OLYMPUS OM-D E-M10 MK. III, 14-42MM
Smaller is better when you want to travel light or pop a camera in your work bag for everyday shooting
OLYMPUS BUCKS THE TREND WITH A COMPARATIVELY SMALL FOUR THIRDS (RATHER THAN APS-C FORMAT) IMAGE SENSOR. THE CROP FACTOR RISES TO 2.0X, WHILE THE MEGAPIXEL COUNT DROPS TO 16.1MP, WHICH MIGHT LOOK A BIT DOWN-MARKET COMPARED TO THE OTHER CAMERAS ON TEST. ON THE PLUS SIDE, IT IS THE ONLY CAMERA IN THE GROUP TO FEATURE IN-BODY STABILISATION, AND IT’S HIGHLY EFFECTIVE, WITH FIVE-AXIS, FOUR-STOP PERFORMANCE.
ANOTHER BONUS IS THAT, FOR ANY GIVEN ‘EFFECTIVE’ ZOOM RANGE OR FOCAL LENGTH, MICRO FOUR THIRDS LENSES TEND TO BE COMPARATIVELY SMALL AND LIGHTWEIGHT. THE RETRACTABLE 14-42MM EZ LENS SUPPLIED AS A KIT OPTION IS SMALL ENOUGH TO QUALIFY AS A PANCAKE LENS, YET DELIVERS A 28-84MM MOTORISED ZOOM RANGE. THE NET RESULT IS THAT THE OLYMPUS CAMERA IS WONDERFULLY TRAVEL-FRIENDLY.
IMPECCABLY TURNED OUT, THE E-M10 III
HAS EXCELLENT BUILD QUALITY, AND THE FINISH IS EXEMPLARY FOR A CAMERA IN THIS PRICE BRACKET. LIKE THE FUJIFILM ON TEST, THERE’S A DISTINCT RETRO LOOK TO THE STYLING, THIS TIME HARKING BACK TO OLYMPUS’S LEGENDARY OM FILM CAMERAS THAT SHOT TO FAME IN THE 1970S. BLACK AND SILVER COLOUR OPTIONS ARE AVAILABLE.
ANOTHER SIMILARITY WITH THE FUJIFILM
CAMERA IS THAT ROTARY DIALS AND FUNCTION BUTTONS ON THE TOP PANEL ENABLE SPEEDY, DIRECT ACCESS TO IMPORTANT SHOOTING PARAMETERS. THIS ENHANCES HANDLING, ESPECIALLY IN CREATIVE SHOOTING. EVEN SO, IT CAN BE DIFFICULT TO GET A TIGHT DEPTH OF FIELD WITH THE MICRO FOUR THIRDS FORMAT.
THE OLYMPUS IS THE ONLY CAMERA IN THE GROUP TO FEATURE CONTRAST-DETECTION RATHER THAN HYBRID AUTOFOCUS. DESPITE THE LACK OF PHASE DETECTION, HOWEVER, AUTOFOCUS PERFORMANCE IS VERY QUICK AND UNERRINGLY ACCURATE. INNOVATIVE LIVE BULB AND LIVE TIME MODES ENABLE A LIVE PREVIEW OF HOW LONG EXPOSURES BUILD UP OVER THE COURSE OF UP TO A MINUTE, AND THE TOUCHSCREEN HAS AN UP/ DOWN TILT FACILITY.