Hottest Camera Deal in the Solar System Today

from Stephen Gillette: "Come to think about it, nobody has ever heeded my advice on which camera or lens they should get either! So of course I have more advice....

"Considering bang-for-buck, the hottest deal in the solar system as of today is to be found at B&H. (I do not work for them, nor get any compensation for this 'strong buy' recommendation.) They have the Olympus OM-D E-M5 'Elite' version mirrorless camera for $499. With a lens. And expedited shipping. For $499, all in. The best übercamera? The one you can afford.

"This deal is so hot, please use oven mitts when ordering. Over-and-out."

[Just passing this along —Mike]
(Thanks to Stephen)

Original contents copyright 2015 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

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(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

D (partial comment): "Olympus is just about to announce a new OM-D E-M10 Mark II camera most likely eclipsing the older E-M5 this deal is all about. Expect some upgrades to be made, most notably a higher resolution viewfinder and possibly fully articulated back screen. As they keep introductory price levels pretty steady this newcomer will initially sell at about $ 700 and offer very similar image quality to boot...so in this case this is all about sum of small operational 'fixes' rather than overall package upgrade.

"Advertised above, the OM-D E-M5 Elite version in itself is a later incarnation of the original product with minor tweaks already implemented...it features more solid knurled dials and revised texture of the faux-leather body skin.

"I still have the original OM-D E-M5 and even now this is a very usable camera. The price drop makes this an even more interesting proposition but keep in mind that this is an intentional move by the manufacturer to reduce excess stock of an older model before introduction of a new and improved one. So unless you need a camera 'yesterday' it could make some sense to wait and see...."

Moose: "The E-M5 II is also on sale, for $899, $200 less than I paid. Olympus is such an odd combination of real innovations, 'new' models with almost no changes, and cosmetic special editions...the E-M5 Mark II is worth the extra money to me for the much-improved IBIS, electronic shutter option, wireless remote control, and the high resolution (and high color accuracy) mode.

"On the other hand, the original is a great camera, now at a great price."

Roger: "I was going to counter with B&H's $498 deal on the Sony NEX-7 but it appears they are gone. I snagged one to replace my wife's Nikon D70s. She loves the lighter, smaller form factor. Purchased through Mike's link to further his pursuit of world domination."

Mike replies: For which many thanks. World domination is proceeding slowly, but next month I invade New York State.

Comments

[DB]

Nice camera and a great deal! But what about the "kit" lens?

Or maybe I should go with your earlier "advice" and get the RX10 ;-)

[D]

I usually try to steer away from anything close to product endorsement ... but in this case I think readers deserve to be properly informed to keep things in their context. Olympus is just about to announce a new OMD-EM10 MkII camera most likely eclipsing older EM-5 this deal is all about. Expect some upgrades to be made most notably a higher resolution viewfinder and possibly fully articulated back screen. As they keep introductory price levels pretty steady this newcomer will initially sell at about $ 700 and offer very similar image quality to boot ... so in this case this is all about sum of small operational "fixes" rather than overall package upgrade. Advertised above OMD-EM5 Elite version in itself is a later incarnation of original product with minor tweaks already implemented ... it features more solid knurled dials and revised texture of faux leather body skin. I still have the original OMD-E5 and even now this is a very usable camera. The price drop makes this an even more interesting proposition but keep in mind that this is an intentional move by manufacturer to reduce excess stock of an older model before introduction of a new and improved one. So unless You need a camera for "yesterday" it could make some sense to wait and see ...

http://www.43rumors.com/ft5-e-m10ii-camera/

[Timprov]

I'm tempted to buy one just for live bulb mode. But then I'd have to find lenses for it, or live with the kit.

[Ricardo Cordeiro]

This last posts were a great coincidence. I was asked advice for a new camera purchase and the person in question actually bougth the camera I recommended (the Panasonic LX100).

But in my investigation I realized that the E-M5 is indeed the deal of the moment. I bougt a low-used one with the Panasonic 20/1.7 for around 500 bucks, I'm expecting it's arrival today.

It will be my third return to four-thirds, I have a strange attraction to this system, maybe because my first digital camera was a Olympus E500.

[Bob Rosinsky]

$499 with lens--übercamera indeed!

[emptyspaces]

And that's a weather-sealed camera with very good IBIS, too.

