Olympus E-P5 Exposure

Saturation & Hue Accuracy
Bright colors with very good hue accuracy.

Saturation. The Olympus E-P5 pushes reds by a fair amount and a few other colors by a small amount, but most colors are pretty close to ideal in terms of saturation. Default saturation at base ISO is 108.8% (8.8% oversaturated), which is just a bit lower than average but still brighter than actual. Saturation remains fairly stable across the ISO range, except at ISO 25,600 where it falls off noticeably. Most consumer digital cameras produce color that's more highly saturated (more intense) than what's found in the original subjects. This is simply because most people like their color a bit brighter than life.

Skin tones. Here, the Olympus E-P5 did fairly well, producing natural-looking Caucasian skin tones, just slightly on the warm side. Where oversaturation is most problematic is on Caucasian skin tones, as it's very easy for these "memory colors" to be seen as too bright, too pink, too yellow, etc.

Hue. The Olympus PEN E-P5 does shift cyan toward blue, light green toward yellow, and oranges toward yellow, but shifts are fairly minor. (The shift from cyan to blue is much less pronounced than most cameras, leaving sunny sky colors a little warmer than most.) Overall hue accuracy is very good with a Delta-C color error after correction for saturation of 3.82 at base ISO, which is much better than average. Hue accuracy remains better than average all the way up to ISO 6,400, which is quite good. Hue is "what color" the color is.

Saturation Adjustment
The Olympus E-P5 lets you adjust the image saturation, contrast, and sharpness in five steps each. As can be seen below, the saturation adjustment is effective, covers a useful range, and does a good job of not impacting contrast.

The table above shows results with the default as well as the two extreme saturation settings. Click on any thumbnail above, then click again to see the full-sized image.

Exposure and White Balance

Indoors, incandescent lighting
Cool color casts with Auto and 2,600K white balance settings, warm with Incandescent, but good color with Manual. Average exposure compensation required.

Indoors, under normal incandescent lighting, color balance was cool with the Auto white balance setting, with a magenta cast. Results with the Incandescent setting were a little warm, but not too bad, while the 2,600 Kelvin setting was quite cool with an obvious blue-green tint. The Manual setting was the most accurate, providing a fairly neutral color balance with just a slight yellowish bias. The Olympus E-P5 required an average amount of positive exposure compensation here, at +0.3 EV. (Our test lighting for this shot is a mixture of 60 and 100 watt household incandescent bulbs, a pretty yellow light source, but a very common one in typical home settings here in the U.S.)

Outdoors, daylight
Natural looking colors overall, with good exposure.

Outdoors, the Olympus E-P5 performed very well, with pleasing colors and good exposure. Skintones are good but slightly warm with the Auto white balance setting in our "Sunlit" Portrait shot, and Manual white balance produced very similar results. The Olympus E-P5 required an average amount of positive exposure compensation (+0.7 EV) to keep facial tones reasonably bright. Default contrast is a bit high, but despite the bright appearance there are very few blown highlights in the mannequin's shirt and flowers, which is much better than average. The Far-field shot has good exposure at default settings and almost no blown highlights, though there are some deep shadows. Noise in all but the deepest shadows is however very low for a Micro Four Thirds camera. (Note that these shots were taken at ISO 200 as ISO 100 is an extended setting with inferior dynamic range.)

See full set of test images with explanations
See thumbnails of all test and gallery images

Resolution
Very high resolution, ~2,300 to 2,400 lines of strong detail in JPEGs, about the same from processed raw files.

In-camera JPEGs of our laboratory resolution chart reveals sharp, distinct line patterns down to about 2,400 lines per picture height in the horizontal direction, and a little less at 2,300 lines in the vertical direction before aliasing artifacts start to interfere with the pattern. Complete extinction of the pattern doesn't occur until about 3,000 to 3,200 lines, though. Adobe Camera Raw wasn't able to extract more high-contrast detail here, though color moiré is more apparent near the limits of resolution. Use these numbers to compare with other cameras of similar resolution, or use them to see just what higher resolution can mean in terms of potential detail.

