Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV, the best BUDGET mirrorless camera? - RED35 Review 

I have the Mk ll and love, love, love it. I took a trip to Istanbul and took just two lenses: the 12-40/f2.8 and pany 20/f1.7. Everything fit in a small messenger bag. I got a picture of the city skyline that I had printed at 20'' x 30'". Looks great and is hanging in my dining room. The Panasonic 20mm pancake was perfect for inconspicuous street photography.

Thanks for the review, Jimmy. I've been using quite an old DSLR for some time and have decided to go for something much more modern when I change later this year. The EM-10 iv is definitely the top contender.

Thanks for the review, I appreciate people taking more time for them and using the camera for a longer period to get a good idea.

Thanks for getting to this! I've had a preorder in since nearly the day this new mark iv was announced. Still using my E-M10ii which is a wonderful camera -- my introduction to Olympus mirrorless cameras. Packing now for an extended trip to the UK, planning to take the E-M10iv, as well as my old trustworthy E-M1 mark I and E-PL9 bodies, and a bag of lenses. Also love that they all use the same batteries. Also found a second hand M Zuiko 12mm f/2 lens which will go into my bag for the trip!

Another nice video, i just picked up the Miv used with less than 500 shutter clicks, this works along side my Mii and Miii very well.

Just bought it. Love it. A great complement to my EM1 Mark ii and EM5 mark iii. Stealthy, very nice.

Thanks! Wonderful summary.

Welcome back!!

Nice detailed review... love the new presentation style... but I miss your review companions... hopefully the world will get back to normal again soon...

Great video Jimmy! I am trying to use my E-M10 Mark IV with a Swarovski ATX w/ 115mm lens for digiscoping. I am trying to figure it out, but it is not as easy as some make it seam. I'd love to see you do a video as such!

Great detailed review Jimmy! I love the e-m10 series - compact, snappy, very solid... oh and those vintage looks! I have a feeling this one is going to sell pretty well. It seems to have evolved into the perfect entry level camera and finally gets the 20mp sensor of its bigger brothers along with improved IBIS. Did you mention that it also has usb charging? A really useful feature for charging whilst on the move.

Picked this up yesterday. I actually went in to the store to pick up a new Lens. Ended up buying this camera with two lenses included for £849.99. Only used it for a moment taking it out properly today. Coming from a Panasonic the menu is going to take a little bit of getting used to but I am very very impressed with the build and image quality so far.

Great review, thanks! I was very confused by the comment near the end that it lacks face-detection AF, but then realised you said PHASE-detection AF! So I learned something too :)

Beautiful camera! Perfect for travel. Beautiful jpegs

Good review Jimmy. I just bought the mkIV to go with my Pen-F and 5mkII and the main reason is for the tilt screen. I broke my hip in the summer and am still walking with a stick and flip out screens are not easy with one hand. Love the new grip as well. I don't do video and the camera does everything I need photographically. The only downer I've found so far is that my remote shutter release that I use with my other Oly cameras won't work with it and you have to use the app.

I bought my em10m2 in a 2018 just as the m3 came out (got a great deal). I was moving from r The Fuji X10. Great camera

Great review jimmy, just ordered my new o-md10 mkiv from Amazon £421 for black body version lock down bargain, price just dropped while placing my order to £405 👀👍

Hi! Great review! Where can I get that housing around the lens that you have on your camera?

I still have an EM-10 MkII and haven't found any reason to upgrade to a newer version or an EM-5. I also have an EM-1 Mk1, but the EM-10 II seems to still be my go-to because of the more compact size and traveling for work.

Nice video and nice photos. How is the quality with the kit lens or really i`ll need to adquire better lenses?

very informative review, Jimmy! thank you very much!

One thing that I really want from mark IV is the silent shutter in all modes. Really hope they can give firmware update to mark III.

