However, despite Olympus' claims about improvements in continuous autofocus and subject tracking capability, we found the system too slow and unpredictable to develop much enthusiasm about. If you're careful about making sure the camera has locked onto a subject, you can expect to get a couple of sharp shots out of a burst but the results are patchy and, for the kinds of 'grab the moment' shooting you'd want it to work for, the results simply aren't reliable enough. The EM-5 is far from unusual in this respect (Continuous AF isn't a strength of contrast-detection AF), but for such an expensive model, and one for which Olympus is pushing the continuous AF capabilities, it's a disappointing result.
Tracking is a particular disappointment. If you specify an AF point, the camera will usually 'lock-on' to the correct subject but it gets very easily distracted. No matter how distinct the subject might appear (being the only red item in the frame, for instance), the camera will often decide it's much more interested in the background after a couple of frames. This, combined with the continuous AF's hunting, means you simply can't rely the system to get your shots in focus.
Unhelpfully, the camera doesn't indicate that Continuous Autofocus is not available in high-speed (9 fps) mode, and during shooting, you may never realize. With continuous tracking AF activated the focus tracking target will still move around the viewfinder as you capture your high-speed images, but the clue lies in the hundreds of out-of-focus shots that you'll end up with - the camera might behave like it's trying to track the subject, but focus is actually fixed at the first frame of the burst. To get tracking AF you have to shoot in Continuous L mode.