[Eddie]

What's so hot about a 2012 camera getting cheaper? The "Elite" is just the same 2012 camera with a different texture, no?

[icexe]

Love the beautiful design and images this camera produces, but no matter how hard I tried, I just could not get comfortable using it (with or without the hand grip). Some of the buttons are too small and cramped, and the rear control wheel is in a really annoying location for "left eye" shooters like me, I was poking myself in the face with my thumb every time I had to use the rear dial.

I finally upgraded to the EM-1 and now I have the best of both worlds.

[robert e]

D is probably referring to the E-M5 mkII, which will be available Monday, not the E-M10.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1116760-REG/olympus_v207040su000_om_d_e_m5_mark_ii.html

[Richard Alan Fox]

The feature missing from the original 5 and also the 1 is Wi-Fi, this in my experience is the most desired new generation feature, remote operation of the camera from an iPhone is an incredible benefit for tripod users.
Therefore the current 10 is a much better value then the older 5.

[B,J. Segel]

Such a deal! I grabbed this when B&H first offered this over a month ago. I'm surprised no one has mentioned it before. Since I didn't need the lens, I sold it on "the auction site" for $125. Unless you must have the latest and greatest, this is a great camera at a great price.

[Lynn cox]

I bought one in early May to replace a Panasonic g6. Yes it is a model that has already been superseded but the OMD EM 5 Mk II.
The EM-5 model was voted camera of the year in 2012 by several publications both print and web.
My move to mf4/3 was about having quality without weight on week-long backpacking trips. D7000 +lens = too much..
The Olympus jpg files are outstanding. The raw files are excellent and need very little work, so for the price this is a great tool.
BTW, the EM 5.2 is on sale at b&h for $899q, body only.
Look at VSL Blog to read and see examples.
Also losttrailexpeditions.com. 90% of images in 2015 are shot with Olympus. 2014 trip is Panasonic G6. Call me goofy but this sure beats point and shoot stuff.

[Marcelo Guarini]

I love the camera. I also have the E-M1, but use the E-M5 a lot. Good for most kind of photography, from portraits

https://www.flickr.com/photos/42632173@N08/11576377646/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/42632173@N08/11575887654/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/42632173@N08/11575549925/in/dateposted-public/

to long exposures

https://www.flickr.com/photos/42632173@N08/11636182994/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/42632173@N08/11636601656/in/dateposted-public/

[Steve Biro]

The E-M5 continues to be a great camera even if the Mark II version has arrived on the market. I bought a refurbished original version from Olympus with 12-50mm zoom lens (24-100mm FF FOV) for $525 during one of the Olympus site's 20% off sales. No problems at all and you'd never know the kit (completely weather resistant BTW) wasn't brand new. Perhaps the E-M5 is a tad small for some people's hands. Not mine, though. Other than that, there's no reason not to buy this camera if one has any interest in it at all.

[ctein]

Dear Timprov and DB,

The kit zoom is good. Really, really good. Better than most (not all) primes at the same aperture. What you lose is the larger apertures, of course. But if you can live with f/3.5 to f/5.6 maximum aperture, you won't be at all disappointed with the lens.

pax \ Ctein
[ Please excuse any word-salad. MacSpeech in training! ]
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-- Ctein's Online Gallery http://ctein.com
-- Digital Restorations http://photo-repair.com
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[steven willard]

I had to do it at that price. Most up to date? No, but such a nice set of features I bit. The menu is a bit "daunting", but there's lots of advice on line I think I'll be able to cope. Right now I have the kit zoom and the 20mm Lumix I really like, and the adaptors for my old Nikon glass, and newer Pentax, too. It all works pretty well.

[Danfogel]

I think the camera manufacturers do themselves a disservice when they name a camera "Mark II" because it loudly repudiates the Mark I version of the camera. By the same token, you'd be hard pressed to convince anyone of the sanity of incrementally upgrading any of these cameras from model to model. I want to try micro 4/3 and grabbed a refurb'd E-PM2 from Olympus and have been happily using it with the Olympus 17mm f1.8. I want newer features, but I am pretty happy with my super control panel and touch screen focus which works for most shots. I think it is too easy to get caught up in upgraded features sets when most cameras are good enough. Save the money for new glass. Mike, I think you wrote an article once about never getting rid of lenses.