I’m sure I would love it , it fact for some odd reason I prefer the 10 to the 5 but the massive difference in price from the mk111 to the IV is to big to justify for me maybe in a few years when the price comes down

IMHO, and purely from a photography point of view (excluding video), Olympus had the formula nailed with the E-M10 mk II, and subsequent models have since been somewhat compromised. While a 20 Mpix sensor is certainly appealing, it also produces larger files for a limited quality increase. And it doesn't offset the disappearance of a lot of customisation possibilities that are embedded in the mk II and sorely lacking on newer models. I'm glad some of the most egregious omissions (such as silent shutter in all PASM modes) have finally been backported from the mk II to the mk IV, but there are a lot more areas where the mk II still has the edge. A beginner will certainly be more at ease to transition to real photography with a mk IV. But the more advanced photographers are still better served with the straightforwardness of the mk II. "An elegant weapon for a more civilized age"...

Interesting review. Do you think OM Systems will introduce an OM-D EM10 Mark V? Thanks.

Watching this again, after RU-vid seems to have improve the video quality is reassuring.

Good video! I am looking to upgrade from cellphone photography mostly for wildlife, birds, macro, landscape and models in lovely landscapes. Do you think this camera would handle all this? I know it's allot 🤷

The E-M10 is one of the best values in the market- the new grip looks perfect! I hope that they put a grip like that on all their new cameras. The image quality and performance is right up there with the more expensive models.

Went with the E-M10 iv after shooting with the original E-M5 for a decade. While I would have preferred the E-M5 iii, or its updated OM-5 reskin, instead I got the M10 used for 1/4th the price of the M5. I really wanted to love the new OM-5, but it just seems like last-decade technology; no USB-C, no new sensor, and a less than compelling compute/social/ai enhancements. I do have a GH5S for video, and it's been a blessing the last few years, all the while my OMD has just gathered dust. Olympus has never made much effort with the video side of things, and being locked indoors the last few years, I didn't use it as I just didn't need a travel camera. I have some big travel plans this summer though, and despite my smartphone being a pretty great primary stills-camera, nothing can yet replace my 75mm Olympus lens. I probably would have jumped on an older E-M5 ii if I could have snagged one for $200 or so, to get focus peaking and a slightly better sensor, but an M10-iv for a bit more seemed worth it. My ancient E-M5 is hard to use with manual primes, and there is very little data to work with when post-processing, but otherwise it's a beautiful little stills camera. OM Systems needs to excite me, while keeping well away from competing in the price range that Sony FF cameras are in. $500 to $1500 is the price range I'm hoping for. Auto-focus needs to be at least as good as a Sony A6100 camera, ideally even better. Clean HDMI output (mini or full sized port), line/mic in audio, NDI output, USB-C webcam output, USB-rapid charging, NFC connectivity, digital e-stab + IBIS, and a more seamless mobile experience integration. Perhaps even slap Android OS in, using a Qualcomm snapdragon chipset to power the device; how cool would it be if the camera was picked up as the primary system camera so it is compatible with all Android apps? I'd smack on my fish-eye pancake lens and pocket such a camera, or switch to a 25mm to do a live stream from my home studio. If done flawlessly, perhaps in partnership with Samsung, I'd drop even upwards of $2000 for such a beast.

Thanks!

Hi Jimmy, was thinking about buying this to replace my Mk1. It would be mainly for the enhanced AF and OLED EVF. I would lose the all-metal body of M10 mk 1 and the use of the BCG1 (separate grip) - I have the 12-40mm, 40-150 f2.8 Pro and the Lumix Leica 25mm F1.4. My question is how good is the Eye/Face detect with CAF+tracking. I have seen online demos of the Sony A6400 real-Sony class performance but on previous Olys it was pretty crap...

Great video Jimmy , big fan ,thanks for the info I have the em10 mk3 and i love it, do you think the mk4 would be better for wildlife,bird photography etc than the mk3 or not huge difference to change.

I loved the LEGO camera! This (the EM10) is a great “pocket-able” alternative to my OMD EM1 Mk II. Now I just have to find a camera shop that will sell me one. Where I live, they won’t stock it, and in some cases, won’t even order it for in store pick up.

thanks for this video, got one question for you: Does this Olympus EM10 camera become warm after being turned on for a few minutes without shooting videos(just looking through menu or shoot pictures)? I live in a tropical place, previously owned a Fuji xt20, and as soon as I turned it on, within 2 minutes I could feel the warmth in hand, and totally turned off my passion for shooting. So this potential issue is my biggest concern, would like to hear your input, thanks a lot.