See full set of test images with explanations
See thumbnails of all test and gallery images

Sharpness & Detail
Very good sharpness and detail overall, though edge-enhancement artifacts on high-contrast subjects are visible. Mild noise suppression visible in the shadows.

Sharpness. The Olympus PEN E-P5 captures sharp images overall, though as is usually the case, edge enhancement artifacts are visible on high-contrast subjects such as sharpening halos around the thicker branches and pine cones in the crop above left. Still, results are pretty good as we've seen similar or even higher default sharpening from other cameras including its more expensive sibling, the E-M5. Edge enhancement creates the illusion of sharpness by enhancing colors and tones right at the edge of a rapid transition in color or tone.

Detail. The crop above right shows some fairly mild noise suppression artifacts in the darkest areas of the model's hair as base ISO, smudging individual strands together when contrast between them is low, though quite a few individual strands remain visible. Overall detail is very good for a 16-megapixel Micro Four Thirds model, though there are some demosaicing errors and aliasing artifacts visible in the hair, indicating that the E-P5's low pass filter is fairly weak. Noise-suppression systems in digital cameras tend to flatten-out detail in areas of subtle contrast. The effects can often be seen in shots of human hair, where the individual strands are lost and an almost "watercolor" look appears.

RAW vs In-Camera JPEGs
As noted above, the Olympus E-P5 produces sharp, detailed in-camera JPEGs, though with some visible sharpening artifacts at default settings. As is almost always the case, though, more detail can be obtained from carefully processing RAW files than can be seen in the in-camera JPEGs, with fewer sharpening artifacts. Take a look below, to see what we mean:

In the table above, mousing over a link at the bottom will load the corresponding crop in the area above, and clicking on the link will load the full resolution image. The Super Fine camera JPEG and Olympus [ib] conversion used default settings, while Adobe Camera Raw conversion was sharpened in Photoshop using unsharp mask of 300% with a radius of 0.3.

As you can see, the Olympus [ib] conversion resulted in an image very similar to the in-camera JPEG in terms of detail, color and contrast. The Adobe Camera Raw (version 8.1) conversion however contains fine detail superior to the camera's Super Fine JPEG or the Olympus software conversion at default settings, especially noticeable in the pine needles, though it does leave behind a bit more noise. The Adobe conversion also shows less obvious sharpening halos, and warmer colors. Like previous Olympus PEN cameras, the E-P5 rewards RAW shooters with even better detail when using a good quality converter.

ISO & Noise Performance
Very good noise versus detail up to ISO 1,600.

The Olympus E-P5's high ISO performance is nearly identical to the well-regarded E-M5's. Images are quite clean and detailed at ISOs 100 though 800, though some minor chroma noise is visible in the shadows. At ISO 1,600, we see some minor detail loss due to stronger noise and noise reduction efforts, as well as more visible chroma noise in the shadows, but fine detail is still very strong. At ISO 3,200, additional blurring occurs reducing fine detail, though chroma noise is better controlled. ISO 6,400 shows a lot more luminance noise, as well as another decrease in fine detail. ISO 12,800 is very noisy, with strong yellow blotching in the shadows. At ISO 25,600, noise and noise reduction is intense, smudging out almost all fine detail, and a lot of blue, purple, and reddish chroma noise is present as well.

Overall, though, high ISO noise performance matches the best we've seen from a Micro Four Thirds model thus far, but some APS-C models continue to do a little better at higher ISOs. As always, see the Print Quality section below for maximum recommended print sizes at each ISO.

