Olympus E-M10 III vs Sony A58: The Battle of the Entry-Level Mirrorless and DSLR Cameras

When it comes to choosing an entry-level camera that nurtures your budding passion or complements your seasoned skills without emptying the wallet, two models often surface in conversations: the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III and the Sony SLT-A58. The E-M10 III arrived in late 2017 with a mirrorless ambition and Micro Four Thirds mount, while the A58 hails from 2013, carrying classic DSLR virtues with a twist - its SLT (Single-Lens Translucent) design.

Having personally tested thousands of cameras over 15 years, including both these models, I invite you on a thorough, hands-on comparative journey. We'll look beyond specs and marketing gloss to understand which camera truly performs best across diverse photographic disciplines. Whether you're into portraits, wildlife, landscapes, or video, this comprehensive head-to-head is tailor-made for you.

Size and Feel: Ergonomics that Shape Your Shooting Style

Before the shutter clicks, how a camera feels in your hands can make or break your experience. Olympus, known for compact systems, offers the E-M10 III with a diminutive, yet comfortably ergonomic design. Meanwhile, Sony’s A58 follows DSLR traditions with a chunkier, sturdier body.

Look at this size comparison:

The Olympus feels closer to a compact, which benefits portability - ideal for travel or street shooters who loathe lugging heavy gear. Its magnesium alloy and polycarbonate build exude quality but keep weight trim. The Sony, as expected of a DSLR, has a more substantial grip and overall heft, giving it a reassuringly robust feel - often preferred by those shooting long sessions or in rugged environments.

That thicker body correlates with a deeper grip, accommodating larger hands with less finger cramping during extended shoots. The E-M10 III’s grip, while smaller, strikes a decent balance for most average hands if you don’t mind holding your camera more delicately.

Design and Controls: Quick Access Meets Intuition

Comfort and speed in adjusting settings are essentials, especially when spontaneous moments demand agility. Both cameras offer tilting LCD screens, a boon for creative angles, but Olympus takes the lead with a touchscreen interface.

Examining the top controls, the Olympus shines with a layout that favors rapid dial access: dual control dials flanking the shutter button allow fast aperture and shutter speed tweaking. The button layout is logically grouped, illuminated buttons are absent but not sorely missed due to excellent tactile feedback. Customizable buttons add flexibility, crucial for tailoring for your shooting style.

Sony’s A58, a bit older, features fewer control dials and smaller buttons without illumination. Its tilting 2.7-inch screen feels cramped and lacks touch functionality, which slows navigation of menus or autofocus point selection.

For me, the Olympus’s touchscreen is a bona fide workflow accelerator, especially in live view mode, where you can tap to focus mid-shot or swipe through images effortlessly.

Sensor Analysis: Decoding Image Quality and Detail

Now, to the heart of the matter: image quality. Sensor technology, size, and resolution significantly dictate performance, especially for demanding genres like landscapes or portraits.

Here's a visual comparison showing sensor size and relative resolution density:

Sony's APS-C sensor offers approximately 54% more surface area than Olympus’s Four Thirds sensor. This larger real estate often translates to better high ISO performance, dynamic range, and shallow depth of field - all critical for low-light shooting, landscapes, and portraits. The Sony’s 20MP resolution provides slightly more pixel-level detail, favorable for large prints or heavy cropping.

However, Olympus’s TruePic VIII processor and optimized sensor design deliver surprisingly clean JPEGs and pleasing color reproduction with its 16MP chip. I've found the Micro Four Thirds system's smaller sensor compensates through excellent in-lens stabilization and faster focusing systems that keep pace in real-world scenarios.

One subtle trade-off: Olympus uses a 4:3 aspect ratio native, slightly different from the traditional 3:2 of Sony - something to keep in mind depending on your framing preferences.

Autofocus Systems: The Eye Behind the Lens

Getting the focus right... well, that’s the photographer's job, but a dependable AF system can make or break the shot, especially with moving subjects.

Several years ago, contrast AF systems struggled with speed; Olympus’s E-M10 III uses contrast detection with 121 points, supplemented by face detection for portraits. Its 5-axis in-body image stabilization complements AF by enabling sharper handheld shots.

