[UPDATE March 18 2014 dpreview just awarded the OMD EM10 its Gold Award]
I pixel peep ... a lot ... I figure if it's sharp at 100% crop, it's sharp period. I do pro street photography and primarily use the Sony A7 with a variety of lenses, but my go to lens is the Zeiss 55mm f1.8. This lens has been DXO tested to be second only to the the $4,000 Otus lens. All that to say ... it's SHARP. I recently got my OM-D E-M10 after comparing the images to the O-MD E-M1 and others costing much more. So ... I bought it.
[WORKS FOR MY STYLE OF SHOOTING]
I have a Sony NEX-6 with the excellent Sony G Lens 18-105mm. I use the NEX-6 as a backup to the A7. However I wanted something smaller to carry with me when I was not specifically on a street shoot. I thought about using the NEX-6 as my casual camera. It's small, but I really wanted something with the full manual control set that was like the A7. The NEX-6, while good, did not replicate the control buttons and dials of the A7. Plus the NEX lenses really added to the size of the NEX-6. But the EM10 used much smaller lenses and was completely customizable, AND had the two control dials just like my A7 ... one in the front on the top right, and one in the rear on the top right. I shoot in Manual mode and use the front dial (which I can easily turn with my index finger) to change shutter speed. I use the rear dial (which is placed perfectly for my thumb) to change Aperture for effect or bokeh, etc. Since the A7 has an Auto ISO that functions during Manual mode, it controls my exposure mostly for me. Not every camera has an Auto ISO capability that functions in Manual mode. The EM10 does. And I can set the upper and lower limits for ISO to use so I never get too much noise by going too high in the Auto ISO selection process. So between the two dial functionality being the same between the A7 and the EM10, and the availability of AUTO ISO in Manual mode and ISO bracketing on both cameras, I can use the same controls and the same setup for either camera.
[PRO LEVEL IMAGE QUALITY FOR MOST WORK]
Now for the good part ... The image quality on the EM10 is literally 95% of the image quality of my full frame A7 (both using the good glass). I'm talking about at full 100% crop. Now, to be sure, the EM10 is not an exact A7 equivalent. The 95% holds true only in reasonable light. In the lowest light the EM10, though good ... and slightly better than most APS-C cameras like the NEX-6, is simply no match for the full frame A7. But, for the money, and with the Olympus 25mm f1.8 lens, the little EM10 is excellent, and even is 95% of the image quality and capability (fast AF and 8fps vs 10fps, etc) of the EM1 to my eyes (in decent light). And the in-camera image stabilization makes it an even better bargain than many cameras. In fact, though I bought the camera to use as a third level camera in my "fleet", I am absolutely convinced it is slightly better than my NEX-6 with good glass. And I'm a Sony guy that owns an RX100 (by the way, the EM10 is significantly better than the 100 even though I love the little RX100), and an RX1 along with the NEX-6 and A7. I shot with the kit 14-42 Olympus, but it is not in the same league as the 25mm f1.8 Olympus glass. So I simply keep the better lens on the camera. I have found I can crop in on the raw EM10 image shot with the better glass and get the equivalent magnification the 14-42 would have given me by zoom ... and the f1.8 image is still better than or equal to the uncropped, zoomed-in image of the kit lens.
[COMPARISONS TO THE O-MD E-M1]
So, it's a go everywhere little camera that absolutely can replace my full frame A7 in a lot of my work. I'm simply amazed. I think the little EM10 just kicked my NEX-6 out of second place in my arsenal. The best part IMHO is that the EM10 is 90% of the camera the EM1 is ... to me. I don't need the weather sealing and would never knowingly take a weather sealed camera into a downpour anyway. But that's just the nature of my work I guess. Perhaps some people don't have an option and must be in the weather. I wanted to shoot a few thousand shots before I reviewed the little gem. The focus speed is virtually identical between the EM1 and the EM10. The same image processor gives practically the same noiseless higher ISO image quality. The EM1 has a slightly better image quality due to the lack of an anti aliasing filter, and the EM1 snaps 10fps vs 8fps for the EM10. The 3 axis image stabilization on the EM10 does about 85% of the work the 5 axis stablization of the EM1 does because the EM10 keeps the 3 most important corrections (yaw, roll and pitch).
