Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III Review

September 19, 2017 | Mark Goldstein | Rating star Rating star Rating star Rating star Half rating star

Introduction

The Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III is a new mid-range compact system camera. The E-M10 Mark III has a 5-axis image stabilisation system equivalent to 4 steps of shutter speed, 16-megapixel Micro Four Thirds sensor, 4K video capture (30p, 25p or 24p) and the latest TruePic VIII processing unit (as used in the flagship E-M1 Mark II). The E-M10 Mark III also features 121 contrast AF points, a built-in pop-up flash and an external flash hotshoe, electronic viewfinder with a resolution of 2.36 million dots and 100% frame coverage, a tilting 3-inch LCD touchscreen, an electronic shutter with a top shutter speed of 1/16,000 sec, an AF Targeting Pad function, focus peaking, an innovative Colour Creator, Live Composite Mode for previewing long exposures, a customisable self-timer, 8.6fps continuous shooting, Wi-Fi connectivity, and a new Advanced Photo mode. The Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III is available in silver or black and is priced at £629.99/$649.99 body only, £699.99/$799.99 with the M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 14-42mm 1:3.5-5.6 EZ lens for, or £799.99 with both the M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 14-42mm 1:3.5-5.6 EZ and M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 40-150mm 1:4.0-5.6 R lenses.

Ease of Use

Straight out-of-the box, the E-M10 Mark III feels robust and reassuringly solid thanks to its magnesium-alloy body, despite being the most affordable option in the OM-D range. With dimensions of 121.5 x 83.6 x 49.5mm, it's virtually identical in size to the previous 2-year-old E-M10 II camera, and weighs almost the same too at 410g including the supplied battery and a memory card

Unlike the more expensive OM-D cameras, the new E-M10 Mark III still isn't weather-sealed, a concession to its lower price-point. There's a revised larger textured handgrip which is sufficient enough to be able to still hold the camera nice and steady when shooting handheld, ably assisted by an even more pronounced thumb-grip on the rear.

Low light sensitivity stretches all the way up to a pro-like ISO 25600, partly down to the implementation of the latest noise reducing TruePic VIII processor. Unsurprisingly the E-M10 Mark III retains the Olympus unique selling point of on-board Art Filters, which are also worth singling out for praise, with Bleach Bypass being newly added to this model. Interestingly these filters can be applied to Full HD video as well as stills. The E-M10 Mark III again feature a proper built-in pop-up flash, which also usefully supports wireless flash control.

Most image stabilization systems compensate for camera shake by correcting yaw and pitch. Olympus claim that camera shake is actually caused by five different kinds of motion, and their image stabilization mechanism additionally corrects for horizontal shift, vertical shift and rotary motion (rolling) for both still images and movies. The E-M5 Mark Mark III again offers 4-stops of compensation complete with auto panning detection, with Olympus claiming that handheld shutter-speeds as low as 1/4 second are obtainable, something that was certainly backed up for both stills and video in our testing of the camera.

From the front the E-M10 Mark III has a streamlined look, with just a small round lens release button to the right of the lens mount and a tiny AF assist lamp above interrupting the otherwise featureless faceplate.

Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III
Front of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III

On top is a vacant flash hotshoe that sits directly above the lens, with a clever Off / On / Flash Up switch and new Shortcut button on the left hand-side when viewed from the rear. The Off / On / Flash Up switch is much more convenient than the On-Off switch on the original E-M10, with a further push from the On position to Flash Up doing exactly what you'd expect - very neat.

On the right of the flash hotshoe is a prominently raised shooting mode dial with a surrounding ridged edge for easier purchase, with the various options being program, aperture priority, shutter priority, manual, video, scene modes, Art Filters, and the new Advanced Photo mode.

There are 15 Art Filters in total, with Dramatic Tone and the self explanatory Gentle Sepia working the best for us, the former adding an intensely gritty look as if a photograph has been photo copied and vividly hand coloured. The Art Filter digital effects are applied at the time of capture which means write speeds are inevitably a couple of seconds longer than for regular images. When shooting using certain filters, such as Diorama or Dramatic Tone, the screen's refresh rate slows, providing a real time preview of how the eventual image may look.

The new new Advanced Photo mode isn't quite as exciting as it sounds, simply providing a shortcut to already existing modes such as HDR, Silent, Panorama, Keystone Compensation, AE Bracketing, Focus Bracketing, Live Composite, Live Time, and Multiple Exposure.

Further to the right is the small-ish shutter release button, with the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III readying itself for action in a second or so. Squeeze down halfway on the shutter release and the E-M10 Mark III very nearly instantaneously responds thanks to the FAST (Frequency Acceleration Sensor Technology) system, the screen almost imperceptibly blurring before snapping back into focus, with the AF point flashing up in green with an accompanying bleep of confirmation. The E-M10 Mark III certainly delivers in terms of focusing speed and perhaps more importantly accuracy too, with very few false positives.

The OM-D E-M10 Mark III has a fully electronic shutter, which in addition to expanding the top shutter speed to 1/16,000 sec, also allows for completely silent shooting and an anti-shock mode. This latter mode, which uses an electronic first-curtain shutter, helps to combat shutter shock, which can occur on the E-M10 Mark III when using the mechanical shutter at speeds between 1/60-1/200th second. Using either the anti-shock mode or the fully electronic shutter will avoid this unwanted effect.

Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III
Tilting LCD Screen

Take the shot and when shooting RAW and SuperFine (top quality) JPEGs in tandem there's a wait of a more than acceptable one second before the shot is fully committed to the memory card. The buffer memory is such however that you don't have to wait that long to squeeze off another shot if the opportunity presents itself (up to 22 Raw files). Action photographers will appreciate the fast burst rate of 8.6fps, although that's only achieved by locking the focus point at the first frame of the sequence - the EM-10 Mark III can only perform at a more modest maximum speed of 4.8fps when continuously auto-focusing.

The number of selectable contrast AF points is an improved 121 in a 11x11 grid. Low-light auto focus continues to be excellent – the system managed to focus down to -2EV (as long as there was something to focus on) even without the use of the focus assist lamp. This is seriously low light, about the same as a landscape lit only by moonlight and nothing else. It still doesn't include the 37 on-sensor phase-detection auto focus points that the flagship E-M1 offers, though.

The shutter release is encircled by the first of two command dials. This one by default allows you to change the shutter speed or exposure compensation when using one of the more creative shooting modes, while the second that's positioned under your right thumb principally adjusts the aperture. It's a neat system that make using the manual mode in particular a lot simpler than on most rival cameras.

Alongside is the user attributable 'Fn2' function button, which rather unusefully zooms in by 2x by default. Completing the EM-10 Mark III's top-plate is a red video record button. Press this to record, or stop recording, no matter which shooting mode is otherwise selected on the top dial.

The Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III can now record 4K movies at 30p, 25p, 24p and Full HD movies at 60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, 24p. The E-M10 Mark III can also use its excellent 5-axis sensor-shift image stabiliser when shooting movies, which translates into very smooth hand-held footage, even when using longer telephoto lenses. Manual exposure can be enabled for videos, although you do have to rotate the mode dial to the Movie position to take advantage of this. (You can start filming in practically any other shooting mode too, but in that case, videos will always be recorded with auto exposure, and curiously only at 1080p, not 4K) Audio is recorded in stereo PCM and uncompressed HDMI output is also possible, as is support for timecode. Shooting modes include Aperture priority, Art Filter, Manual, Program and Shutter priority, while one-shot echo and multiecho effects can be added to movies. There's also the ability to capture high-speed VGA footage at 120fps.

Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III
Rear of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III

Moving to the backplate of the E-M10 Mark III, the built-in electronic viewfinder is activated by a small button to the right that's virtually hidden from view, which toggles between the rear LCD screen and the EVF, with a button for the dioptric adjustment on the left.

The EVF is an impressively detailed 2.36 million dot unit with 100% field of view and 1.23x magnification. The E-M10 Mark III actually has two independent image-processing cores, one for the recorded images and the other for Live View images, so the live and recorded image appears very quickly on both the EVF and the rear screen. The Live Bulb feature cleverly updates the image on the rear screen at pre-set intervals during bulb shooting, giving you a live preview of the exposure, while the Live Composite Mode allows you to see a preview of long-exposure shots as they're being captured. The E-M10 Mark III also features the Super OVF mode, which as the name suggests simulates an optical finder, offering an "unprocessed" view of the scene in front of you.

There's also a built-in eye sensor which optionally switches between the electronic viewfinder and EVF automatically, and the EVF helpfully displays key shooting information along the bottom of the viewfinder. Another boon to productivity is the ability to preview manual and creative adjustments live through the EVF without having to lower the camera to look at the rear screen. The EVF also benefits from the addition of Adaptive Brightness Control, which contributes to an improved viewing experience, and it also “gains up” in low light, making it arguably more usable than an optical finder.

The E-M10 Mark III features capacitive touchscreen operation, although if you're not a fan you can for the most part get away without using it much at all, as there are a plethora of physical buttons which are either dedicated to specific functions or can be customized to suit. Indeed, the touch-sensitive interface hasn't led to a cleaner or more pared-down minimalist look.

The 3-inch 4:3 aspect ratio LCD screen has a resolution of 1.037million dots. Images look particularly vivid with plenty of contrast when viewed on the E-M10 Mark III's screen and happily this carries over when photos are downloaded to your desktop. The rear screen can be tilted by a maximum of 80° upwards and 50° downwards, which helps when shooting from high and low angles, although we did miss being able to fully articulate the screen from left to right as well which always proves useful when shooting video.

Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III
Top of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III

Dragging a finger, and so the AF point, around the screen is a quick and easy way of following the subject, though inadvertently subsequently tapping it will cause the shutter to fire. This facility can be deactivated by prodding the relevant shutter button icon on the touch screen. The AF targeting pad feature allows you to move the focus point around the touchscreen using a finger whilst holding the camera up to your eye, which is very similar to Panasonic's Touchpad AF feature.

The Live Guide first seen on the Pen cameras has again been implemented on the E-M10 Mark III. This lets users try out picture adjustments with the aid of an onscreen slider bar to adjust the likes of depth of field and see the results in real time before pressing the shutter release button with accessibility extended beyond Auto mode. The Live Guide options are presented as a colourful toolbar on the left hand side of the screen.

