OK, this is a late review. Although there is already EM10 mark 2, but because EM10 is still available in stores and not yet discontinuedthen I will continue.
After a year of using the olympus em10, I will share a little experience using this camera. I bought this camera to accompany my EM5 which has been around since 2012. The reason is because using two cameras is much more comfortable than changing lenses. At least for me, hehe. With two cameras, you can also back up each other if something happens.
It happened that my EM5 died suddenly for some reason. And it happened at a very inopportune time because I was running an assignment from one of the clients. My EM5 also had to be serviced. But bitterly, I had to wait for spare parts from Olympus for two months. So the EM10 was my only camera at that time.
Each EM5 and EM10 now has a second version (mark 2). The added features I don’t think are too many (unless you like video, because it’s really upgraded) and haven’t made me change cameras. I’m the only reason, I don’t have the funds yet haha.
The striking difference with the EM5 is that the EM5 body is made of magnesium and is weather sealed. The EM5 seems to use a mix of plastics. Apart from that, the EM10 beats this older brother. There’s Wifi, the same focal point as the EM1, a better LCD and viewfinder, and more.
(sample photo, click to enlarge. All photos in this blogpost are original JPEGs from the camera, some have been adjusted for exposure & contrast only)
What I like about EM10
- Size: Small but very solid construction
- Ergonomics: The buttons are comfortable to press, the LCD is very sharp, the viewfinder is not too big (its size is similar to a two-digit Canon series) but there is no lag at all, the touch screen is similar to an iPhone, the tilty screen can go up and down.
- Performance: Very fast. Autofocus, touch screen, and other operations do not use slow.
- Photo Quality: iso 200-1600 no problem. iso 3200 noise but like film grain. ISO 6400 can still be used for emergency purposes.
What I don’t like
- Focus peaking : Implementation of focus peaking is not good because the LCD refresh rate slows down. If you like to use manual lenses, it’s a bit of a hassle.
- Small grip : Small size and light body somewhat sacrifice grip. Even though it’s comfortable to use a prime lens like 17 1.8 or 25 1.8, when it’s mounted like a 12-40, it’s a bit heavy on the front and less balanced.
- 3 axis stabilizer : less effective than the 5 axis stabilizer on em5 or em1.
- Low bitrate videos : The compression video is not good enough to make the video less sharp.
The good news is, everything I didn’t like above has been fixed in the EM10 mark 2.
EM10 low light performance
Please see the photos below. I do not hesitate to use EM10 to ISO 3200. ISO 6400 can still be used for emergencies only. See the sample results below.
How does the EM10 compare to other cameras?
- Compared to mirrorless Fuji: EM10 wins because it has a stabilizer, operating speed, autofocus reliability, touchscreen, and more lenses. However, I admit that Fuji lenses have a very distinctive character and color.
- Compared to sony: Olympus clearly has a much more complete lens catalog than Sony. On paper, the Sony camera beats all its opponents. However, I personally am not happy with the Sony color results.
- Em10 vs a Lumix : If you need a video, just go to Lumix. The photo results will be similar because this Lumix is an opponent but a friend. If your photos are still blurry because your hands are shaking a lot, it’s better to have Olympus.
The colors of the Olympus camera have a ‘bright’ character. The primary colors render very well. Auto white balance is also very good, almost never changes. The EM10 is almost the same as the flagship Olympus EM1, minus the Phase detection AF for using Olympus lenses and a weather sealed body.
Additional Photo Samples
Thank you. See you in the EM10 mark 2 review!
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