Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV vs Mark III | Comparison

Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III marked a milestone in the micro four-thirds lineup with 4K video recording, IBIS, 4K timelapse recording, in-built creative color modes, and a lightweight body. This camera can come quite handy for a traveler/photographer. It can also shoot HD videos at 120 fps. This camera was launched in September 2017 and travelers absolutely loved it. The new Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV mirrorless camera features a revamped body design, a better IBIS, and much better creative modes in-built so that the user can work less in post-processing. We will go through one by one take on the features of the predecessor and the successor to understand whether the new one is worth as an upgrade. Let’s dive into the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV vs Mark III comparison.

Price Comparison | Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV vs Mark III

Differences | Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV vs Mark III

Sensor Size and Pixel Resolution

The Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV has a slightly larger sensor size than the predecessor. But, this is not a significant change as the width is different only by 0.1mm. However, the Mark IV has a higher pixel count and hence can produce a sharper image. You can make beautiful shots of landscape or it can also give you nice closeup shots. Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV features a higher resolution 20.3 MP image sensor than the Mark III variant which supports 16.1 MP sensor resolution.

Continuous Drive Speed

Unlike Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III, the newer Mark IV camera now offers faster burst speeds up to 8.7fps instead of 4.8 fps with a mechanical shutter supporting unlimited RAW or JPEG frames. With an electronic shutter, E-M10 Mark IV can shoot continuous stills up to 15 fps with an electronic shutter up to 42 RAW frames. This will let you use capture fast action scenes without missing a moment. When combined with a zoom lens, it can be used for bird photography or sports.

Autofocus & IBIS

The M10 lineup does not feature the hybrid phase-detect AF like the high-end mirrorless models. Both of these cameras are equipped with 121 contrast-detect AF points. However, Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV comes with a better AF system that features a better tracking algorithm and boasts better eye tracking and face tracking capabilities than OM-D E-M10 Mark III. Both models feature a 5-axis IBIS but Mark IV has a better stabilization than the predecessor. As a result, the newer Mark IV offers sharper images at high shutter speed than Mark III camera and produces less shaky videos without a tripod.

Live View Display / Monitor

Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV boasts a 180-degree flip-down monitor that can be handy while vlogging or taking selfies. This is a very neat feature and is celebrated by the fans. However, the downside is that the newer E-M10 Mark IV model has a lower display resolution (1037K dots) compared to the Mark III (1040k dots). The size of the monitor remains the same in both of these cameras.

Body and Battery

Olympus has maintained its vintage design but managed to design a better grip for Mark IV. Users can easily hold the camera body without the risk of slipping off from the hands. Compared to the predecessor Mark III, there is also a slight decrease in the weight from 362g to 335g in the new OM-D E-M10 Mark IV model which is good news for travelers again. The battery performance has also been improved in E-M10 Mark IV to provide 30 extra shots even though it is not much.

Similarities | Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV vs Mark III

Image

As stated earlier, both models feature M4/3 Live MOS Sensor and TruePic VIII image processor. The micro four-third sensor introduces a crop factor of 2x for both models. They support 12-bit RAW and JPEG. Both models can support a 1/4000 – 60 s shutter speed with a mechanical shutter and 1/16000 – 60 s shutter speed with the electronic shutter. This feature lets you catch a very fast action scene without any hassle. Also, both models support an ISO range of 200 to 25600.

Video

Both Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV and Mark III supports MPEG-4AVC / H.264 video formats and also features 4K recording capability up to 30 fps. They also support Full HD recording up to 60 fps & HD recording at up to 120 fps. In addition, they can record timelapse videos with interval recording as well.

Viewfinder & Storage

Both models also feature the same 19.2 mm 2.36M dotted electronic OLED and hence there is nothing to compare between them. Similarly, they also have a single storage slot that supports UHS-II compliant SD/SDHC/SDXC cards.

Specification | Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV vs Mark III