Where can we get that lens hood from and what lens is it connected to? Thanks

A very well executed review. / Ulf

Can you recommend a similar price but good 4K video with auto focus? Thanks.

What would say is the best competitor to this camera that has a flip out screen that isn’t obscured by a tripod?

Which lens would you recommend for traveling with this camera?

I love the Olympus Entry Level Cameras. The E-M10 Mark II made me love the System and I'm now carrying an E-M5 for Family Shooting and an E-M1 for professionell work. Thanks for your great conent!

will you suggest me to buy this over canon eos rp ? i hv rp with 85mm

Thanks for the review. Does the video recording still has that 30 min limit?

But they could have given a metal body for Mk4 as in Mk2? What about wildlife photography with Olympus? Is Em 10 series a good pick?

I am buying a mirrorless camera for the very first time so am watching a lot of review videos on RU-vid and this was one of the best! Down to the E-M10 Mark IV vs the Fujifilm X-T200 as my final options as they are the same price locally. Fuji has the larger sensor and I guess brand future "stability" but Olympus has IBIS and overall better feel/ease of use. Mainly for casual shooting on vacations/trips. Anyone know if there are any other major considerations I am not taking into account?

Oh yaa! I have bougth ons. M1 markIV!

Thanks, it is a nice camera but with a number of compromises. I was wondering, physically, how close in overall size is the E-M10 IV to the 5 III? Is the 10 much smaller? Also, how does the 10 IV compare with the 5 II? Price wise maybe that is a good option?

this camera or nikon d3500 ? thoughts ?

I just bought a mark iii body for my son 12th’s birthday (he will use my lenses...), cost me only 288€ brand new... For me it’s the cheapest alternative right now I know Olympus push you to say than the latest is the greatest but nowadays a good tip is to buy older models, for the last decade they are almost all as good as the new ones and features are just gimmicks from the marketing department 😅

Hi! I started learning photography with a second-hand EM10 II and still enjoy using it. I wonder why you (and many other) tell about the "new" heart/processor in mark IV. It's not new by any means. EM10 III already had Truepic VIII and the newest processor now is Truepic IX presented in EM1 III.

The OMD EM-10 IV has no more noise at high iso than the OMD EM-IV. It's the same Truepic sensor and processor. The comparisons have been made. Moreover, for me it is not a camera to replace a smartphone. It's two very different worlds

How do I find and set the self timer?

Hi, thanks for the great review. I have an Olympus EM1 MK1 would you say this camera would be a decent upgrade?

Great camera, I have the Mark iii. The only downside for me is that there’s no way of using a wired remote release.

If the E-M10iv had same (as many) bracketing options as E-M10ii, then I'd upgrade 3 bodies to E-M10iv. Will OMS will ever bring back the missing bracketing options?

Nice review. What lens and hood have you installed here? Is it affixed to an adapter?

I just upgrade from mark 1 to 4!!

I use an OM1 and basically wanted a digital version of that. I just shoot in manual usually so thats mostly All I would do on this. I would still be interested in exploring features but I like shooting manual. Better than nikon d5600?

I'm still using an Olympus pen mini! It's time for a new camera. Deciding between this one and the Cannon eos

Thank you for the nice review. How would you compare AF on mk4 with that one on panasonic gx9? Which camera has a better viewfinder? Thanks.

I have seriously considering the IV over the III. But I am wondering about handling. I noticed you used the 12-100. How did that balance for you? I have the 12-40 and worried it is not as balanced. My other cameras are the E-M1 Mk1 with a grip. I am attracted to the new grip of the IV. Thanks!

Still not sure if I should get this or the Gx9. I like my panasonic cameras but this looks nice. I really like the look of it and gives me that old style feeling. Sure there's not much in them but as much as I want this one moving to another brand isn't easy.

Great review. It's nice to see that the UK still loves their "peas!" (At 12:12). Good luck with Brexit.

Thanks Jimmy, my question is You can get a E-M10 III with 14-40MM and 40-150MM lenses over £150 cheaper than Mark IV with 14-40MM lens. Which one is the better option for photography not vlogging?

While I think this is a great camera, I find it really sad what Olympus did to the mark III. It has the same processor but probably won’t be getting any of the software upgrades found in the mark IV. Afaik they even released a mark IIIs which is exactly that - a software update shipped as hardware. Other than the sensor, the screen and possibly the usb charging, they could’ve given us an almost equally good camera years ago.

