Josh Ginter:

Do most people find themselves outdoors in temperatures lower than -20 Celsius for extended periods of time? I’m willing to bet not. So why spend almost twice the money for weather sealing? For the person in the market for a mainstream Micro 4/3 camera, the E-M5 Mark II’s weather sealing (in my opinion) doesn’t warrant the extra $500. If you recognize that you need a more robust camera body, then you’ve probably already made up your mind on the E-M5 Mark II.

Agreed. In my mind both cameras are excellent, but the E-M10 is clearly the mainstream model of the two and factoring in price, the better model for most people.

It’s actually a bit like the difference between Apple’s 13” MacBook Air and 13” Retina MacBook Pro. The MacBook Pro is clearly the better machine, but it’s also clear that the Air offers more than enough to meet the needs of the vast majority of users. If you really need or want a MacBook Pro, chances are you already know it and are prepared to pay for it.

Now imagine if instead of being only $300 more (or a 30% premium over the Air’s price), the MacBook Pro cost almost twice as much as the Air. Imagine if it started at $1,850 instead of $1,299. It’d still be the better machine, but it’d be a lot more difficult to recommend to anyone but the most specific subset of users.

Similarly, the E-M5 Mk II is clearly the better camera, but a $500 premium is a heck of a lot to command these days, when most cameras are excellent.

The E-M10 is an absolutely incredible camera for the money and to me, by far the better pick when factoring in everything and budgeting for the entire system, which of course also includes the lenses. As ever, your mileage may vary — and that’s ok, too.