Olympus PEN E-PL5

The PEN E-PL5 is a small mirrorless camera from 2012. It weighs 325g and measures just 111 x 64 x 38mm, so it slips into a bag or a large pocket and stays there without becoming a burden.

Its Micro Four Thirds mount lets you swap lenses to suit the day, from casual walkaround shooting to more deliberate projects. In-body stabilisation helps when you work handheld as the light fades.

You frame everything on the 3-inch touch screen, because there is no viewfinder. That keeps the body compact, though composing on a screen alone takes some adjustment. There is no built-in flash either, but the camera accepts external flash units.

The 16.1-megapixel Micro Four Thirds CMOS sensor works alongside the TruePic VI processor. The optics assessment is modest at 55, and the camera sits around the middle of cameras in our database for Optics.

In-body stabilisation is the standout feature. It reduces camera shake with any lens you mount, which helps handheld shooting at slower shutter speeds. It does nothing for subject movement, so fast action still calls for fast shutter speeds.

Burst shooting is quoted at up to 8 fps, a maximum figure rather than a promise of sustained speed. Autofocus offers 35 points, so focus placement has multiple options.

There are practical limits. The base ISO of 200 and the 1/4000s maximum shutter speed can make wide apertures harder to use in strong light, and with no viewfinder you compose on the rear screen alone.

Video is a modest capability on this 2012 mirrorless body, and the score of 43 reflects that. Full HD is the highest resolution the camera records, and 30 fps is the fastest frame rate it supports for video. These are separate maximums for resolution and frame rate.

Clips record in MOV or AVI file formats. The flip-out touch screen helps with framing while you film, and live view keeps the scene visible on the rear display throughout recording.

There is no built-in timelapse mode, a further limitation reflected in the video score, so interval projects need manual shooting or external triggering. For occasional video work alongside stills, this remains a workable package.

Handling centres on the 3-inch LCD. It is a touchscreen, so you can operate settings by touch, and live view gives you a preview of exposure and colour before you shoot.

The screen also flips, which helps when you shoot low to the ground, high overhead, or at arm's length. Its 460,000-dot resolution is serviceable for framing and playback rather than pin sharp.

Flash is external only. There is no built-in unit, so for indoor low-light work you can mount a flash or raise the ISO, which stretches to 25600 when needed.

Connectivity is minimal. No Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or GPS means images leave the camera by card, and the body lacks weather sealing, so keep it out of the rain. Missing weather sealing and Bluetooth contribute to the modest features score of 49.

This is the camera's weakest area, with a limited score of 21. There is a single card slot that takes SD, SDHC and SDXC cards, so you carry one card and plan its capacity around the day's shooting.

The BLS-5 battery is rated at 360 shots per charge. Treat that as a guideline rather than a promise, since shooting conditions vary, and heavy days may call for a charged spare battery.

There is no USB charging, so batteries recharge in an external charger rather than from a laptop or power bank. Owning a second battery and rotating them is the practical routine.