From the top we have the ability to change colour saturation, from 'clear & vivid' to 'flat & muted', next down is the ability to alter 'colour image', which translates as shifting the tone between warm and cool via slider bar, with the third option shifting brightness/exposure between a simple bright and dark. The fourth option down is probably the most interesting/effective in that it provides the ability to incrementally blur the background of your shot by again dragging an indicator on a slider - thus providing a similar shallow depth of field effect to that achievable with a DSLR and suitable aperture.

For its latest Live Guide option Olympus has retained the curiously named 'Express Motions'. There's the option to both blur any movement or stop it in its tracks, again achievable by dragging a slider indicator. The last option on this tool bar is an on-board shooting hints and tips manual, with the usual 'suspects' of photographing children and pets given the most prominence ('take a picture at their height level' being a summation of the level of advice imparted). We even get tips, as a bit of closet advertising, for attaching Olympus accessories, such as lens converters.

Embedded in the top of the rear thumb-grip is the customisable Function 1 button, which now also usefully doubles up as the AEL/AFL button. Just below this are the self-explanatory Menu and Info buttons, the latter toggling through various LCD views. Underneath again is a 4-way navigation controller with a central OK button - pressing this accesses the E-M10 Mark III's quick menu system, a handy onscreen vertical list of icons that provide quick access to most of the camera's main settings. In conjunction with the camera's plethora of external controls and its customisable buttons, this makes the E-M10 Mark III a pleasure to use. The final controls on the rear are the Delete and Playback buttons.

Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III
The Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III in-hand

The Wi-fi implementation on the OM-D E-M10 Mark III is actually quite good. You first need to download a free app for your smartphone (Android and iOS versions are both available), but after that, everything is pretty straightforward. You simply touch the Wi-Fi icon on your camera's display to set up a connection. The Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III will provide you with an SSID and password, but you do not need to type in either of them – just launch the app on your phone and scan the QR code displayed by your camera with your phone. This is nearly as fast as using NFC (Near-Field Communication), a feature that the OM-D E-M10 Mark III doesn't offer. Once the connection is established, you can download images from the camera to your smartphone, or use the latter to remotely control the E-M10 Mark III. You can choose from a variety of shooting modes, set aperture, sensitivity, shutter speed and white balance, select a drive mode, and focus on practically any part of the frame, all remotely.

The Olympus E-M10 Mark III has a time-lapse photography mode, which allows you to capture up to 999 frames at user-specified intervals. You can also tell the camera when to start the sequence, which comes in handy if you want to set up the camera well in advance. The E-M10 Mark III will save each shot in the format of your choice – ORF or JPEG – and can optionally create a time-lapse video in-camera, which you can play back on the rear screen, or upload to a website like Vimeo or YouTube. While shooting raw and creating a video afterwards on your PC gives you more control over grading, sharpening etc., the in-camera option is nice to have when shooting JPEG or raw+JPEG, as it is obviously much faster.

Focus bracketing lets you set the focus point and then automatically take up to 99 shots with focus adjustments around it, thereby greatly extending what is in focus. Unfortunately the E-M10 Mark III still doesn't combine the shots either in-camera or in the supplied Olympus software, so you'll need to use Photoshop or a specialized software program like Helicon Focus to combine all of the shots into one image.

The menu system is similar to that of the professional OM-D E-M1. This is a complex, multi-level menu system that might not seem intuitive at first sight, especially to beginners, so reading the manual is a good idea before starting to explore it. The good news is that these menus are mainly there to allow you to set up the camera exactly the way you want it to be set up – once you're done with that, you'll seldom need to delve into the menus again, courtesy of the large number of external controls as well as the excellent Super Control Panel, which is basically an interactive status display inherited from older Olympus cameras.

Chunky lugs for attaching the supplied shoulder strap hang at either side of the camera, thankfully out of the way of fingers and controls. On the right hand flank, if viewing the camera from the back, we find a pair of covered ports for joint USB/AV output and mini HDMI output respectively. On the bottom of the E-M10 Mark III is a screw thread for attaching a tripod in-line with the lens mount, with the lockable shared battery/memory card compartment alongside. The BLS-50 rechargeable lithium-ion battery supplied with the E-M10 Mark III is good for around 330 shots. There is the option to use all varieties of SD media card, up to and including SDXC cards.

Image Quality

All of the sample images in this review were taken using the 16 megapixel Fine JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 6Mb.

During the review, the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III produced images of excellent quality. In the Natural picture mode, colours are vibrant without being garish or over-saturated, while dynamic range is very good. From ISO 100 through to ISO 1600, noise is very well controlled, usually not becoming an issue until ISO 3200, which is an excellent result for a Micro Four Thirds camera. ISO 3200 and 6400 are still eminently usable, with only the two fastest settings of 12800 and 25600 really suffering. The improved image stabilisation system works brilliantly for both stills and video, even when hand-holding the camera at very slow shutter speeds. The Art Filters produce special effects that would otherwise require you to spend a lot of time in the digital darkroom.