[STREET PHOTOGRAPHY PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS]
The only thing I miss from the A7 is the location of the power switch. I carry my A7 on a wrist strap in my right hand and I always have my index finger on the power switch so that, within a second or so, I can turn the camera on and have it up to my eye and catching the moments. Then I simply switch it back off on the way back down to my side. I have found that when I operate like that I routinely can take over a thousand photographs on a single A7 battery charge. With normal CIPA measurements the reviews have the A7 at around 350 shots before the battery expires. All that to say that the position of the power switch on the lower back right of the EM10 means I cannot be ready quite as fast. BUT ... the EM10 has a setting that lets the camera go blank and save power after one to five (I think five?) minutes. Once it goes blank, it is saving power, but a single press of any key brings it back to life instantly ... so my situation is mitigated. Therefore, I just leave it in that 1 minute-to-power save mode and the battery lasts good amount of time. Not everybody uses the CIPA method of using a camera with flash and extensive LCD viewing of images. Once you realize just how much of the battery those two activities use, you can change your habits and realize a lot more battery life per charge.
[CONCLUSIONS]
All in all, I am very, very happy with this little camera. I feel it is perfectly capable, in the right light, of producing professional results for output even to large format. I hope an upgrade someday includes an Exposure Compensation dial that works in Manual Mode as well as others and an HDR dynamic range mode that does not disable Auto ISO when in Manual mode. But, even as it is, the little O-MD E-M10 is a breeze and a pleasure to use and carry around. I take it practically everywhere I go. It's small enough and high quality build enough ... with professional features and controls ... to be a revolutionary replacement for larger cameras in a lot of DSLR work. But it's not too small making it uncomfortable to use for pro photography. And the price is right. Great job Olympus!
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This Item  OM SYSTEM OLYMPUS OM-D E-M10 Mirrorless Digital Camera with 14-42mm 2RK lens (Silver) |  |  |  |  |  | |
| Price | $458.00 | -10% $856.95 Typical: $956.95 | $1,999.00 | -29% $497.99 List: $697.99 | $1,099.00 | $769.95 |
| Delivery | Get it as soon as Thursday, May 16 | Get it as soon as Tuesday, May 21 | Get it as soon as Thursday, May 16 | Get it as soon as Thursday, May 16 | Get it May 20 - 28 | — |
| Customer Ratings | ||||||
| Picture quality | ||||||
| Image stabilization | ||||||
| Auto focus | ||||||
| Quality of material | ||||||
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| Sold By | kamiyuto | PROCAM | Amazon.com | Amazon.com | Camera Wholesalers Authorized Dealer | Fast Ship Direct |
| display type | LCD | LCD | OLED | LCD | LCD | LCD |
| display size | 3 inches | 3 inches | 3 inches | 3 inches | 3 inches | 3 inches |
| lens type | Interchangeable | — | — | mirror-lens | Interchangeable | Interchangeable |
| zoom type | — | — | — | digital | Optical Zoom | Optical |
| shooting modes | Movie | Automatic | Bulb Mode, Time Mode,Aperture Priority, Manual, Program, Shutter Priority | 10 | Automatic | Bulb Mode,Aperture Priority, Manual, Program, Shutter Priority |
| connectivity tech | HDMI, USB | Wi-Fi, HDMI | HDMI, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth | Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi | NFC, HDMI, USB |
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Reviews with images
Side By Side With a Full Frame Yields 5 Stars