Sony A58 employs SLT technology with a dedicated phase-detection sensor providing 15 focus points, including 3 cross-type sensors that significantly improve accuracy and speed over purely contrast-based AF. This setup favors faster continuous autofocus tracking of moving subjects - advantageous in sports or wildlife photography.

In practice, I've found the Sony grips moving subjects with more confidence, locking focus quicker in continuous mode. Olympus’s system shines with still subjects, macro, or portraits, where its precision yields good bokeh separation.

Build and Weather Resistance: Durability Meets Portability

Neither camera boasts weather sealing - an important factor for photographers who shoot outdoors in less-than-ideal conditions. The Olympus E-M10 III sports a more modern build with some splash resistance but is not fully sealed. The Sony A58, being an earlier model, lacks any form of environmental sealing.

[No image inserted here as the size and design comparison already implies build feel]

If you shoot in rain or dusty environments often, carrying protective gear or choosing a weather-sealed camera is essential - but within this pair, expect to handle both delicately.

LCD and Viewfinders: Seeing is Believing

Electronic viewfinders (EVFs) and rear screens dictate your shooting experience, especially in bright or tricky conditions. The Olympus E-M10 III uses a high-res EVF with 2,360k dots and 100% coverage, while the Sony A58’s EVF has 1,440k dots - noticeably less crisp.

The rear LCDs show similar differentiation - 3-inch 1040k-dot touchscreen on Olympus versus 2.7-inch 460k-dot non-touch on Sony.

The E-M10 III’s tilting touchscreen is a significant usability edge. Touch to focus/shoot, swipe through photos, and quick menu navigation become less fiddly - a hidden treasure once you get spoiled.

Sony’s screen is smaller, less sharp, and the lack of touch feels antiquated in 2024’s landscape but remains usable.

The EVF resolution gap also matters: Olympus’s sharper EVF provides a more natural, flicker-free preview, crucial for manual focusing or composing in bright sunlight.

Lens Ecosystem and Mounts: Choices that Shape Creativity

The choice between Micro Four Thirds and Sony Alpha mounts dictates your lens options.

• Olympus E-M10 III attaches to Micro Four Thirds lenses - a mature ecosystem with over 100 lenses available (43 native from Olympus, others from Panasonic, Sigma, Tamron, etc.). The compact sensor allows for smaller, lighter lenses, with excellent image stabilization synergy.

• Sony A58 uses the Sony/Minolta Alpha mount, boasting 143 lenses, including many legacy Minolta glass, Sony’s own, and third-party offerings. APS-C sensors need bigger glass, making lenses heavier and often costlier.

If you want small, travel-friendly lenses or a system to start on a budget, Olympus leads. For versatility and lens variety, Sony’s mount offers more options, especially if you want to invest in fast primes or specialist telephotos.

Continuous Shooting and Burst Rates: Catching the Action

Fast frame rates matter for sports and wildlife shooters needing to capture fleeting moments.

• Olympus E-M10 III: Up to 8.6 fps in continuous shooting mode.
• Sony A58: Up to 8 fps burst speed.

This is a pretty close race, with Olympus edging out marginally in burst speed. However, Sony’s phase-detection AF can maintain tracking better across bursts, a real-world advantage for fast-moving subjects.

Video Capabilities: The Moving Picture Show

Video is a must-have consideration nowadays.

• Olympus E-M10 III shoots 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) at 30fps at a solid bitrate (~102 Mbps), with H.264 compression but lacks microphone or headphone jacks - limiting audio control.

• Sony A58 offers full HD 1080p at 60fps but no 4K. It includes a microphone input but no headphone jack.

Want 4K? Olympus wins here without question - its video quality and stabilization are better oriented to casual videographers. Sony’s audio input offers pro audio recording potential, which Olympus sadly lacks.

Battery Life and Storage: Staying Powered and Ready

Battery life: Sony’s A58 offers nearly double the shots per charge (~690 shots) compared to Olympus E-M10 III (~330 shots). If you expect long outings without access to charging, Sony’s older but larger battery wins.

Both use a single SD card slot. Sony additionally supports Memory Stick Pro Duo cards alongside SD - an aging format irrelevant for most now.