Noise

There are 9 ISO settings available on the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III. The base sensitivity is ISO 200, but there is an expanded low sensitivity setting equivalent to ISO 100. These crops demonstrate the image quality at each setting.

JPEG RAW

ISO 100 (100% Crop)

ISO 100 (100% Crop)

iso100.jpg iso100raw.jpg
   

ISO 200 (100% Crop)

ISO 200 (100% Crop)

iso200.jpg iso200raw.jpg
   

ISO 400 (100% Crop)

ISO 400 (100% Crop)

iso400.jpg iso400raw.jpg
   

ISO 800 (100% Crop)

ISO 800 (100% Crop)

iso800.jpg iso800raw.jpg
   

ISO 1600 (100% Crop)

ISO 1600 (100% Crop)

iso1600.jpg iso1600raw.jpg
   

ISO 3200 (100% Crop)

ISO 3200 (100% Crop)

iso3200.jpg iso3200raw.jpg
   

ISO 6400 (100% Crop)

ISO 6400 (100% Crop)

iso6400.jpg iso6400raw.jpg
   

ISO 12800 (100% Crop)

ISO 12800 (100% Crop)

iso12800.jpg iso12800raw.jpg
   

ISO 25600 (100% Crop)

ISO 25600 (100% Crop)

iso25600.jpg iso25600raw.jpg

File Quality

The file quality settings available on the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III include Normal, Fine and Superfine for JPEGs, and you can also shoot in Olympus’s proprietary ORF raw file format. Do note that the Superfine setting must first be enabled from the menu in order to appear among the selectable quality options.

16M SuperFine (100% Crop) 16M Fine (100% Crop)
quality_superfine.jpg quality_fine.jpg
   
16M Normal (100% Crop) 16M RAW (100% Crop)
quality_normal.jpg quality_raw.jpg

Flash

The Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III features a flash that has multiple modes including Forced On, Forced Off, Auto, Slow Sync, Rear-Curtain Sync and almost any of these combined with red-eye reduction. It can also serve as an AF assist light or as a controller for wirelessly slaved FL-36R or FL-50R units. In addition to the on-board unit, the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III also has a hot-shoe for system flashes. The pictures below were taken of a white wall from a distance of 1.5m, with and without the built-in flash.

Flash Off - Wide Angle

Flash On - Wide Angle

ISO 64 ISO 64
   

Flash Off - Telephoto

Flash On - Telephoto

ISO 64 ISO 64

And now for some portraits. The pop-up flash of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III did not really cause a red-eye effect, so the only noticeable difference between the Forced On and Forced On with Red-Eye Reduction settings is that the second causes the subject's pupils to contract.

Flash On

flash_on.jpg
 

Red-eye Reduction

flash_redeye.jpg

Night

The  Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III offers exposure times as long as 60 second in a metered exposure or up to 30 minutes in bulb mode, which is excellent news for anyone seriously interested in night photography. Live Bulb mode allows you to view the progression of exposure during a bulb exposure in real-time and a live view histogram shows how the exposure is built-up across all points of the image. The following picture was taken at a shutter speed of 15 seconds, aperture of f/8 at ISO 200.

Night

night.jpg

Image Stabilisation

The Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III comes with a 5-axis sensor-shift image stabilisation (IS) system, which allows you to take sharp hand-held photos at slower shutter speeds than with cameras that lack this feature. The following 100% crops are taken from images taken with a 28 and 84mm equivalent focal length with and without IS. The image stabilisation system also works during video capture, producing steady hand-held footage most of the time.

Focal Length / Shutter Speed

Off (100% Crop)

On (100% Crop)

28mm / 1/5th Sec antishake1.jpg antishake1a.jpg
     
84mm / 1/5th Sec antishake2.jpg antishake2a.jpg

Art Filters

The Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III offers 14 so-called ‘art filters’, which allow you to quickly apply an artistic effect to a photo before taking it. Art filters are easily accessible via a dedicated setting on the shooting mode dial.

Pop Art

Soft Focus

art_filters_01.jpg art_filters_02.jpg
   

Pale&Light Color

Light Tone

art_filters_03.jpg art_filters_04.jpg
   

Grainy Film

Pin Hole

art_filters_05.jpg art_filters_06.jpg
   
Diorama Cross Process
art_filters_07.jpg art_filters_08.jpg
   
Gentle Sepia Dramatic Tone
art_filters_09.jpg art_filters_10.jpg
   
Key Line Watercolor
art_filters_11.jpg art_filters_12.jpg
   
Vintage Partial Color
art_filters_13.jpg art_filters_14.jpg

Picture Modes

Olympus' Picture Modes are essentially pre-set combinations of saturation, contrast and sharpness, except for the i-Enhance mode that aims to optimise each photo individually. You can tailor each Picture Mode to your needs. The following examples demonstrate the differences across the available Picture Modes.

i-Enhance

Vivid

picture_modes_01.jpg picture_modes_02.jpg
   

Natural

Muted

picture_modes_03.jpg picture_modes_04.jpg
   

Portrait

Monotone

picture_modes_05.jpg picture_modes_06.jpg

Multiple Exposure

The Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III has a Multiple Exposure feature allowing you to combine multiple exposures to create a composite image in-camera.

multiple_exposure.jpg

HDR

In High Dynamic Range (HDR) mode, the camera takes a number of photos in rapid succession, at different exposure settings, and combines them into a single high-dynamic-range image. There are two options, HDR1 and HDR2. In our experience, HDR1 usually yields a credible image but HDR2 tends to produce flat, unrealistic results.

