Best Micro Four Thirds Camera in 2012

Till the launch of the Olympus OM-D EM-5 the title of the best micro four thirds camera was held by the Panasonic GH2 Micro Four Thirds Compact System Camera that was the first micro four thirds camera  available in market.

The Panasonic GH2 Micro Four Thirds compact system camera has a 18 MP sensor multi-aspect ratio sensor that delivers an output of 16 MP and features an ISO range of 160-12800. Besides being optimized for photography the Panasonic GH2 also delivers very good video capabilities, actually one of the best available in market specially with the hack available from Vitaly at personal-view.com.
As incredible as it seems the Panasonic GH2 held the title of the  Best Micro Four Thirds Camera for over a year and half as Panasonic didn’t offer the sensor of the Panasonic GH2 Micro Four Thirds Compact System Camera to Olympus.

Specifications of the Panasonic GH2 – Best Micro Four Thirds Camera till launch of the Olympus OM-D Compact System Camera

	Panasonic GH2 Micro Four Thirds Compact System Camera Specifications
Sensor	4/3 type MOS (‘Live MOS sensor’) sensor • 18.3 million total pixels • 16.0 million effective pixels • RGB (Primary) color filter array
Sensitivity	ISO 160-12800 in 1/3EV steps
Movie RecordingSpecifications	• AVCHD : 1920 x 1080p 24fps (Approx 23 or 17 Mbps) 1920 x 1080i 60fps (Approx 17 or 13 Mbps) 1280 x 720p 60fps (Approx 17 or 13 Mbps) • Motion JPEG: 1280 x 720, 30fps 848 x 480, 30fps 640 x 480, 30fps 320 x 240, 30fps
LCD Monitor Capabilities	• Touch sensitive 3.0″ TFT LCD monitor • Multi-angle swing and tilt (180° swing, 270° swivel) • 460,000 dots • Approx 100% frame coverage
Microphone	• Built-in stereo • Socket for external mic
Dimensions	124 x 90 x 76 mm (4.9 x 3.5 x 3 in)
Weight (body only, no card/battery)	394 g (13.9 oz.)

The Panasonic GH2 features a multi aspect sensor that is a bit larger than the four thirds specifications (therefore reason actual mega pixels, 16MP, are less than mega pixels provided by sensor itself).

Although the Panasonic GH2 was labelled as the Best Micro Four Thirds Camera it was not without its own faults, it lacked in body image stabilization features and its JPEG engine is poor which means you have to always shoot in RAW in order to get best results out of camera. Besides its body has quite some cheap feel due to excessive usage of plastic and lacking of a weather sealing body that hopefully will be catched up with the release of the Panasonic GH3.

In early 2012 Olympus, still recovering from a financial crisis, as a revived phoenix from the ashes surprised the market with the launch of the Olympus OM-D EM-5 and as soon as camera started to sell and reviews to appear won the title of

Best Micro Four Thirds Camera

The Olympus OM-D EM-5 features an innovative built-in five axis image stabilization system that allows camera to avoid translational movements, yaw, pitch and rolling providing to users according to Olympus a two stops gain and allowing photographers to take photos at lower shutter speeds than usual.

Besides the innovative five axis image stabilization system what does the Olympus OM-D EM-5 feature to claim the title of

Best Micro Four Thirds Camera

For a start it has a built-in electronic viewfinder, a great TruePic VI JPEG processor engine that renders beautiful color renditions, a very high dynamic range sensor, a new 16MP sensor for which so far the manufacturer of it is unclear,  a fast auto focus, a weather sealed body, ISO capabilities up to 25600, a tilt-able touch screen to name a few.

Main specifications of the Olympus OM-D EM-5 Camera – Best Micro Four Thirds Camera

	Olympus OM-D EM-5 Micro Four Thirds Compact System Camera Specifications
Sensor	Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm)16.1 MP
Sensitivity	Auto (200 – 25600), 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400, 12800, 25600 in 1/3 steps
Movie RecordingSpecifications	AVCHD H.264 Motion JPEG
LCD Monitor Capabilities	• Touch screen 3.0″ TFT LCD monitor • Multi-angle swing and tilt (180° swing, 270° swivel) • 610,000 dots • Approx 100% frame coverage
Microphone	• Built-in stereo • Socket for external mic via an adapter
Dimensions	122 x 89 x 43 mm (4.8 x 3.5 x 1.69 in)
Weight (body only, no card/battery)	425 g (14.99 oz.)

The Olympus OM-D EM-5 is to date the Micro Four Thirds camera with the highest dynamic range and ISO capabilities being able to take photographs in low light and high contrast situations. Also it is quite compact being what a micro four thirds camera should be compact, versatile and with optimal image quality. According to our last review the Olympus OM-D EM-5 is as good and capable as Sony’s flagship NEX7 compact system camera.

Due to all this reasons the Olympus OM-D EM-5 has conquered in 2012 the title of Best Micro Four Thirds Camera.