The E-M5 body measures 4.8-by-3.5-by-1.69 inches and weighs in at just under a pound. It's available in two colors--black and silver. Because it's designed to look like a DSLR, but is closer to the size of a Compact System or Interchangeable Lens Camera, many who see it for the first time will exclaim, "Oh, it's cute!"

The top panel, as you're looking down at it, features an exposure mode dial on the left side and what Olympus calls a main dial on the right side. There's also a sub-dial around the shutter release. You can easily rotate either of the right-side dials with your thumb or forefinger to make various adjustments to the camera. A common example would be to press a programmable button for exposure compensation, then rotate the main dial for the precise setting.

One of those programmable buttons, the Fn2, is positioned next to the shutter release. It can be assigned more than a dozen operations, such as white balance, ISO, and auto exposure lock. Next to the Fn2 is the red record button for initiating movie capture on the fly.

In the center is a familiar DSLR "hump" that typically houses the optical viewfinder. But in the case of the E-M5, the Electronic Viewfinder (EVF), accessory port and hot shoe occupy that space. The accessory port accommodates a variety of tools including a macro light, bluetooth module, and microphone adapter. The E-M5 does not include an external mic jack in the body itself.