Off

HDR1

hdr_01.jpg hdr_02.jpg
   

HDR2

 
hdr_03.jpg

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III camera, which were all taken using the 16 megapixel Fine JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

Sample RAW Images

The Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III enables users to capture RAW and JPEG format files. We've provided some Olympus RAW (ORF) samples for you to download (thumbnail images shown below are not 100% representative).

Sample Movies & Video

This is a sample movie at the quality setting of 3840x2160 at 24 frames per second. Please note that this 36 second movie is 223Mb in size.

This is a sample movie at the quality setting of 3840x2160 at 24 frames per second. Please note that this 17 second movie is 70.5Mb in size.

Product Images

Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III

Front of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III

 
Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III

Front of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III

 
Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III

Side of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III

 
Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III

Side of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III

 
Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III

Side of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III

 
Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III

Side of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III

 
Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III

Rear of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III

 
Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III

Rear of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III / Image Displayed

 
Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III

Rear of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III / Turned On

 

Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III

Rear of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III / Main Menu

 
Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III
Rear of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III / OK Menu
 
Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III
Rear of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III / Quick Menu
 
Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III
Rear of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III / Tilting LCD Screen
 
Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III
Rear of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III / Tilting LCD Screen
 
Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III
Rear of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III / Tilting LCD Screen
 
Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III
Top of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III
 
Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III
Bottom of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III
 
Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III
Side of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III
 
Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III
Side of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III
 
Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III
Front of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III
 
Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III
Memory Card Slot
 
Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III
Battery Compartment

Conclusion

The Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III is a rather modest update of the 2-year-old Mark II model, principally adding 4K video recording with both mechanical and digital stabilization, a faster processor, more AF points and a refined body and user interface designed to appeal more to less experienced photographers. While the 16 megapixel sensor is retained, rather than the newer 20 megapixel variant, and phase-detection AF is disappointingly not included, the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III remains a lovely camera to use and one which out-performs its main rivals in some key ways.

With the same sensor as the E-M10 Mark II on-board, image quality is once again excellent for a cropped-sensor camera. From ISO 100 through to ISO 1600, noise is very well controlled, not becoming an issue until you hit ISO 3200. The 5-axis image stabilisation system works very well indeed, even when hand-holding the camera at slow shutter speeds or shooting 4K video without a tripod. Despite the expansion of AF points from 81 to 121, though, we'd rather have seen PDAF included, but sadly that's still been reserved for the higher-end models.

So while E-M10 Mark II owners won't be rushing to upgrade (unless you really, really want 4K video), the new Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III is a solid, if rather unexciting, update of a camera design that a lot of people love, ourselves included, all at a very competitive price-point in today's market. Highly Recommended!

4.5 stars

Ratings (out of 5)
Design 4.5
Features 4.5
Ease-of-use 4.5
Image quality 4.5
Value for money 4.5

Main Rivals

Listed below are some of the rivals of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III.

Canon EOS 800D

The new Canon EOS 800D / Rebel T7i DSLR camera is positioned between the cheaper EOS 1300D and more expensive EOS 77D, attempting to offer most of the same features as the 77D in a more beginner-friendly design. Find out if it succeeds by reading our expert Canon EOS 800D / Rebel T7i review...

Fujifilm X-T20

The brand new Fujifilm X-T20 is a mid-range compact system camera that inherits most of the key features of the flagship X-T2 model. Does the X-T20 cut too many corners to hit its more aggressive £799 / $899 price-tag? Read our in-depth Fujifilm X-T20 review to find out...

Nikon D5600

The Nikon D5600 is a new 24 megapixel mid-range DSLR camera with Snapbridge connectivity. The compact D5600 also offers timelapse movies, a touchscreen interface, 1080/60/50p video recording, ISO range of 100-25,600, 5fps continuous shooting, a range of creative effects, 3.2 inch tilting LCD screen, and a 39-point autofocus system. Read our in-depth Nikon D5600 review now...

Panasonic Lumix DC-GX800

The Panasonic Lumix DC-GX800 is a new entry-level compact system camera that can record 4K video. The DC-GX800 has a range of selfie modes, a 180-degree tilting LCD screen, built-in wireless and NFC connectivity, a 16 megapixel sensor, 4K movies at 30fps, and a touchscreen interface. Read our Panasonic Lumix DC-GX800 review, complete with full-size JPEG and RAW sample images...

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX80

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX80 is a new mid-range compact system camera. With a 16 megapixel Micro Four Thirds sensor with no optical low pass filter, new dual 5-axis image stabilization, built-in electronic viewfinder, 3 inch tilting LCD touchscreen, 4K video and photo modes, and integrated wi-fi connectivity, can the Panasonic GX80 live up to its early promise? Read our in-depth Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX80 review complete with sample images, test shots, videos and more to find out...