A note about focus for this shot: We shoot this image at f/4, using one of three very sharp reference lenses (70mm Sigma f/2.8 macro for most cameras, 60mm f/2.8 Nikkor macro for Nikon bodies without a drive motor, and Olympus Zuiko 50mm f/2.0 for Four Thirds and Micro Four Thirds bodies). To insure that the hair detail we use for making critical judgements about camera noise processing and detail rendering is in sharp focus at the relatively wide aperture we're shooting at, the focus target at the center of the scene is on a movable stand. This lets us compensate for front- or back-focus by different camera bodies, even those that lack micro-focus adjustments. This does mean, though, that the focus target itself may appear soft or slightly out of focus for bodies that front- or back-focused with the reference lens. If you click to view the full-size image for one of these shots and notice that the focus target is fuzzy, you don't need to email and tell us about it; we already know it. :-) The focus target position will simply have been adjusted to insure that the rest of the scene is focused properly.

Extremes: Sunlit, dynamic range and low light tests
High resolution with very good dynamic range. Good low-light performance as well.

Sunlight. The Olympus E-P5 did very well with this difficult shot, requiring the average amount of exposure compensation (+0.7 EV) to keep the mannequin's face reasonably bright in this harsh lighting. As mentioned previously, despite the bright appearance of the mannequin's shirt, dynamic range was surprisingly good, with very few highlights blown and very good detail in the shadows as well. Performance here was well above average compared to previous generation Micro Four Thirds models.

Because digital cameras are more like slide film than negative film (in that they tend to have a more limited tonal range), we test them in the harshest situations to see how they handle scenes with bright highlights and dark shadows, as well as what kind of sensitivity they have in low light. The shot above is designed to mimic the very harsh, contrasty effect of direct noonday sunlight, a very tough challenge for most digital cameras. (You can read details of this test here. In actual shooting conditions, be sure to use fill flash in situations like the one shown here; it's better to shoot in open shade whenever possible.)

Dynamic Range Analysis
A key parameter in a digital camera is its Dynamic Range, the range of brightness that can be faithfully recorded. At the upper end of the tonal scale, dynamic range is dictated by the point at which the RGB data "saturates" at values of 255, 255, 255. At the lower end of the tonal scale, dynamic range is determined by the point at which there ceases to be any useful difference between adjacent tonal steps. Note the use of the qualifier "useful" in there: While it's tempting to evaluate dynamic range as the maximum number of tonal steps that can be discerned at all, that measure of dynamic range has very little relevance to real-world photography. What we care about as photographers is how much detail we can pull out of the shadows before image noise becomes too objectionable. This, of course, is a very subjective matter, and will vary with the application and even the subject matter in question. (Noise will be much more visible in subjects with large areas of flat tints and subtle shading than it would in subjects with strong, highly contrasting surface texture.)

What makes most sense then, is to specify useful dynamic range in terms of the point at which image noise reaches some agreed-upon threshold. To this end, Imatest computes a number of different dynamic range measurements, based on a variety of image noise thresholds. The noise thresholds are specified in terms of f-stops of equivalent luminance variation in the final image file, and dynamic range is computed for noise thresholds of 1.0 (low image quality), 0.5 (medium image quality), 0.25 (medium-high image quality) and 0.1 (high image quality). For most photographers and most applications, the noise thresholds of 0.5 and 0.25 f-stops are probably the most relevant to the production of acceptable-quality finished images, but many noise-sensitive shooters will insist on the 0.1 f-stop limit for their most critical work.

JPEG. The graph at right (click for a larger version) was generated using Imatest's dynamic range analysis for an in-camera Olympus E-P5 JPEG file with a nominally-exposed density step target (Stouffer 4110). At the base ISO of 200 (the optimal ISO) and with default settings, the graph shows 12.4 f-stops of total dynamic range, with 8.79 f-stops at the "High" Quality level. Roll-off at the highlight end of the curve is gradual, but for shadows it isn't quite as well-behaved, which could lead to some minor gradation in very deep shadows. Still, these are are excellent results for a Micro Four Thirds sensor, rivaling many APS-C models. Compared to the Olympus E-M5 which uses the identical sensor as far as we know, the E-P5 scored pretty much the same at all quality levels, though total dynamic range is actually a full stop better at 12.4 vs 11.4 f-stops, likely due to tweaked JPEG processing. Note though that this measurement has a margin of error of about 1/3 f-stop, so differences of less than 0.33 can be ignored.

