OM-D E-M10 MK 2 or USED E-M5?!?!

[welshminer]

Hey guys,


I am currently looking to purchase the E-M10 MK 2 with triple lens kit which includes the lovely 45mm f/1.8 for $1,200 Australian. However, I have come across a used E-M5 in mint condition which includes the panny 20mm f/1.7, the Oly 12-50mm F3.5-6.3 weather sealed lens, spare batteries and an extra charger for $650 Australian.


I am a novice and have been teaching myself a lot about photography over the last few months in anticipation of purchasing a more complex system. I want to use the camera for my travels and am a fan of the outdoors. I will be learning how to use both cameras from scratch and have never owned a sophisticated system.


Any recommendations would be most welcome.

[ameerat42]

Hi. I'd say it depends on how confident you feel. On the other hand, you could weigh up $650 of risk and decide from there.
How much can you ascertain the "mint condition", as seen, or as described?

I know they're (somewhat) different cameras, and have you done a comparison of the two to help you decide.
Here are two links to DPReview:

EM10-Mk2 (and handy comparison table) http://www.dpreview.com/articles/4887393042/bang-for-the-buck-olympus-om-d-e-m10-ii-review

EM-5: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/olympusem5

I note that the EM10 is not weather sealed, wheras the EM5-11 (dunno about mk-1) is weather sealed.

[ricktas]

The other thing as well as what Am says above, is that the location of this second hand gear and where/how it has been stored. If it has lived in the north of Australia, there is also the chance the lens could have fungus, which if it does, will make it useless. Basically anywhere it could be hot and damp and not stored correctly.

[bconolly]

Am and Rick have covered a lot of the key questions. The em-5 is a nice little camera, weather sealed etc. personally for me though the grip on both it and the em-10 didn't feel right in my hand which is why I went with the em-1. The point is, it would help to hold both and check 'em out in person if you haven't.

How important is the weather sealing? Video? Probably need a little more info to guide more. Notably the em-10 is aimed at people taking the next step in their photography so it is a slightly simpler camera in terms of dials and switches. I don't think anyone's every accused Olympus of having a simple menu system ;-)

Anyhow, sing out if we can help more or what you end up deciding!

Brenden


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[swifty]

Just some thoughts for your consideration.

Whilst I haven't used the E-M10 mk II before, as have been pointed out pretty much the only real disadvantage is the lack of weather sealing. That may or may not be a deal breaker for you. The ibis in the 10 mark II has been upgraded to at least equal of the 5 mk I.

I would probably lean towards the 10 mk II triple lens kit for peace of mind and the excellent 45/1.8. If you're traveling you can also claim back some GST.

The 12-50 kit lens on the 5 mk I is fairly ordinary. I don't know how it compares to the kit zooms that's available on the 10 mk II however. But in the least you'd have a larger zoom range to play with with the dual kit zooms.

The 20/1.7 is a nice lens but be aware of possible banding issues on the 5 mk I. There are mixed reports as to the severity of the problem ranging from never experienced it at all to occasionally noticeable as low as ISO 800 under some lighting conditions. Not a deal breaker for me but just something to be aware of. I don't know if this issue exists on the newer 10 mk II body.

If you shoot RAW, consider the image quality essentially equal. If you shoot JPEG you'd need to play with the settings a little but the 10 mk II should be an improvement on the 5 mk I.

Finally I would highly recommend you factor in the cost of an extra battery or 2 on these mirrorless bodies.

Hope that helps.

[welshminer]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I have decided to go with the new E-M10 II. Looking forward to getting my hands on it and getting some shooting done. It was a tougher decision to decide between the OM-D and the Fuji X-T10 though.

Thanks again as I had never delved into the used camera market before.

[ricktas]

Enjoy your new gear, now comes the fun part, learning how to work it, and learning how you can take better photos. See your photos on the forums soon, the CC (constructive critique) you get on them will help you improve.