The E-PL5 reall y rocks
For such a tiny camera, the Olympus Pen E-PL5 delivers great handling and mighty performance
Downsizing is a continuing design trend that’s affecting all gadgets, and cameras certainly aren’t exempt. But it’s difficult to maintain natural handling in a small camera, while also serving up the right balance of sleek design against the provision of sufficient dials and buttons to enable direct control over important shooting parameters.
The Olympus E-PL5 achieves this balance better than any other camera in the group. It’s small enough to take anywhere and everywhere, and is How the cameras compare simple to use, yet it gives enough immediacy over control to keep the most creative photographer happy. Best of all, it delivers stellar image quality in most shooting conditions.
Second place goes to the Nikon D3200, which is an entirely different camera to the Olympus. It’s a chunky old-school SLR but, like the Olympus, it has solid build quality, great handling and delivers super image quality. The Guide shooting mode is great for beginners, but it has plenty of options to please advanced photographers on a tight budget. By comparison, the Nikon 1 S2 CSC makes access to advanced shooting functions a bit of a chore.
Of the two Canon cameras on test, we prefer the EOS M CSC over the 1200D SLR. It delivers better picture quality and, at little more than a third of its original asking price, is exceptional value for money.
Finally, the Sony A5000 is an attractive entry-level camera, although its images tend to need a little more tweaking than those from other cameras in the group, to make them look their best.