Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV Review: Stabilized and Affordable

Despite the lower price point, the E-M10 Mark IV is a gorgeous camera. The silver body with a textured black wrap, the silver dials, and the on/off switch make it look like a classic film winder. The body doesn’t feel as robust as a magnesium alloy build, but neither does it feel chintzy. Unfortunately, it lacks the excellent weather sealing of the high-end OM-D cameras. While I prefer slightly larger grips, the shape is easy enough for the index fingers to wrap around at the front, with a nice thumb rest at the back.

The body still leaves plenty of room for a 2.36-million-dot viewfinder and a 3-inch, 1.04-million-dot LCD screen that tilts 180 degrees, (Note: If you use a tripod, the full swing of that tilt would be blocked.) Similar to the experience on other recent Olympus cameras, both the viewfinder and LCD screen don’t always accurately portray what the camera is capturing. Several times, the white balance in the viewfinder was much different than what the actual photo captured. Exposure also didn’t always match up, and areas in shadow tend to be muted and difficult to make out from the viewfinder. Given that the M-10 IV is a budget camera, the viewfinder, despite its faults, met up with expectations compared to similarly priced cameras.

The E-M10 IV’s control scheme makes most of the frequently accessed settings easy to adjust. Dual control wheels adjust shutter speed and aperture, while shortcut buttons on the back open options for adjusting ISO, flash, and burst shooting. Settings like autofocus modes and white balance are inside a quick menu. I miss the joystick found on higher-end cameras, which allows you to adjust the focal point in one step — on the E-M10 IV, you tap the shortcut, then move the cursor. But, again, the joystick is a feature generally reserved for higher-priced cameras, so we can’t be too harsh on it not being present on the E-M10 IV.

The side of the camera houses a USB for recharging, as well as an HDMI port, while both the battery and single SD card slot share a door underneath. That battery door is just barely blocked by a standard-sized tripod plate, which can be a little annoying. While the battery is rated for 350 shots, I got about 650 shots before it wore down. It’s missing the ports of a more advanced camera, like a mic port for video, but has the pop-up flash that high-end cameras tend to omit.

The small size, classic look, and control scheme make the E-M10 Mark IV a blast to shoot with. While I miss the weather sealing, grip, and joystick of its pricier siblings like the E-M1 Mark III, the small size means I never had to second-guess whether I really wanted to haul the camera around with me all day.

Sluggish performance, excellent stabilization

The E-M10 IV also uses the TruePic VIII processor, which is one generation behind the E-M1 Mark III. To put that even further in perspective, the E-M1X has two processors. Both the more limited type of autofocus system and slower processor mixed with high-end algorithms means that the M10 Mark IV is more accurate than it’s predecessor, the E-M10 Mark III, but doesn’t have the speed or reliability of either the E-M1 Mark III or the E-M1X.

The 121-point contrast-detection autofocus system is slightly better than what I expected from an $800 camera, though. It is accurate and easy to use, but lacks a bit of speed. I had very few shots that didn’t nail the focus, and many of those were because I shot a little too early. Autofocus slows down slightly in low light but still seemed to lock on accurately without too much of a delay.

Continuous autofocus was OK for a budget camera, getting more shots sharp than not, but still catching a handful of soft-focus images when shooting the fastest action. Unsurprisingly, tracking autofocus doesn’t work that great, but I have yet to meet a camera with tracking good enough to fully rely on, even among pricier models.

Eye AF is excellent for portraits and snapshots of people, as it easily picks up eyes and faces. It’s not quite fast enough to use on action, however. My favorite part about the Eye AF is that you don’t need to be in auto-area focus mode for it to work, a trait some other brands annoyingly reserve this feature for. Olympus allows you to toggle the feature on and off, so you can use it in more advanced focus modes rather than exclusively in the mode that wants to automatically select the subject for you.

The E-M10 IV can shoot at up to 8.7 frames per second (fps) with the mechanical shutter but needs the slower 5 fps speed in order to use continuous autofocus (or extended ISO settings). At the fastest speed, shooting RAW + JPEG, the camera can churn out 18 shots before the filling buffer starts to slow things down. Slowing the speed to 5 fps allows the camera to engage autofocus (which, let’s be honest, you’re going to want active) and take 21 shots in a row before slowing. Both bursts took around 15 seconds to be fully written to a Class 10 SD card before you could review the images in playback, but you could keep shooting at a slower rate or adjust settings while writing to the card.

One of the best features the E-M10 borrows from more advanced models — albeit, it’s not quite as good — is the 5-axis sensor-shift image stabilization. Rated to 4.5 stops, the system was good enough to shoot down to 1/10th of a second at 14mm handheld and still get some (but not all) shots sharp. I even took a handheld shot of the moon. While lagging behind the 7.5 stops of the E-M1 Mark III, the  in-body optical image stabilization system this good is difficult to find on a budget camera.

Excellent image quality

Sporting almost the same pixel count as pricier models, Olympus didn’t skimp on the sensor for the E-M10. The 20.3 megapixel Micro Four Thirds sensor captures sharp images with good color. While the images may not look as good from the viewfinder and the camera is a bit slower, image quality is one feature that was not shortchanged to reach the budget price.

Images from the E-M10 IV and kit lens were well detailed. They were sharpest at f/5, but still acceptable shooting with the kit lens wide open. Mixed with the ability to shoot .23x magnification with the kit lens, the camera has the potential to capture a lot of detail. The compact kit lens does have a tendency to flare, however.

Of course, in order to slim that price down, Olympus made a few sacrifices. Its speed is a bit lacking, it won’t handle a rainstorm, and, even among the budget category, there are competing cameras with larger sensors.

Is there a better option?

The E-M10 Mark IV is a good budget camera, but it doesn’t have quite enough to make it the best budget mirrorless camera. The Sony a6100, which costs $750 with a kit lens, has a larger sensor, faster 11 fps, and a hybrid phase-detection and contrast-detection autofocus system. It lacks image stabilization, however, giving the E-M10 IV an edge for photographers frequently working in low light. Our current favorite budget mirrorless, the Fujifilm X-T30, offers better autofocus than the E-M10 Mark IV, a larger sensor, and more advanced video features, but again lacks stabilization and sells for about $200 more.

How long will it last?

Olympus is currently negotiating a deal to sell its imaging division, and the sale makes the future of Olympus lenses and accessories unclear. There’s a possibility of buying the E-M10 Mark IV and losing support down the road, in addition to limited lens availability. The build quality is good for a budget camera, but don’t expect the durability of its weather-sealed siblings.

Should you buy it?

Not if photography is a serious hobby, but it’s an easier sell for more casual shooters. The smaller sensor, slower speed, and questions on the company’s future makes this camera difficult to recommend for more discerning shutterbugs. The small size, low price, good image quality, and built-in image stabilization — a feature hard to find in an entry-level camera — are all great for the casual photographer, however.

Editors’ Recommendations