The Olympus OM-D E-M10 ($699 suggested retail, body only) is a new ultra-compact addition to the OM-D Micro Four Thirds camera family. Related Olympus Olympus Unveils Stylus 1 Advanced Point-&-Shoot Olympus Olympus Unveils E-M1 Olympus Olympus Scales Back Camera Business With Loss Olympus Olympus Unveils Pen E-P5 CSC
Center Valley, Pa. — Olympus introduced Wednesday the compact E-M10 to flagship OM-D interchangeable-lens camera.
The OM-D E-M10 is said to combine the high image quality, speed and power with an extremely compact and stylish all-metal body.
The Olympus OM-D E-M10 will be available in March at a $699 suggested retail for the body only (black and silver versions are available), and $799 for the body and an M.Zuiko Digital 14-42 mm f3.5-5.6 II R lens.
Key features include the same TruePic VII image processor, a 16-megapixel Live MOS sensor, built-in Wi-Fi technology, a high-speed electronic viewfinder (EVF), three-axis image stabilization, ultra-fast autofocus and a built-in flash.
Olympus said the camera is positioned for “photographers looking for an affordable, yet powerful, system camera they can use every day.”
At the same time, Olympus is expanding its M.Zuiko Digital Micro Four Thirds lens family with the super-slim 14-42mm f 3.5-5.6 EZ pancake zoom lens and the super-bright 25mm f1.8.
The 25mm f1.8 lens will carry a $399 suggested retail and the 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 EZ lens will retail for $349.
The Olympus OM-D E-M10 has a maximum sensitivity of ISO 25,600, and is said to be ideal for shooting dark scenes and indoor shooting. The ISO Low mode (100 equivalent) expands the low-sensitivity end.
The sensor’s dynamic range makes smooth gradations possible while capturing high-contrast highlights and shadows. Fine Detail Processing II technology configures the appropriate sharpness processing for each individual lens resulting in natural, high-quality resolution, Olympus said.
The Olympus OM-D E-M10’s in-body three-axis image stabilization system is derived from the 5-axis system in the E-M5 and E-M1. The three-axis version is said to effectively counteract yaw, roll and pitch with both still shots and HD movies, regardless of the lens attached to the camera yielding great results even in poor lighting conditions or when using an exposure time of 1/15 second or less.
The AF system is said to be Olympus’ fastest AF system to date, using 81 target areas to cover the whole image.
Small AF Target and Super Spot AF modes make it possible to zoom in and focus accurately on minute sections of the frame. The E-M10 is also capable of capturing high-speed action with 8 fps sequential shooting, the fast processor supports continuous capture of up to 20 RAW frames or an unlimited number of JPEG frames, and the Continuous Auto Focus with Tracking mode tracks and captures moving subject as fast as 3.5 fps.
Despite the camera’s small size, the E-M10 is the first OM-D with a built-in flash that is optimized for 1/250 second synchronization.
The camera includes a 1,440,000-dot EVF, located on the optical axis, that features a 120 fps refresh rate, a 100 percent field of view, and maximum 1.15x magnification to help accurately frame shots.
An auto eye sensor switches between the display between the tilting, 3-inch touchscreen monitor and the EVF.
Camera setting information, such as shutter speed, is displayed at the bottom of the viewfinder, and photographers can take full advantage of the EVF’s ability to display the effects of various exposure adjustments, Art Filter effects and Creative Controls like Color Creator, Image Aspect control, Highlight/Shadow control, Live Histogram, Display of five different grid patterns and Level Gauge.
New features, including Live Composite Mode and Photo & Movie Capture, allow for in-camera editing. Live Composite Mode is a tool that offers previews of long exposures in the EVF, to easily capture light trails when shooting a star-filled sky. The Photo & Movie Capture software enables taking high-quality still images without interrupting the video recording.
The OM-D E-M10’s built-in Wi-Fi system offers simple setup and operation. Quickly scanning the QR code displayed on the camera’s LCD with a smart device syncs the camera with the Wi-Fi network created by the camera.
A free Olympus Image Share smartphone app synchronizes a user’s smartphone and E-M10 so the camera’s Live View is effectively displayed on the phone. The camera can be controlled by touching the smartphone display, and users can send selected images directly to websites and social media.
