PHOTO QUALITY. This 20-megapixel mirrorless camera captured images with very good quality. Pictures were sharp, which means you can see most details and subtle patterns in the image. In low-light situations without a flash, pictures were not quite as sharp as those of most recommended models. We judged this model excellent for outdoor performance, such as shooting landscapes in the daytime; good for indoor performance, such as photographing a well-lit basketball game in a gym. And good for low-light performance without a flash, such as capturing a birthday party. Photos taken in our low-light performance tests displayed little image noise; subjects retained most of their correct detail and color.
FLASH. This model has no flash.
LENS. This camera includes an 8.3x zoom lens, a bit more zoom than a standard 3x. The lens also has very wide-angle (24mm) capability that's very useful for landscapes and group portraits, although you may notice a bit of distortion when you're shooting faces up close, for instance.
IMAGE STABILIZATION. This is an important feature; taking hand-held shots at the telephoto end of the zoom range can generally blur or soften images due to the slight movement of your hands. Shooting telephoto in well-lit scenes, this model did an excellent job of minimizing the effects of camera shake. In low-light settings, it performed excellently and almost never produced blurry photos. Overall, the shake reduction results from our tests were excellent.
SPEED. In terms of performance, the Olympus OM-D E-M1 III w/ 12-100mm powers up very quickly. It has a very short interval between shots, which can be important when shooting fast-moving or unpredictable subjects.
VIDEO. The Olympus OM-D E-M1 III w/ 12-100mm takes very good video. It also captures 4K-UHD video at 4096 x 2160 60p or 24i.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS. Like most mirrorless models, this camera does include an electronic viewfinder, which means you have flexibility when composing your photo or video; this viewfinder has excellent quality. The display also swivels; this can be helpful when shooting self-portraits or hard-to-reach shots. This mirrorless is bigger, thicker and a bit heavier than most in its class.