Pentax K-7

The new Pentax K-7 digital SLR camera is one of the big surprises of 2009, offering a multitude of desirable features in a compact, weatherproof body. The K7 is the latest DSLR to feature a HD movie recording mode, in addition to its 14.6 megapixel still images. Other highlights include a dedicated HDR mode, improved 11-point auto-focus, high-res 3 inch LCD screen and optical viewfinder with 100% frame coverage. Can the Pentax K-7 take on and beat the likes of the Nikon D300 and Canon EOS 50D? Read our in-depth review with test shots, JPEGS, RAW files and movie to find out...

Sony A5100

The Sony A5100 is an exciting new mid-range compact system camera. The Sony A5100 certainly packs quite a punch, featuring a 24 megapixel APS-C sensor, Fast Hybrid AF system, 1080p HD movies with XAVC S support, 3 inch tilting touch-screen, 6fps burst shooting, built-in wif-fi/NFC connectivity, and a pop-up flash. Read our in-depth Sony A5100 review, complete with sample JPEGs, RAW files and movies...

Sony A6300

The Sony A6300 is a new high-end compact system camera that features the fastest auto-focusing system in the world and the highest number of AF points. With a 24.2 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor, 4K movie recording, high-res 3-inch tilting LCD screen, electronic viewfinder and built-in flash, the Sony NEX-6 also offers 11fps burst shooting, wi-fi and NFC connectivity, and downloadable PlayMemories Camera Apps. Read our in-depth Sony A6300 review to find out if it's the best Sony APS-C camera yet...

Review Roundup

Reviews of the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III from around the web.

ephotozine.com »

The Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III is the third version of the OM-D E-M10, the entry level OM-D from Olympus, offering a mini-DSLR style camera, with an electronic viewfinder, interchangeable lenses, a 16 megapixel Micro Four Thirds sensor, plus 4K video recording.
Read the full review »

dpreview.com »

The Olympus OM-D E-M10 III is a 16MP Micro Four Thirds mirrorless camera. It looks like a slightly prettier version of its predecessor and the main changes are to the user interface (UI) and menus, in an aim to make the camera more accessible to relative newcomers to photography.
Read the full review »

Specifications

Type

  • Lens mount

    Micro Four Thirds

Image Sensor

  • Type

    4/3'' Live MOS sensor

  • Effective pixels

    16.1 Megapixels

  • Filter array

    Primary colour filter (RGB)

  • Aspect ratio & area

    4:3 / 17.3 x 13.0mm

  • Full resolution

    17.2 Megapixels

Engine

  • Type

    TruePic VIII

Filter

  • Dust reduction filter

    Supersonic Wave Filter

Viewfinder

  • Type

    Electronical Viewfinder

  • Pixel number

    2360K dots

  • Diopter adjustment

    -4.0 - +2.0 diopters / built-in type

  • Field of view

    Approx. 100%

  • Magnification

    Max. 1.23x with a 50mm lens set to infinity at -1 dioptre

  • Eye point

    19.2mm at -1 dioptre from eyepiece lens

  • Displayed information

    • Aperture value
    • Shutter speed
    • AF frame (super impose)
    • AF confirmation mark
    • AF lock
    • Auto bracket
    • Battery check
    • Exposure compensation indicator
    • Exposure compensation value indicator
    • Exposure level indicator
    • Exposure mode
    • Flash
    • FP flash
    • IS activating mode
    • Metering mode
    • Number of storable sequential pictures
    • White balance
    • Level Gauge
    • Highlight & Shadow
    • Live Pre-view function
    • Histogram
    • AE lock
  • Brightness adjustment

    Adaptive Brightness Technology / Manual settings: +/- 2 levels

  • Correction of colour temperature

    +/- 3 levels

Live View

  • Displayed information

    • Aperture
    • Shutter speed
    • Auto bracket
    • AE lock
    • Focus mode
    • Shooting mode
    • Battery check
    • IS activating mode
    • Face / Eye detection mode
    • Record mode
    • ISO
    • Sequential shooting mode
    • White Balance
    • Metering mode
    • Exposure compensation value
    • AF frame display
    • AF confirmation mark
    • Shooting information
    • Spot metering area
    • Super FP
    • Flash status
    • Touch Panel Condition
    • Focal length
    • Flash mode
    • Histogram
    • Level Gauge
    • Highlight & Shadow
    • Focus peaking
    • Number of storable pictures
    • Custom
    • Face detection
    • Flash intensity
    • WiFi
  • Field of view

    Approx. 100%

  • Magnification levels

    5 / 7 / 10 / 14x

Image Stabiliser

  • Type

    Sensor shift

  • Modes

    Five-dimensional, vertical or horizontal activation, automatic

  • Up to 4 EV steps (CIPA)

  • Lens IS priority

    Available

  • Live View stabilisation

    Yes

Focusing System

  • Method

    Contrast Detection AF system

  • Focus areas

    121 points / All target, Group target (9-areas), Single target

  • 800 points / Manual selection in Magnified View Mode

  • AF lock

    Yes; Locked by first position of shutter release button in single AF mode, AE/AF lock button (customised)

  • Modes

    • Manual focus
    • Single AF
    • Continuous AF
    • Single AF + MF
    • AF Tracking
    • Super Spot AF
  • AF illuminator

    Yes

  • Manual focus

    Yes; With enlarged focusing area or focus peaking

  • AF targeting pad

    Yes (activate/deactivate with double tap on rear monitor)

  • Face Detection extension

    • Eye Detect AF: Off
    • Near side priority
  • Predictive AF

    Yes

  • AF tracking

    Yes; Available in continuous AF mode

Exposure System

  • Modes

    • Programme automatic
    • Aperture priority
    • Shutter priority
    • Manual
    • Bulb
    • Time
    • i-Auto
    • Advanced Photo Modes
    • Scene Modes
    • Art Filter
    • Movie
  • Exposure compensation

    +/- 5 EV (1/3 steps)

  • Note: Movie shooting, monitor and EVF displays only up to ±3 EV .