RAW. The graph at right is from the same Stouffer 4110 stepchart image captured as a raw (.ORF) file, processed with Adobe Camera Raw using the Auto setting which produced optimal results. As can be seen, the score at the highest quality level increased from 8.79 to 9.42 f-stops, while total dynamic range increased about 0.8 f-stop from 12.4 to 13.2. Again, these results are much better than average for a Micro Four Thirds sensor, slightly better than the E-M5, though not quite as good as the best APS-C sensors. It's worth noting here is that ACR's default noise reduction settings reduced overall noise somewhat (see the plot in the lower left-hand corner) relative to the levels in the in-camera JPEG, which would tend to boost the dynamic range numbers for the higher quality thresholds.

Contrast Adjustment
The camera's contrast adjustment was some help in handling the harsh lighting in our "Sunlit" Portrait and Far-field shots.

At its lowest contrast setting, the Olympus E-P5 did a better job of revealing shadow and highlight detail, while maintaining fairly natural-looking skintones in our "Sunlit" Portrait shot.

The shots above show the results of the minimum, default and maximum contrast settings. While you can see the extremes, it's pretty hard to evaluate small differences in contrast on small thumbnails like these, click on any thumbnail to go to the full-size image.  As you can see, the E-P5's contrast setting is effective on both highlights and shadows, and didn't impact saturation much, which is a good thing.

Gradation
Similar to dynamic range optimization systems from other manufacturers, the Olympus E-P5's Gradation setting applies local contrast adjustments in an attempt to preserve shadow detail and prevent highlight clipping with the Auto setting. Above are examples of the Normal (default), Low Key, Auto, and High Key settings applied to our "Sunlit" Portrait shot with +0.3 EV exposure compensation. Mouse over the links to load the associated thumbnail and histogram, and click on the links to visit the full resolution image.

As you can see, the Low Key setting applies Gradation for making subjects darker (in the thumbnail and histogram above, you can see that the camera shifted levels to the left, darkening the image dramatically), while the High Key setting does the opposite for brighter subjects (shifting levels to the right so that lighter tones are blown, but darker ones are opened up). The Auto setting did a good job toning down highlights while boosting shadows and darker midtones without making the image too flat-looking or washed-out.

Face Detection
Like most cameras these days, the Olympus E-P5 has the ability to detect faces, and adjust exposure and focus accordingly. The E-P5 does it automatically in iAuto mode, when a Portrait scene mode is selected, or when Face Detection AF mode is selected. As you can see from the examples above, it works well, as the center image with face detection enabled is much better exposed for the face without having to use exposure compensation. The Full Auto setting worked even better by choosing a larger aperture (f/2) and applying Auto Gradation to reduce strong shadows and highlights. An excellent performance under very difficult lighting such as this.

Because digital cameras are more like slide film than negative film (in that they tend to have a more limited tonal range), we test them in the harshest situations to see how they handle scenes with bright highlights and dark shadows, as well as what kind of sensitivity they have in low light. The shot above is designed to mimic the very harsh, contrasty effect of direct noonday sunlight, a very tough challenge for most digital cameras. (You can read details of this test here.)

Low Light. The Olympus E-P5 performed well in low lighting, capturing bright exposures at our lowest light level at all ISOs. Noise was well controlled up to ISO 3,200, though there's some chroma noise noticeable in darker shadows at lower light levels. We spotted a few bright or hot pixels here and there at all ISOs but mostly when long exposure noise reduction was disabled, so that's nothing out of the ordinary. (And the E-P5 does offer pixel mapping, so hot/dead pixels can be mapped out without a trip to a service center.) We didn't notice any significant issues with banding or heat blooming either.

