Olympus E-M10 IV vs Leica SL Comparison

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Olympus E-M10 IV

20 MP | Four Thirds (17.4 x 13 mm) CMOS Sensor

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Leica SL

24 MP | Full frame (36 x 24 mm) CMOS Sensor

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Olympus E-M10 IV vs Leica SL Comparison Overview

Here we are comparing E-M10 IV and SL, two Mirrorless cameras from Olympus and Leica. Olympus OM-D E-M10 IV is a Entry-Level Mirrorless class camera and Leica SL is a Pro Mirrorless class camera.

Olympus E-M10 IV was introduced to market in August 2020 and Leica SL was launched in October 2015. As you can see, SL is 5 years older than E-M10 IV. Let's see if this age difference between two cameras makes a big difference.

Here is a brief look at the main features of Olympus E-M10 IV and Leica SL before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Olympus E-M10 IV Key Specs

Announcement Date: 2020-08-04

20MP - Four Thirds CMOS Sensor

ISO 200 - 25600

Micro Four Thirds Mount

Sensor-shift Image Stabilization

3" Tilting Screen

2360k dot Electronic viewfinder

15.0fps continuous shooting

4K (UHD) - 3840 x 2160 video resolution

Built-in Wireless

383g. 122 x 84 x 49 mm

Replaced Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III Compare

Leica SL Key Specs

Announcement Date: 2015-10-21

24MP - Full frame CMOS Sensor

No Anti-aliasing (AA) filter

ISO 50 - 50000

Leica L Mount

3" Fixed Type Screen

4400k dot Electronic viewfinder

11.0fps continuous shooting

4K (DCI) - 4096 x 2160 video resolution

Built-in Wireless

Built-in GPS

847g. 147 x 104 x 39 mm

Weather Sealed Body

Also known as Typ 601

Leica SL was replaced by Leica SL2. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Leica SL2 vs Leica SL (Typ 601)
Leica SL2 vs Olympus OM-D E-M10 IV

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Olympus E-M10 IV and Leica SL compares and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one is better for you.

Reasons to choose Olympus OM-D E-M10 IV over Leica SL

Live Composite Mode	Yes vs No	Excellent help for long-exposure photography
Image Stabilization	Sensor-shift vs None	Sharper images at longer focal lengths and long exposures
LCD Screen	Tilting vs Fixed Type	Flexible shooting positions
Built-in Flash	Yes vs No	Useful in low-light
Number of Focus Points	121 vs 49	72 more focus points
Continuous Shooting	15.0fps vs 11.0fps	4 fps faster
Weight	383 g vs 847 g	464 g lighter
AE Bracketing Range	±5 EV vs ±3 EV	Wide Bracketing range is useful for HDR
Selfie & Vlogger Friendly LCD	Yes vs No	Rotate LCD for taking Selfies
Bluetooth	Yes vs No	Connect your camera to other devices via Blueetooth
Focus Bracketing	Yes vs No	Take multiple photos shifting focus point

Reasons to choose Leica SL over Olympus OM-D E-M10 IV

Viewfinder Magnification	0.8x vs 0.62x	Larger Viewfinder
GPS	BuiltIn vs None	track your location
Max Sensor Resolution	24 MP vs 20 MP	19% more pixels
Max ISO	50.000 vs 25.600	95% higher Max ISO
Max Mech. Shutter	1/8000s vs 1/4000s	faster mechanical shutter
Battery Life	400 shots vs 360 shots	40 more frames with a single charge
Microphone Port	Yes vs No	High quality audio recording option
Headphone Port	Yes vs No	better video control
Environmental Sealing	Yes vs No	shoot at tough conditions
Viewfinder Resolution	4400k dot vs 2360k dot	86% higher resolution
Sensor Pixel Area	36.00µm² vs 11.22µm²	220% larger pixel area
Max Video Resolution	4096 x 2160 vs 3840 x 2160	Higher Resolution Video
Top LCD	Yes vs No	Help viewing and changing settings easily
Flash Sync Port	Yes vs No	Connect off-camera flash
Storage Slot	2 vs 1	Extra storage slot

Common Strengths of Olympus OM-D E-M10 IV and Leica SL

Wireless Connection	Yes vs Yes	Better connectivity
External Flash Shoe	Yes vs Yes	Better for flash photography
Touch Screen	Yes vs Yes	Easy control of camera functions
Viewfinder	Yes (Electronic) vs Yes (Electronic)	Better framing and control
RAW Support	Yes vs Yes	Better image quality
Face Detection Focus	Yes vs Yes	very handy for portraits
Max Resolution	20 MP vs 24 MP	Bigger prints and more details
LCD Screen Resolution	1.040k dots vs 1.040k dots	High resolution screens
Timelapse Recording	Yes vs Yes	creative shooting
AE Bracketing	Yes vs Yes	Useful for tough lighting conditions and HDR
Smartphone Remote	Yes vs Yes	Remote control your camera with a smartphone
UHS Card Support	UHS-II vs UHS-II	Read/Write in Ultra High Speeds