  • Exposure bracketing

    3 frames (+/- 1 EV steps)

  • 7 frames (+/- 2/3 EV steps)

  • AE lock

    Yes

  • 7 frames (+/- 2 EV steps)

Advanced Photo Modes

  • Modes

    • Live Composite
    • Live Bulb
    • Multiple Exposure
    • HDR Backlight*
    • silent
    • Panorama
    • Keystone Compensation
    • AE bracketing
    • AE bracketing
  • * 4 images automatically shot and combined into a single image composite

Scene Modes

  • Number of scene modes

    25

  • Modes

    • Portrait
    • e-Portrait
    • Landscape with Portrait
    • Night Scene with portrait
    • Sports
    • Children
    • Night Scene
    • Light trails
    • Hand-held Starlight
    • Fireworks
    • Panning
    • Landscape
    • Sunset
    • Beach and Snow
    • Backlight HDR
    • Multi Focus
    • Silent mode
    • Candle
    • Macro
    • Nature Macro
    • Documents

Multi-Exposure

  • Max. number of frames

    2 frames (shooting)

Light Metering

  • Method

    TTL open aperture light metering

  • Zones

    324 zones Multi-pattern Sensing System

  • Detection range

    -2 - 20 EV (f2.8, ISO 100)

  • Modes

    • ESP light metering
    • Spot metering
    • Centre weighted metering
    • Highlight
    • Shadow

Art Filter

  • Modes

    • Pop Art
    • Soft Focus
    • Pale & Light Colour
    • Light Tone
    • Grainy Film
    • Pin Hole
    • Diorama
    • Cross Process
    • Dramatic Tone
    • Gentle Sepia
    • Key Line
    • Water colour
    • Partial Colour*
    • Vintage
    • Bleach Bypass
  • Variation / Effect

    Available

Sensitivity

  • Auto

    ISO LOW* - 25600 (customisable, default ISO LOW - 1600)

  • Manual

    ISO LOW - 25600 (adjustable in 1/3 EV step)

  • *approx. 100

Shutter

  • Shutter type

    Computerised focal-plane shutter

  • Self timer

    2s / 12s / Custom

  • Modes

    • Single frame
    • Sequential shooting
    • Bracketing
    • Self timer

Shutter Speeds

  • Standard operation

  • Shutter speed range

    1/4000 - 60s (in 1/3 EV steps)

  • Bulb mode

    Up to 30 minutes (selectable longest time in the menu, default: 8 minutes)

  • Silent mode

  • Shutter type

    Electronic shutter

  • Shutter speed

    1/16000 - 30s

  • * Available as "Silent" in Scene mode and Advanced photo mode.

  • Anti shock mode

  • Shutter type

    Electronic first curtain shutter

  • Shutter speed

    1/320* - 60s

  • * For speeds over 1/320 sec., mechanical shutter will automatically be selected.

White Balance

  • Manual White balance (One-Touch)

    Yes

  • White balance bracketing

    3 frames / +/- 2, 4, 6 mired steps

  • One-touch white balance

    4 custom settings can be registered

  • Custom WB

    1 setting can be registered at Kelvin temperature (2000K - 14000K)

  • Preset values

    • Tungsten
    • Flourescent 1
    • Sunlight
    • Flash
    • Overcast
    • Shade
  • Auto Flash adjustment

    Off / Auto WB / Flash

  • Keep warm colour

    On / Off

Sequence Shooting

  • Speed (H)

    Approx. 8.6fps

  • Speed (L)

    4.8fps

  • Max. number of frames

    22 frames (RAW)

  • Up to card capacity (JPG / Large Normal mode)

  • Conditions

    Memory card: TOSHIBA SDHC UHS-II R260 W240 EXCERIA™ PRO

  • Note: Depending on shooting conditions, the sequential shooting speed may reduce speed during shooting.

Image Processing

  • Art Filter bracketing

    Available

Internal Flash

  • Modes

    • AUTO
    • Manual
    • Manual (Full, 1/4, 1/16, 1/64)
    • Red-eye reduction
    • Slow synchronisation with red-eye reduction
    • Slow synchronisation
    • Slow synchronisation 2nd curtain
    • Fill-in
    • Off
    • TTL-Auto
  • Type

    Built-in

  • Flash compensation

    +/- 3 EV / 1/3 EV steps

  • Guide number

    8.2 (ISO 200)

  • X-sync speed

    1/250s / 1/4000s (Super FP Mode)

External Flash Control

  • X-sync speed

    1/250s / 1/4000s (Super FP Mode)

  • Type

    TTL AUTO, AUTO, MANUAL, FP TTL AUTO, FP MANUAL

  • Modes

    • Auto
    • Red-eye reduction
    • Slow synchronisation
    • 2nd curtain and slow synchronisation
    • Fill-in for exclusive flash
    • Manual
  • Note: Some functions are only available if they are supported by the external flash.