I'm a beginner and will be traveling through the U.S. I'm definitely more interested in taking pictures, not videos. However, I would like to be able to photograph people and things in that are in motion because I like the feel and look that those pictures give. With all this in mind, would you recommend to me the III or IV? Thank you :)

Bluetooth to smartphone, panorama & flash. Better features than more expensive models. Hope JIP got the Message...

When recording 4k video can you use the 2x digital teleconverter (using the top plate button)? one of the Olympus specs web pages states One-push Movie Digital Converter - Not available....

I have the MkII, which I chose over the MkIII, because I didn't feel I needed the 4K video, and I far preferred the ergonomics and feel (those metal top and bottom plates, and a nicer grip). However, this MkIV seems to be bringing genuine improvements, and while I wouldn't consider upgrading for at least another year, and would rather spend money on lenses instead, if someone I know was looking to get into the system right now, I'd probably tell them to go looking for the best deal they can get for a MKIV. If its in your price range, it's worth it, and unless you're a pro, why would you need anything more?

Do you think the Olympus Mark IV is better than the Sony A6100?

Do all Olympus lens features: aperture ring, image stabilization, autofocus work when using on a Panasonic camera body?

I am firmly stuck at the EM10 II as the EM10 III was a panic strip out of functionality in Olympus's dying moments and little has come back in the IV. The problem with these cheap cameras is there are no firmware improvements and the IV is something that could have been done in firmware over the III. I bought to compliment it a Panasonic G80 with a 12-60 lens which has a ton more extra functionality such as custom modes and cheaper. The EM10 IV seems only really of interest to anyone who has never used a Mk I or II. They would have to bring custom modes back in to make me at all interested.

Is the olympus android app good? Currently thinking of upgrading from my lx100 just because of the horrible app support, I can't transfer my pictures. So frustrating

I am thinking between this and Sony zv e10 But I believe the sony with a small gimbal would be a better choice What do you think? It is mainly for vlogging

Nice but does it have microphone input and headphones?

I have em10 mark 2 almost 2 years, and i doing many professional work from this camera

Is there a 3.5mm microphone interface

What camera you shot your video?

Literally no reason to upgrade from the mark II for stills. Thanks for the video, though.

i would kill for pen 2 weather/water resistant

The Mark IV have more noise at high ISO than de Mark III ?

Tempting to move from the mark 2 but i hate the way theyve gone all plastic on the bodies. Ive never been sold on the ' its to save weight ' argument. Undoubtedly its for cost cutting.

Instead of skipping the mark "4" and going to mark "5" (because the Japanese regard the number 4 the same way westerners regard the number 13, IE: unlucky) they used the Roman Numeral IV to get around the superstition. Note that there is no Lumix G4 (but strangely, Nikon did make a D4 and an N4, the D4 suffers from "LCD rot").

Does this have a mic jack?

I still reckon mk ii is better than the mk III. Hopefully the mk iv is a reason to upgrade from mk ii although it seems very expensive for an entry level model, plus in the uk at the moment there is no body-only option

the power button needs to be right handed, apart from that its great, I still have mk1 and its power button is also a bit strange but at least one handed

Is the em10 mk4 best budget? Well probably not. When it came out it was about 650 bucks, u get a gx9 for that, which has a viewfinder that you can tilt and dual IS. The e m10 mk4 has no dual IS because lack of sync IS. Only the expensive Omd's can do that. That's the 2 most simple reasons why the gx9 is a better deal. Both have 20 Megapixel.

Can I blog with this

Full frame Lmount Olympus required

No PDAF..it has that Lumix disease will they ever learn?

at this day and age... I really dont know why you wouldn't put an ef joystick on there? even the x100f has one with a tiny form factor it is still in a better position and more plactical than touching the screen or bending your thum,b down on the arrow pad. even the xe-3 had it. Huge turn off.

Better for still photography then lets say a 450 dollar Canon T7?

Why olympus industry?

No PDAF & mic input. Shame on you, Olympus.

iPhone has live ND, so...

The camera is nice but i will never buy a cam without a flipout screen. Flip downs are a joke