Price and Value Proposition: Balancing the Books

Both cameras hover around the ~$650 price point, making cost a non-differentiator. However, value must factor in future proofing, features, and user experience.

The overall performance comparisons reflect the sum of these attributes:

How They Perform Across Photography Genres

Finally, let’s talk shop and get granular on specialized uses with insight from real-world shooting and comprehensive lab tests.

Portrait Photography:
Olympus impresses with face detection and pleasing skin tones. The smaller Four Thirds sensor limits shallow DOF bokeh but the 5-axis stabilization aids sharp handheld shots. Sony’s APS-C sensor achieves creamier backgrounds due to sensor size and higher resolution details, but the fewer AF points make eye tracking less robust.

Landscape Photography:
Sony’s bigger sensor with ~54% more area yields better dynamic range and resolution, allowing exquisite detail in shots with broad tonal range. Olympus’s 16MP sensor and smaller sensor surface area result in more noise at high ISO, restricting print size or cropping.

Wildlife Photography:
Phase-detection AF on the A58 is a boon for moving subjects; its longer battery life means longer shoots without change. Olympus’s 8-axis IS helps but slower AF speed and contrast detection mean you might miss some decisive moments.

Sports Photography:
Again, Sony’s phase-detection AF paired with respectable 8fps burst prowess and longer battery favors sports shooters. Olympus, with its solid burst speed, lags due to AF responsiveness.

Street Photography:
Olympus’s small size, light weight, and silent shutter mode (up to 1/16000s) make it far more discreet for street candids compared to bulkier Sony DSLRs. This model is my pick for urban shooters.

Macro Photography:
Both offer manual focus with high precision. Olympus has better focus bracketing options; Sony lacks that. Stabilization on Olympus is a tangible asset for hand-held close-ups.

Night/Astro Photography:
Sony’s larger sensor with higher native ISO and dynamic range easily delivers cleaner, less noisy night photos. Olympus’s high ISO tends toward noise, though its 5-axis IS may aid long exposures (if combined with a tripod).

Video:
Olympus’s 4K tops Sony’s 1080p, ships with superior stabilization, and a user-friendly touchscreen. Lack of external mic input on Olympus is its Achilles heel. Sony’s AVCHD offers decent quality and mic input but no 4K option.

Travel Photography:
Hands down Olympus’s compactness, lighter weight, and 4K video capabilities make it the better travel companion. Sony’s battery life advantage is notable for longer trips without charging but offset by weight and bulk.

Professional Work:
Neither camera is designed with heavy-duty professional workflow in mind. However, the Sony’s RAW files and sensor size better suit print-focused or client work. Olympus offers decent RAW support but smaller files and sensor area mean less scope for post-production flexibility.

Final Thoughts and Who Should Buy Which?

After firing off thousands of frames, switching lenses, and braving various lighting and subject scenarios, here’s how I’d sum it up.

If you prize portability, video quality, and touchscreen finesse, and you shoot mostly still subjects or enjoy street photography, the Olympus E-M10 III ticks more boxes. It’s a modern machine that punches above its sensor size weight, perfect for casual enthusiasts, vloggers, and travelers.

However, if your love leans toward action photography, low-light performance, or larger prints, and you don’t mind a slightly bulkier camera, the Sony A58 offers better sensor-based image quality with phase-detection AF and a longer-lasting battery.

Price-wise, the two back-to-back feel evenly matched - your choice boils down to the kind of images and shooting style you prefer, not just specs on paper.

Olympus E M10 MIII front Olympus E M10 MIII screen back Sony A58 front Sony A58 screen back

When I compare sample images, Olympus delivers crisp, vibrant files with 4K video magic, while Sony edges out with richer detail and smoother action capture. Here’s the kicker: If you already own lenses in either Micro Four Thirds or Sony Alpha ecosystems, sticking to your mount is smart to protect investments.

Summary Scorecard

Closing

So there it is: Olympus E-M10 III and Sony A58, two compelling cameras with different philosophies and strengths. Your choice is less about which camera is objectively better (they each have their moments) but which aligns intimately with your personal style of photography, shooting discipline, and future aspirations.

Remember, cameras are tools that serve your vision - and the best camera is always the one in your hand, ready to capture the world as you see it.

Happy shooting!