Monitor

  • Monitor type

    Tiltable LCD - Touch Panel

  • Monitor size

    7.6cm / 3.0'' (3:2)

  • Resolution

    1040K dots

  • Brightness adjustment

    +/- 7 levels

  • Colour balance

    +/- 7 levels Vivid (default) / Natural

  • Touch Control fucntions

    • AF area enlargement
    • AF area selection
    • Art Filter
    • Enlargement
    • Enlargement playback
    • Frame forward/backward
    • Live Guide
    • Scene Modes
    • Shooting mode
    • Shutter release
    • Super Control Panel
    • Wifi connection

Level Gauge

  • Detection

    2-axis

  • Display

    Rear display and viewfinder

Recording Formats

  • RAW

    12bit

  • RAW & JPEG

    Yes; parallel recording

  • JPEG

    Yes

  • Aspect ratio

    4:3 / 3:2 / 16:9 / 6:6 / 3:4

Still Image Recording

  • EXIF

    2.3

  • DCF

    Yes

Movie Recording System

  • Recording format

    MOV(MPEG-4AVC/H.264)

  • Image Stabilisation Mode

    Yes; Hybrid sensor shift + digital (5-axis)

  • 3840 x 2160 (4K) / 30p, 25p, 24p / IPB (approx. 102 Mbps)

  • HD Movie quality

    Full HD 1920 x 1080 (16:9) / 30p, 25p, 24p (MOV)

  • Full HD 1920 x 1080 (16:9) / 60p, 50p (MOV)

  • HD 1280 x 720 (16:9) / 30p, 25p, 24p (MOV)

  • Maximum Recording Time

    29min (MOV)

  • Exposure Modes

    • Aperture priority
    • Art Filter
    • Manual
    • Programme automatic
    • Shutter priority
  • * Frame rate may drop when using certain art filter

Movie Specialties

  • High-Speed Recording

    720P / 120fps

  • Time lapse

    4k, 1080p, 720p Yes

Sound Recording System

  • Internal microphone

    Stereo

  • Recording format

    Stereo PCM/16bit, 48kHz, Wave Format Base

  • Image footage

    30s

  • Speaker

    Yes

  • Microphone functions

    • Wind Noise Reduction
    • Recording Volume

View Images

  • Modes

    • Index
    • Calendar
    • Zoom
    • Slide show
    • Movie
    • Single
  • Light box

    Yes

  • Histogram in playback mode

    Yes

  • Shooting information

    Off / On

  • Highlight/Shadow point warning

    Yes

Erase / Protect / Copy Function

  • Erase modes

    Single, All, Selected

  • Image protect mode

    Single frame, Selected frames, All Frames, Release protect (Single/All selected)

Menu

  • Menu languages in camera

    English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Czech, Dutch, Danish, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Croatian, Slovenian, Hungarian, Greek, Slovak, Turkish, Latvian, Estonian, Lithuanian, Ukrainian, Serbian

Customisation Options

  • Fn Button

    Yes

  • Factory reset

    Full / Basic

  • Programmable button

    Yes

Interface

  • Hot shoe

    Yes

  • Media

    SD Memory Card (SDHC, SDXC, UHS-I, UHS-II compatible)

  • HDMI™

    Yes; Micro connector (Type D) *

  • USB 2.0 High Speed

    Yes

  • Wireless connectivity

    WiFi

  • * "HDMI", the HDMI logo and "High-Definition Multimedia Interface" are trademarks or registered trademarks of HDMI Licensing LLC.

Wi-Fi Functions

  • Easy Connection

    QR code setting

  • Wireless Shooting

    • Live View
    • Power off
    • Rec View
    • Self timer
    • Touch AF & Shutter
    • P/A/S/M exposure modes
    • Bulb mode
    • Live Composite
    • Zoom
    • Aperture priority

Power Supply

  • Battery

    BLS-50 Lithium-Ion Battery (included)

  • Sleep mode

    1, 3, 5, 10 min. and off selectable.

  • Live View shooting

    Approx. 330 images (50% with Live View) (using BLS-50 and TOSHIBA SD with IS ON, based on CIPA testing standards)

  • Movie recording

    80min (standard JEITA conditions) 140min (When repeatedly recording at the maximum time of 29 minutes, using M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 EZ, 4K video shooting)

Environment

  • Temperature

    0 - 40°C Operating temperature / -20 - 60°C storage temperature

  • Humidity

    30 - 90% operation humidity / 10 - 90% storage humidity

Dimensions

  • Width

    121.5mm

  • Height

    83.6mm

  • Depth

    49.5mm

  • Weight

    410g (including battery and memory card)

Exterior

  • Available Colours

    • Black
    • Silver

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