Common Weaknesses of Olympus OM-D E-M10 IV and Leica SL

Olympus E-M10 IV vs Leica SL: Physical Specs and Body features Comparison

Size and weight is a big decision factor when you are trying to find the ideal camera for your needs. In this section, We are going to illustrate Olympus E-M10 IV and Leica SL side-by-side from the front, back and top in their relative dimensions. Olympus E-M10 IV has external dimensions of 122 x 84 x 49 mm (4.8 x 3.31 x 1.93″) and weighs 383 g (0.84 lb / 13.51 oz) (including batteries). Leica SL has external dimensions of 147 x 104 x 39 mm (5.79 x 4.09 x 1.54″) and weighs 847 g (1.87 lb / 29.88 oz) (including batteries).

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Olympus E-M10 IV and Leica SL. Olympus E-M10 IV is 25mm narrower and 20mm shorter than Leica SL but it is also 10mm thicker.

Comparison image of Olympus E-M10 IV and Leica SL Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View

Here is the back view size comparison of Olympus E-M10 IV and Leica SL.

Comparison image of Olympus E-M10 IV and Leica SL Size and Weight - Back View

Now lets look at the top view comparison of Olympus E-M10 IV and Leica SL.

Top View Comparison image of Olympus E-M10 IV and Leica SL Size

Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day. Olympus E-M10 IV is significantly lighter (464g ) than the Leica SL which may become a big advantage especially on long walking trips.

Also keep in mind that body weight is not the only deciding factor when comparing two interchangeable camera bodies, you have to also take into account the lenses that you will be using with these bodies. Since Leica SL has a Full frame sensor and Olympus E-M10 IV has a smaller Four Thirds sensor, Olympus E-M10 IV's lenses for a similar focal length and aperture will generally be lighter and smaller than the Leica SL lenses.

Weight Comparison

Mirrorless Cameras

E-M10 IV

Min

Average

Max

Thickness Comparison

Mirrorless Cameras

E-M10 IV

Min

Average

Max

Weather Sealing

Thanks to the weather sealed body of SL, you can use this camera with more confidence under conditions where there is risk of exposure to water and dust compared to E-M10 IV.

LCD Screen Size and Features

Olympus E-M10 IV and Leica SL's LCD screens has the same diagonal size of 3".

On the other hand, Olympus E-M10 IV features a Tilting screen where you can change the angle of the screen to make it easier to shoot from waist or over the head levels whereas the Leica SL has a fixed type screen which provides less flexibility in shooting positions compared to E-M10 IV.

Olympus E-M10 IV vs Leica SL: Sensor Comparison

Olympus E-M10 IV has a 20.0MP Four Thirds (17.4 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features TruePic VIII processor. On the other hand, Leica SL has a 24.0MP Full frame (36 x 24 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Maestro II processor.

One other difference between these two cameras that is worth mentioning is that Leica SL's sensor doesn't have an anti-alias (Low-Pass) filter. Removing anti-alias filter increases the sharpness and level of detail but at the same time, it increases the chance of moire occurring in certain scenes.

Below you can see the E-M10 IV and SL sensor size comparison.

Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Olympus E-M10 IV and Leica SL Cameras

As seen above, Leica SL has a 3.8x Larger sensor area than Olympus E-M10 IV. Larger sensors give photographer more control on the depth of field and blurry background compared to smaller sensor when shot in same focal length and aperture.

Olympus E-M10 IV vs Leica SL Comparison of Available Lenses

Which camera has more lenses?

Number of available lenses is a big decision factor while choosing your interchangeable lens camera. When we look at the available lenses for these two cameras, we see that Olympus E-M10 IV has an advantage over Leica SL. There are 108 lenses for Olympus E-M10 IV's Micro Four Thirds mount, on the other hand there are only 42 lenses for Leica SL's Leica L lens mount.

Another important factor is the availability of image stabilization. Olympus E-M10 IV has a big advantage in this regard because it has a sensor based image stabilization (IS) which means that all the lenses mounted to this body will be stabilized. E-M10 IV's built-in Image stabilization system is effective to compensate vibration up to 4.5-stops according to CIPA standards.
On the other hand, Leica SL doesn't have this feature so you have to buy a lens with optical stabilization feature. Currently there are 7 lenses for Leica L mount with Optical Image Stabilization features.

