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.
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......
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.
Amazing deal, I'm tempted to get this as a backup......