Small, retro, and cheap, the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV is really a camera trifecta

Looking at the list of best-selling cameras lately, I’ve noticed most of them are either retro, small or cheap. The Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV is all three.

The Olympus E-M10 Mark IV is a retro-styled compact mirrorless camera introduced in 2020. While the camera was never Olympus’ most expensive model, because of the camera’s age, the price on the camera has only gotten sweeter with time.

While I love the E-M10 Mark IV’s charming retro exterior, the camera is no slouch on the inside either. The camera uses a 20MP Micro Four Thirds sensor. That’s a bit smaller than the APS-C sensor on many entry-level cameras, but still large enough to offer a significant boost in quality over smartphones and small sensor point-and-shoot cameras.

The E-M10 Mark IV also has some of my favorite Olympus, now called OM System, extras. Live Composite mode blends multiple exposures for light painting, and it’s one of my favorite tools for creating star trails and photographing fireflies. The camera’s 4.5-stop image stabilization is also an excellent feature.

As an entry-level model, the E-M10 Mark IV isn’t the right choice for every photographer. It lacks weather-sealing, for example. That’s disappointing, as one of my favorite features on OM System’s more advanced models is how durable they are. For a retro, affordable but weather-sealed camera, photographers may want to consider the newer OM System OM-5 instead, but the camera comes at a much higher price point.

Thanks to the popularity of the Fujifilm X100VI, retro compact cameras are exceedingly popular right now. But, that also makes them not only hard to find, but expensive. The E-M10 Mark IV isn’t going to tuck into a pocket like a point-and-shoot, but it’s one of the smaller mirrorless cameras and comes with a small kit lens. That makes it an excellent option for traveling light without spending four figures on a new camera.

While not perfect, the E-M10 Mark IV hits three of the trendiest features among best-selling cameras right now – it’s small, retro, and cheap. Right now, discounts push the camera to around $700 / £700 with a lens. In the US, Adorama is currently bundling the $699 camera with a free compact silver 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 II R lens to match. In the UK, the camera is selling with a kit lens for £679 from Amazon.

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The Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV is our current budget pick for the best retro cameras. I also recommend these other affordable compact mirrorless cameras as alternatives to pricey high-end compact cameras.