Olympus E-M10 III announced, tested: The entry-level OM-D camera gets 4K video and a friendlier interface

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posted Thursday, August 31, 2017 at 4:00 AM EDT


 
 

It's been a while since I had the chance to shoot with a camera before its official announcement, but with the Olympus E-M10 III, which the company has just revealed today, I'm pleased to have been able to do just that. To coincide with the launch, I've just posted my first real-world test of the E-M10 III, after spending some time shooting with the 16-megapixel, Micro Four Thirds mirrorless camera in the nearby tourist towns of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

A followup to the E-M10 II which hit the market some two years ago, the E-M10 Mark III is a significant update aimed, by and large, at improving ease-of-use for photographers making the step up from their smartphone. Although its basic design is very much reminiscent of the earlier camera, with the same resolution, ISO 100-25,600-equivalent sensitivity range, a similar burst capture rate of 8.6 fps and much the same control layout as before, the actual hardware is all-new, inside and out.

 
 

The main focus for Olympus in designing the classically-styled OM-D E-M10 III seems to have been on ease of use, and specifically, in making this camera more approachable for photographers who're just now making the leap from a smartphone to their first interchangeable-lens camera. But there are nevertheless some notable upgrades in other respects as well, including use of the new TruePic VIII image processor which also features in the flagship OM-D E-M1 Mark II, as well as the addition of 4K video capture for the first time in an entry-level OM-D body.

 
 

So what did I think of the Olympus E-M10 III after getting a chance to try it out for myself in the real world? Find out now in my just-published first Field Test! And if you want the skinny on how it differs from the previous E-M10 II, be sure to start off with our Overview as well, where I'll run down the main differences between the two cameras.

 
 

And if you want to see how the E-M10 III performs in the video department -- something I'm planning to cover in my second field test -- you can get a sneak peek now if you take a look at our YouTube channel. But for the full story, you'll want to hop on over to our Olympus E-M10 III review now and start reading!

 
 

OverviewField Test Part I Lab Samples
PerformanceGalleryBuy Now!