Lens Type	# of Olympus E-M10 IV Lenses	# of Leica SL Lenses
Standard Zoom	15	6 (6 Full Frame)
Standard Prime	13	9 (8 Full Frame)
Wideangle Zoom	6	3 (3 Full Frame)
Wideangle Prime	29	11 (11 Full Frame)
Telephoto Zoom	18	5 (5 Full Frame)
Telephoto Prime	9	6 (6 Full Frame)
SuperZoom	8	n/a
Wideangle Fisheye Prime	5	n/a
Macro Prime	4	1 (1 Full Frame)
Perspective Control Prime	n/a	n/a
Telephoto Mirror Prime	1	n/a
TOTAL	108	42 (40 Full Frame)

Now let's compare some sample lenses from each mount with typical Focal ranges for Olympus E-M10 IV and Leica SL to see how these lenses compares:

Fast Standard Zoom Lenses

Model		FF Equiv.	Weight	Weight w/ Cam	Length	Street Price
	Olympus ED 12-40mm f2.8 PRO	24 - 80mm	382gr	765gr	84mm	Amazon B&H Photo
	Panasonic S Pro 24-70mm F2.8	24 - 70mm	935gr	1782gr	140mm	Amazon B&H Photo

Fast Tele Zoom Equivalent Lenses

Model		FF Equiv.	Weight	Weight w/ Cam	Length	Street Price
	Olympus ED 35-100mm f2.0	70 - 200mm	1650gr	2033gr	214mm	Amazon B&H Photo
	Panasonic S Pro 70-200 F2.8 O.I.S.	70 - 200mm	1570gr	2417gr	209mm	Amazon B&H Photo

Fast Normal Prime Equivalent Lenses

Model		FF Equiv.	Weight	Weight w/ Cam	Length	Street Price
	Olympus M 25mm F1.8	50mm	136gr	519gr	41mm	Amazon B&H Photo
	Panasonic S Pro 50mm F1.4	50mm	955gr	1802gr	130mm	Amazon B&H Photo

Fast Wideangle Zoom Equivalent Lenses

Model		FF Equiv.	Weight	Weight w/ Cam	Length	Street Price
	Olympus ED 7-14mm F2.8 PRO	14 - 28mm	534gr	917gr	106mm	Amazon B&H Photo
	Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN Art	14 - 24mm	795gr	1642gr	131mm	Amazon B&H Photo

24-105mm f4 Equivalent Lenses

Model		FF Equiv.	Weight	Weight w/ Cam	Length	Street Price
	Olympus ED 12-60mm f2.8-4.0 SWD	24 - 120mm	575gr	958gr	99mm	Amazon B&H Photo
	Panasonic S 24-105mm F4 Macro OIS	24 - 105mm	680gr	1527gr	118mm	Amazon B&H Photo

Super-Tele Zoom Equivalent Lenses

Model		FF Equiv.	Weight	Weight w/ Cam	Length	Street Price
	Olympus 150-400mm F4.5 TC 1.25x IS	300mm	1850gr	2233gr	mm	Amazon B&H Photo
	Sigma 100-400mm F5-6.3 DG DN OS	100 - 400mm	1135gr	1982gr	197mm	Amazon B&H Photo

What types of Photography are Olympus E-M10 IV and Leica SL Good for?

In this section, we rank and compare Olympus E-M10 IV and Leica SL for five different photography types in order to make your decision process easier in case you are specifically interested in one or more of these areas.

Olympus E-M10 IV for Portrait Photography

GOOD

Leica SL for Portrait Photography

GOOD

Large Four Thirds (17.4 x 13 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 20.0MP
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details

Large Full frame (36 x 24 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 24.0MP
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
No Image Stabilization
Read the details

Olympus E-M10 IV for Street Photography

EXCELLENT

Leica SL for Street Photography

GOOD

Large Four Thirds (17.4 x 13 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Tilting LCD Screen
Medium sized Body
Read the details

Large Full frame (36 x 24 mm) sensor
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Medium sized Body
No Image Stabilization
Read the details

Olympus E-M10 IV for Sports Photography

GOOD

Leica SL for Sports Photography

GOOD

Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Fast Continuous Shooting: 8.7fps
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
121 Focus Points
Wireless Connection
Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Fast Continuous Shooting: 11.0fps
Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/8000s
49 Focus Points
Good Low Light ISO
Wireless Connection
No Image Stabilization
Read the details

