larger microphone for videos, flash sync devices, etc.

Controls on the right grip include:

• the front control dial for changing various settings, depending on the mode being used
• the shutter release
• exposure comp. button
• ISO button (hold with the EV comp. button to reset all settings to factory defaults)
  
• White Balance button
  

On the top left you'll find the Flash button that pops-up the built-in flash unit the flash mode button. Next is the Mode and AF buttons, which allows you to quickly change settings when used in conjunction with the control dials. Hold both buttons to manage the bracketing options.


The E-5 uses a 3.0-inch LCD screen that boasts some appealing features. On top of offering 920k pixels of resolution, this unit can be rotated up to 270 degrees. This adds various framing and viewing options that are just not possible with a fixed display. This meas you can rotate the screen to shoot over, under and around crowds/objects when using the Live View function. It even works great as a monitor to show your subjects the shot that was just taken or for self-portraits. This screen is also used to navigate the menu system, view images, or display the Super Control Panel (shown below).



Controls on the back: At the top left you can see the MENU (brings up the main menu system) and INFO buttons, which brings up the Super Control Panel and controls the amount of information displayed on the LCD during Live View or playback. To the far right is the AF point selection and Fn buttons. The AF point selection button also acts as the movie mode shutter release. Along the left side of the OVF is the AEL/AFL (Protect in playback) button and the rear control dial, which also controls the Index and Magnify options in playback mode. Underneath is the Monitor button, which controls the LCD screen and toggles the Live View shooting mode. To the left of the LCD you can see the PLAY button, Arrow Pad/4-way controller, Delete and power On/Off switch.



 Here you can see the Super Control Panel display. This very useful info display/shortcut menu keeps you informed of current camera settings as well as allows you to quickly change them. To display this screen, you press the INFO button located on the back of the camera (see above). To change a setting, you can use the 4-way arrow buttons or the Control Dials. You can also press the OK button and then use the arrow keys to select just about any item shown on the LCD and change it with the dial.

On the front left hand side of the E-5 you will see the flash sync port as well as an infrared remote sensor, allowing you to easily incorporate a wireless remote with the camera (like the RM-1 shown below).

The E-5 can be remotely operated with the optional RM-1 wireless infrared controller. The maximum range is approximately 15 feet indoors and 9 feet outdoors (in front, within 15° of center of the camera).

Images are stored on any size Compact flash I or II type memory cards (UDMA compliant) as well as SD, SDHC, and SDXC type media. Shown above you can see our 4GB Sandisk Extreme Ducati Edition DF2 card and a 4GB Sandisk Extreme (Class 10) SDHC card.








Here you can see the I/O ports on the E-5. At the top is the Mic port for connecting an external microphone for higher quality audio in Movie mode. Next is the mini HDMI port as well as the USB port for connecting the E-5 to your PC/Mac to transfer files, or direct printing from the camera using a PictBridge compliant printer.

At the bottom you can see the standard AV out port, which allows you to output standard definition video to a TV set with the supplied RCA cables.

















The E-5 is powered the BLM-5 Li-Ion battery pack, which is charged in the included AC charger. On a single charge, Olympus claims that this battery is capable of powering the E-5 for up to 870 images using the optical viewfinder (CIPA standard testing with flash 50% of the time). The external charger makes it easy to charge batteries and keep a spare charged at all times.

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