Back in 2010, I lugged a DSLR and a kit lens, a super zoom, and a super-wide around England for 10 days. I got some nice pictures, but by the end of that trip, my back was definitely feeling the toll. On every long trip since then, I’ve tried to travel with a lighter photo kit, but it has always ended up heavier than what I wanted to carry on my back, neck, and shoulder for two weeks.
I’ve tried different lens combinations with the camera bodies I had (two Canons and a Nikon), trying to lose precious ounces without losing precious resolution, sharpness, or range, but I never found a happy medium. I also tried picking up a purpose-specific “travel” camera — a Panasonic LUMIX ZS100 — which was tiny, with a larger-than-phone-but-tiny-compared-to-DSLR sensor to match. Its pictures were better than expected, but not quite up to the quality I wanted for long trips abroad.
After reenacting this futile pursuit once again in advance of my recent trip to Greece and Paris, I finally caved and invested in a new kit for travel photography. But I also set a limit of $500 to $600. I eventually landed on a second-hand Olympus EM-10 Mark I and two used lenses (a Panasonic LUMIX G 20mm F1.7 ASPH and a Panasonic LUMIX G VARIO 35-100mm f/4-5.6 ASPH). That package ended up right at the upper end of my cost limit.
After two weeks and 3,100-plus pictures in Greece and Paris, I was truly impressed with the ability of this 10-year-old camera. Many of the pictures were sharper than what I get with a prime lens on my Nikon Z5.
Most importantly, the EM-10 and the two lenses together weighed just over 22 ounces, or 1.7 less than my Z5’s body alone! I was never happier with my choice than during the homestretch of my 7-hour, 10-mile hike through the second longest gorge in Europe, when every ounce I carried felt three times heavier.
This kit isn’t just light, it’s also small. The 35-100mm zoom lens, for instance, is just 2 inches in diameter and 2.5 inches long when retracted. The camera body itself is 4.69″ wide × 3.24″ tall × 1.81″ thick (or 2.75″ with the 20mm prime mounted).
In practical terms, that meant the camera and both lenses fit into a corner of my backpack-sized camera bag. Aside from less weight, that also meant I had more space left in the backpack for other things, which was a significant logistical advantage when you’re hopping between five different places in two weeks with a backpack and a small carryon suitcase. It also meant that day-to-day on the trip, instead of walking around with a full-size backpack that screamed “Camera gear inside!”, I could walk around with a small, inconspicuous sling bag instead.
The EM-10 has a micro four-thirds sensor, so its images are cropped, but I didn’t really notice any quality issues from that. In terms of versatility, the two lenses gave me enough range to cover everything I expected to shoot on the trip. I usually used the 20mm (40mm full-frame equivalent) for landscapes, buildings, museums, and street scenes, and popped on the 35-100mm (70-200mm full-frame equivalent) when I wanted to get closer to the local wildlife, i.e., Greek street cats. Both lenses generally did what I needed them to do, though there were a couple instances where I wished I had a slightly wider prime (when trying to take in a whole amphitheater, for instance).
The one area where the EM-10 didn’t do so hot was in extreme low-light situations. Basically, if you dial the EM-10’s ISO above 2000, you’re pushing the boundary of usable images. However, that rarely came up on the trip. Light simply wasn’t much of an issue when you’re mostly shooting during the day under the Grecian sun.
Below are a few pictures from the trip. All in all, I was very pleased with the quality of the kit, especially given its age, relatively low cost, and blessedly light weight.