I like the idea of a smaller camera with interchangeable lenses and after reading reviews on the various makers and models decided to begin with the least expensive Olympus OM-D available. There are a lot of menus and choices, but after browsing the manual and experimenting a little bit, I found the camera to be quite user friendly.I decided to field test it today (third day since I received it) and take a couple of comparison shots with my Canon 6D. It wasn't exactly a fair comparison because I was using the kit lens that came with the Olympus versus a top of the line Canon "L" lens. The range of the lens was similar (accounting for the difference in crop factor), but I realized once I got back to my computer that I should have shot the Canon at 200 ISO since that was as low as the Olympus went without extending it to the "LOW" setting (ISO 100). I shot both cameras in "Manual" mode because that's usually they way I shoot. Both comparison images were cropped in with the photos at 100% in my editing software to show detail.Although the Canon photos were noticeably more detailed and had better color rendition much of the difference is likely to be due to the quality of the lenses as opposed to the cameras - I'm going to try out some of the Olympus primes and set them up against similar primes from Canon to get a better side-by-side comparison. Frankly, I'll be surprised if a full-frame DSLR doesn't still edge out the Four Thirds competitor, but I'll update this review once I've done the comparison. Still, I have to admit that I was impressed by the quality of images I got for a lens that basically cost me less than $50 as part of the combination deal with Amazon.I've also owned Canon's 10D, 7D and the 7D Mark ii bodies and all of those felt as if they were better and more solidly made than the E-M10. That's not to say that the Olympus feels "cheap". Far from it. I was a little concerned about reviews that indicated that the E-M10 was "fragile" or that buttons or dials ceased to function. Those reviews appeared to be in the minority and I decided to take the risk on the camera because I liked the idea of a smaller camera for occasional travel (when photography is not on the main agenda) while still being able to control features like ISO, shutter speed and aperture through the camera options and choice of lenses. I'm looking forward to trying some of the mid-range lenses Olympus has on offer.Bottom-line: I'm glad I chose this "entry level" version to experiment with and have been very pleased with the quality of images I've seen so far. As I see the results from other lenses I'll decide whether or not to upgrade the camera body or just keep the E-M10. Shooting with it today was very pleasant, convenient and satisfying. In addition to the two side-by-side comparison images I'm going to try to post with this review, I'm adding a photo taken a little later after I'd stowed the DSLRs and was just getting a kick out of shooting the Olympus. I predict I'll enjoy working with it.UPDATE: I picked up a couple of primes (17mm and 45mm about equivalent to my Canon 35 and 85mm lenses) and did some comparison shots. I cropped in very close at 100 percent and the Canon 6D full frame with the 35mm appeared much sharper than the Olympus. However, if you're just looking to print regular size (5x7 or 8x10) prints or use on Facebook or other websites I doubt you'll notice the difference. With the 85mm shot in lower light, wide open and at ISO 800, the Olympus and Canon are much closer. In fact, I'd have to give the edge to Olympus on the color saturation. I cropped these closer once I realized that Amazon reduces the image size so much that you lose detail you'd see in a larger image. I'm upping my original rating from 4 to 5 stars, particularly given the value to performance ratio on this little gem.So - I remain very pleased with the Olympus and I'll be shooting with it a lot. Highly recommended.
Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2014
Color: BlackStyle: w/ 14-42mmSet: BaseVerified Purchase
Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2015
Color: BlackStyle: w/ 14-42mmSet: BaseVerified Purchase
Top reviews from other countries
CSpin
Great Camera
Reviewed in Canada on April 21, 2016Color: SilverStyle: w/ 14-42mmSet: BaseVerified Purchase
Jack Hou
Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on February 17, 2016Color: BlackStyle: w/ 14-42mmSet: BaseVerified Purchase
Rain
Delightful
Reviewed in Canada on January 4, 2016Color: SilverStyle: w/ 14-42mmSet: BaseVerified Purchase
Hayoung Yang
very good! it does more than I expected
Reviewed in Canada on June 23, 2016Color: SilverStyle: w/ 14-42mmSet: BaseVerified Purchase
Annz
Nice product
Reviewed in Canada on March 30, 2016Color: SilverStyle: w/ 14-42mmSet: BaseVerified Purchase
