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eunu
158
Dec 14, 2016
I paid full fare when this camera debuted last year, and this drop is a great deal. The camera is dense not only in heft, but features and customizations, too.
With a Panasonic 20mm 1.7 it fits in the pocket of every jacket I've tried, and a pair of cargo shorts when I didn't care how I looked and really wanted to not have to wear a camera bag, though the heft I mentioned made me fully aware I was carrying it around the entire time. Image quality is very good though it will not stand up against full frame bodies with top glass. But since I hated carrying around even enthusiast DSLRs with mid-grade glass, I had to accept the truism that carrying a little camera with petite primes gives better image quality than a pro camera with monster primes left at home. I'd looked at Sony's full frame mirrorless bodies before I bought this, but the lack of weather sealing on the bodies and lenses combined with the lenses being nearly as large as they would be on a DSLR  made Olympus' E-M5 MkII the winner. Choosing Olympus was also helped by the fact that I could buy several Zuiko lenses I wanted for the price of just one or two of the Sony Zeiss lenses I liked.
Nearly every button can be customized, and you can throw a switch and give it another layer. The customizations are a bit daunting--this camera needs a book that details them just so you can find your way back out of the rabbit hole--but I hate the feeling of wanting the camera to do something it won't or can't, and so far I've only had that happen when I wanted to calibrate lens focus.
TL;DR: This is a *lot* of camera for the price. Much easier to pack for travel photography than even an entry-level DSLR with a nifty fifty, and much more accommodating of tweaks. Those tweaks can be intimidating, so I wouldn't buy it for my father even though this is an awesome drop, but I would buy it again had mine broke.
If you get this I recommend picking up the Zuiko Pro 12-40mm 2.8 instead of a kit lens--that way you have a weather-sealed combo with a lot of flexibility, and it's on sale in a few places right now at the cheapest it has ever been.
climbrocks
124
Dec 14, 2016
eunuCouldn't agree with you more. At this price you can spend some dough on the Olympus 12mm f/2.0. What an amazing street shooter! I love this camera. Yes, my Mark III is for my money shots, but this solid little sucker goes everwhere. Alternative to the 12-40 f/2.8 (24-80mm in 135mm format and f/5.6 depth of field equivalence) is the very capable 14-150 f/4-5.6 (28-300! f/8 135mm equivalent) for $200 less, similarly dust and water repellen, and great for travel and street shooting. I have the full line of sub-Pro lenses (except the 17 f/1.8, which I hope to get) and as long as you get the most recent version, they're all great. But I love the 12 f/2.
Amazing deal, I'm tempted to get this as a backup......