Olympus E-PL5 PEN Lite camera

introduction

an Olympus PEN compact camera with interchangeable lenses which is part of the brilliant and versatile Micro Four Thirds system
introduced in late 2012 along with the cheaper, smaller, E-PM2 Mini, it is an upgrade of the Olympus E-PL3 and uses the same sensor and thus offers the same fantastic image quality as the Olympus OM-D E-M5 camera and Olympus E-P5 PEN (EP5/EP-5)
a very nice compact camera for travel, social photography and street photography
user interface is not great for enthusiasts wanting to take control of the camera fully themselves – this is particularly the case with the E-PM2 while the E-PL5 has the additional function button and drive mode dial, but at least both have the nice Super Control Panel which allows functions to be accessible via the touch screen

16mp 4:3 sensor
in-camera sensor-based image stabiliser although not quite as good as the 5-axis IS in the Olympus OM-D E-M5 camera
no built-in EVF but optional EVF via hot shoe
new Olympus ART filters eg. “watercolour”
ART filter can be changed DURING movies and the change will be introduced gradually
touch screen now allows smaller AF regions than is possible in the E-M5
the same super fast AF as with the E-M5
remote TTL flash capable
flash sync 1/250th sec when used with the latest flashes (eg. Olympus FL600R)
burst rate 8fps without continuous AF or IS, or 3.5fps with AF
reasonably good 20Mbps 1080i HD video (supported by the IS) with stereo mics and a new Movie Teleconverter capability
support for Toshiba’s FlashAir WiFi-capable flash cards and an Android or iOS app will allow sharing of photos via smartphone
timed long exposures of up to 60secs – very few cameras have this feature which is nice for photographing stars
new Lens IS priority option which allows you to automatically disable the sensor-based IS if a Panasonic lens with OIS is being used
optional front grip for the E-PL5 is a nice touch