Olympus OM-D E-M1 vs Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II — Which Is Better?

The Olympus OM-D E-M1 (2013) and Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II (2015) are both Micro Four Thirds mirrorless cameras, so any lenses and accessories you already own for the system work on either body. Their CMOS sensors run 16.3 and 16.1 megapixels on the same TruePic VII processor, a 0.2 megapixel difference in pixel count.

The practical split is physical. The E-M5 Mark II measures 124 x 85 x 45 mm and weighs 469 g, against 130 x 94 x 63 mm and 497 g for the E-M1, so the 2015 body is the more compact carry for travel and everyday shooting.

For stills, the core specifications match: both shoot at 10 fps, offer 81 autofocus points, and set the same 1/8000 second top shutter speed and 200 to 25600 ISO range. Resolution is 16.3 megapixels for the E-M1 against 16.1 for the E-M5 Mark II, a 0.2 megapixel difference in pixel count.

Both offer in-body stabilisation, so any Micro Four Thirds lens gains stabilisation on either body for handheld low-light work. The 2,360,000-dot electronic viewfinder is shared too, giving both the same preview resolution for checking focus and exposure.

The Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II is the clear choice for video, capturing Full HD at up to 60 fps where the E-M1 stops at 30 fps. That doubles the slow-motion latitude: footage of running water, sports or children plays back at half speed.

Beyond frame rate, the video specification is shared. Both cap recording at Full HD and both offer built-in timelapse, so neither unlocks a higher output resolution or an interval mode the other lacks.

Weather sealing on both bodies lets you keep shooting in damp or dusty conditions. Both offer a 3-inch, 1,037,000-dot touch LCD that flips out for waist-level and tripod work, plus Wi-Fi for transferring images to a phone.

The practical extras match as well. Neither body includes a built-in flash or GPS, and both support external flash units, so flash comes from an external unit on either body and neither offers built-in geotagging.

For a long event day, the Olympus OM-D E-M1 has the rated endurance advantage: 350 shots per charge against 310 for the E-M5 Mark II, a 40-shot lead under the same rating conditions.

Storage matches. Both take SD, SDHC and SDXC cards in a single slot, both use the BLN-1 battery, and neither charges over USB, so existing E-M1 batteries power the E-M5 Mark II too.