White balance was fairly neutral using the Auto setting, just slightly cool at most ISOs, though blacks and dark greys took on a slightly reddish tint at lower light levels.

The camera's autofocus system was able to focus on our subject down to the 1/8 foot-candle light level unassisted with an f/2.8 lens, which is good for a camera using contrast-detect autofocus, and in total darkness with the aid of its focus assist lamp. With the 17mm f/1.8 kit lens, the E-P5 was able to focus down to 1/16 foot-candle unassisted, which is the lowest light level we test.

How bright is this? The one foot-candle light level that this test begins at roughly corresponds to the brightness of typical city street-lighting at night. Cameras performing well at that level should be able to snap good-looking photos of street-lit scenes.

NOTE: This low light test is conducted with a stationary subject, and the camera mounted on a sturdy tripod. Most digital cameras will fail miserably when faced with a moving subject in dim lighting. (For example, a child's ballet recital or a holiday pageant in a gymnasium.) Thanks to their phase-detect AF systems, digital SLRs tend to do much better than point & shoots, but you still shouldn't expect a quick autofocus lock with moving subjects. The E-P5 uses contrast-detect autofocus, as is found in most point & shoot cameras, so its low-light focusing ability is less than that of most SLRs with phase-detect systems. That said, though, the larger, more sensitive pixels of the E-P5's sensor do better under dim lighting than do the tiny pixels of most point & shoots, (A useful trick is to just prop the camera on a convenient surface, and use its self-timer to release the shutter. This avoids any jiggling from your finger pressing the shutter button, and can work quite well when you don't have a tripod handy.)

Print Quality

Terrific 24 x 36 inch prints at ISO 200/400; a nice 11 x 14 at ISO 3200; and a good 5 x 7 at ISO 12,800.

ISO 200 prints are very nice at 24 x 36 inches, with rich, vibrant colors and wonderful depth and detail. Wall display prints look very nice even at a whopping 36 x 48 inches.

ISO 400 makes a great 24 x 36 as well, with wall display prints possible at 30 x 40 inches.

ISO 800 yields a nice 20 x 30 inch print. There is a bit of typical softening in some red areas as well as minor noise in shadowy areas, but still a nice print.

ISO 1600 produces a good 16 x 20, with similar issues as mentioned with the 20 x 30 at ISO 800.

ISO 3200 prints a good 11 x 14. 13 x 19s here are okay for less critical applications, but are somewhat more noisy in certain areas than what we like to call "good."

ISO 6400 produces a nice 8 x 10 for this ISO. It is beginning to lose low-contrast detail in our tricky red swatch, as most cameras do here, and has some apparent noise in shadowy areas, but still a solid print.

ISO 12,800 prints a good 5 x 7 for this ISO, with colors still popping very nicely.

ISO 25,600 almost makes a good 4 x 6. Some loss in color fidelity and a bit too much grain in some areas prevents us from calling it "good", but for certain situations you can still get a decent print here. Best however to stay at ISO 12,800 and below to be safe for printing.

The Olympus E-P5 stacks up nicely against competitors in this price range in the image quality department, including matching strides with its highly touted cousin the OM-D E-M5 across most of the ISO range. At low ISOs it makes wonderful prints at large sizes, and holds its own up to ISO 6400. After that, its smaller sensor starts to show as compared to some recent APS-C cameras, but at ISO 6400 and below, the E-P5 packs quite a punch in image quality.

Testing hundreds of digital cameras, we've found that you can only tell just so much about a camera's image quality by viewing its images on-screen. Ultimately, there's no substitute for printing a lot of images and examining them closely. For this reason, we now routinely print sample images from the cameras we test on our Canon Pro9000 Mark II studio printer, and the Canon Pixma MP610 here in the office. (See the Canon Pixma Pro9000 Mark II review for details on that model.)