Olympus E-M10 IV for Daily Photography

GOOD

Leica SL for Daily Photography

GOOD

Large Four Thirds (17.4 x 13 mm) sensor
Medium size Body
383g
Body Thickness 49mm
Read the details

Large Full frame (36 x 24 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Medium size Body
847g
Read the details

Olympus E-M10 IV for Landscape Photography

AVERAGE

Leica SL for Landscape Photography

AVERAGE

Large Four Thirds (17.4 x 13 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 20.0MP
Live-view
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Large Full frame (36 x 24 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 24.0MP
Environmental Sealings
Live-view
Built-in GPS
Read the details

Olympus E-M10 IV vs Leica SL: OUR DECISION

You may have already made your decision about which camera suits better for your needs and your budget so far but in case you wonder how we rated Olympus E-M10 IV and Leica SL, below you can find their scores in five different aspects. Our Decision Algorithm dynamically scores cameras using 69 different specs, current price and DxO Mark scores (where possible) in order to make a more objective and consistent comparison.

Here is a summary of how Olympus E-M10 IV and Leica SL scores compare:

Olympus E-M10 IV

Imaging

Features

Value

Portability

Overall

Ranked #68 out of 90 in SLR-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked #144 out of 1229 in all Cameras

Leica SL

Imaging

Features

Value

Portability

Overall

Ranked #29 out of 90 in SLR-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked #42 out of 1229 in all Cameras

Leica SL has a higher Overall Score thanks to its better image quality and more features compared to Olympus E-M10 IV. On the other hand the Olympus E-M10 IV beats Leica SL in two significant areas: Value for Money and Compactness.
If you are a price conscious buyer and looking for a small and relatively low priced camera where you can take everywhere with you, Olympus E-M10 IV is the right choice for you.
If you are after the better photographic performance with all the advanced features, definitely get the Leica SL

Leica SL vs Olympus E-M10 IV Specs Table

Detailed comparison of specifications

General	Olympus OM-D E-M10 IV	Leica SL
Brand	Olympus	Leica
Announced	2020-08-04	2015-10-21
Body Type	SLR-style mirrorless	SLR-style mirrorless
Sensor
Type	CMOS	CMOS
Size	Four Thirds	Full frame
Dimensions	17.4 x 13 mm	36 x 24 mm
Area	226.20mm²	864.00mm²
Megapixels	20 megapixels	24 megapixels
Max Resolution	5184 x 3888	6000 x 4000
Max Native Light sensitivity	25,600 ISO	50,000 ISO
Max Boosted Light Sensitivity	25600 ISO	-
Min Native Light sensitivity	200 ISO	50 ISO
Min Boosted Light Sensitivity	100 ISO	-
RAW Support
Autofocus
AF Touch
AF Continuous
AF Single
AF Tracking
AF Selective
AF Center
AF Multi Area
AF Live View
AF Face Detection
AF Contrast Detection
AF Phase Detection
Number of Focus Points	121	49
Lens
Manual Focus
Lens Mount	Micro Four Thirds	Leica L
Number of Available Lenses	108	42
Screen
Type	Tilting	Fixed type
Size	3"	3"
Resolution	1,040k dots	1,040k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder	Electronic	Electronic
Viewfinder Resolution	2,360k dots	4,400k dots
Viewfinder Coverage	100%	100%
Viewfinder Magnification	0.62x	0.8x
Photography Features
Max Mechanical Shutter	1/4000s	1/8000s
Max Electronic Shutter	1/16000s	n/a
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Custom White Balance
Image Stabilization	Sensor-shift	No
Built-in Flash
Flash Range	7.20 m (at ISO 200)	no built-in flash
Max Flash Sync	1/250s	n/a
External Flash
Continuous Shooting	8.7 fps	11.0 fps
Multi-Segment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF-Area
Center Weighted
AE Bracketing
WB Bracketing
Video Features
Max Video Resolution	3840 x 2160	4096 x 2160
Video Formats	MPEG-4, H.264	MPEG-4
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Connectivity
Wireless Connectivity	Built-In	Built-In
HDMI
Physical
Environmental Sealing
Weight	383g	847g
Dimensions	122 x 84 x 49mm	147 x 104 x 39mm
Battery Life	360 shots	400 shots
Other Features
Timelapse Recording
GPS	None	Built-in
DxO Sensor Scores
DxO Overall Score	not tested	88
DxO Color Depth	not tested	25.0
DxO Dynamic Range	not tested	13.4
DxO Low Light ISO	not tested	1821
	Report a correction	Report a correction