The OM System OM-5 Mark II Gets Put Through a Brutal First Field Test

Picking the right weather-sealed camera for wildlife shooting in genuinely rough conditions is harder than it sounds, and most reviews don't test gear the way it actually gets used. Todd DeWald took the OM System OM-5 Mark II out for its first field session in 45-degree, rainy, wind-blown grassland conditions to find out exactly what this camera can handle before committing to a full month of testing.

Coming to you from Todd DeWald, this hands-on first-impressions video pairs the OM-5 Mark II with several OM System lenses, including the OM System 150-400mm f/4.5 TC1.25x IS PRO, the OM System 100-400mm, the OM System 50-200mm f/2.8-3.5, and the compact OM System 40-150mm f/4. DeWald's central question for the entire month-long evaluation is whether the OM-5 Mark II can actually keep up with wildlife shooting in the field conditions he regularly works in, not just in controlled environments. The weather-sealing gets an immediate, unplanned stress test as the lens picks up mist and water throughout the session. The camera keeps running without issue even as DeWald admits he can no longer feel his hands.

The outing produces an unexpected encounter that becomes the centerpiece of the video. DeWald spots two birds perched on a flat-cut log, partially because something about their tucked wings and tails looked just slightly wrong against the landscape. What follows is a close-range shooting session where he works through several of the camera's computational photography modes, including focus stacking and high-resolution shot mode, which produces 50-megapixel files. The fact that the birds were resting and largely motionless gave him a rare chance to test those slower, precision-focused modes in a real-world scenario rather than a studio setup.

What makes this worth watching beyond the wildlife encounter is DeWald's specific focus on workflow. He walks through how the camera's CP button gives direct access to computational modes in the field, which changes how quickly you can switch between standard shooting and high-res or stacking modes mid-encounter. That kind of operational detail rarely shows up in spec-sheet comparisons but makes a real difference when you have thirty seconds with a cooperative subject. The 40-150mm f/4 also gets called out specifically as a lens he's eager to test for landscape work, citing its size relative to its reach. DeWald is vlogging the session on the OM System OM-1 Mark II as a known-reliable backup, which tells you something about how seriously he's treating the OM-5 Mark II evaluation.

Check out the video above for the full encounter footage and DeWald's complete walkthrough of what the OM-5 Mark II did and didn't impress him with on day one.