Having a Blast with the E-M10 Mark IV

The new Mark IV upgrade to the nearly 3 year old OM-D EM10 Mark III is here, and what a fun little camera this is!

When Olympus contacted me asking if I’d be interested in shooting with a pre-release E-M10 Mark IV for a while and do an honest review of what I thought, I had no idea what to expect.

I own an E-M1X, an E-M1 Mark II and III, and my fiancé also has an E-M1 Mark II. I never even shot with an M5 let alone the entry level M10 camera before. Being a professional photographer used to shooting with pro-level bodies only, was I going to really be satisfied using Olympus’ entry-level camera? More importantly, would I be disappointed with the image quality using a camera that costs a fraction of my E-M1 Mark III and E-M1X?

I accepted the assignment and within days I was holding the tiny E-M10 Mark IV in my large hands, with the equally tiny M.Zuiko Digital 14-42mm lens. Heck, even the included camera strap is tiny compared to what I am used to. “This is going to be fun,” I remember saying to myself. And fun it has been!

Small Camera - Seriously Small

Seriously - this camera is tiny compared to my other Olympus camera bodies! It is even smaller in some dimensions than my iPhone 11 Pro Max.

Holding it in my hands, I thought it reminded me of some of my old film rangefinder cameras. Low and behold, it is nearly identical in size to my old Canon Canonet QL17 G-III rangefinder camera, but weighs much less.

I have rather large hands, which is a problem for me with small cameras. The E-M1X fits my hands like a glove, one of the best-fitting cameras for me ever. When I use my E-M1 Mark III I almost always shoot it with the vertical grip.

First Photos Are Always of Pets

Isn’t it funny how one of the first photos you take with a new camera is of one of your pets, or family members?

The autofocus nailed this shot, producing a super-sharp image. Knowing this camera uses contrast-based AF rather than the more advanced phase-detect AF I was concerned about focusing issues. But instead I found the AF to be quite snappy and accurate for an entry level camera and it even worked great on some high-speed video tests I did of our 2 dogs playing catch.

On to Grand Teton National Park

A couple days later my fiancé and I packed the dogs into the truck and headed to the Tetons. On the way through Yellowstone we spotted a beautiful bull elk in some great light.

Using my M.Zuiko 300mm F4.0 IS PRO lens and the MC-14, the AF worked great in this challenging lighting scene. I’ll admit it was a little weird having such a small camera body on the large lens instead of my E-M1X, but it worked and I got the shot!

Good-bye Instagram Filters - Hello ART Mode

Yeah, my other Olympus cameras have ART filter availability - but truth be told I never used them before. Why the heck not?!

We went for a walk in downtown Jackson early the next morning before the crowds, and I had a blast using the M10 Mark IV while experimenting with some of the ART filters.

I was so addicted that once we got back to the Tetons I had to try some out with my landscape photos!

And of course the camera can take some amazing non-ART shots as well!

And for snapshots - who needs an iPhone when the M10 Mark IV has a dedicated selfie mode! That’s right, flip the screen down and you can then use it to compose the perfect selfie and fire off the perfect shot with the touch-screen!

And again, what fun is traveling without getting some shots of your family!

Instagram: @mattsuessphoto

Matt Suess has been a full-time professional photographer and educator for over 30 years and specializes in fine art, landscape & wildlife photography. He is based in Bozeman, Montana.

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