EOS M3 or Olympus E-M10 Mark I?

I sold my EOS M10 and now I want to buy a new camera, so theses are the two options I'm considering. I have the superb EF-M 22mm lens (what a lovely lens that is!)  and I like Canon colors (although I heard the M3 leans towards greenish side?) and their simple menu systems, so I'm tempted to stay with the M system. The M3 is the best I can afford right now. But I'm worried because the M10, while capable of taking beautiful pictures, was horribly slow to autofocus and in some conditions it would only manage to hunt back and forth. Not sure that M3 will be much better because it doesn't have DPAF.

From what I've heard the Olympus has better autofocus but then my 22mm lens becomes useless for the forseeable future, and I have to invest in MFT lenses.

Any advice, guys? Thank you.

Can you stretch to a M100?

Or the E-M10 mk2 - a lovely camera

I own the M3 and I do like the camera. Given that it still is a slow autofocusing camera. It really depends on your needs. I would not want to use the M3 for faster moving subjects like kids running around or sports and such. Landscape, portraiture, general walk around it is great. This is just my opinion so don't kill me. I have an M5 and it focuses much better. I agree with MyM3 and try for the M100. Gets the DPAF system. I looked at Ebay and a quick search seems like you are about $50 bucks more for the M100 body. I'de save for that and slap you're 22 on it and enjoy.

DJSanjay wrote:

MyM3 wrote:

Can you stretch to a M100?

I did find a used deal on ebay, but that includes about 100 USD(!!!) for the global shipping program, bringing the total cost to about 330 USD. Not sure if this is a good deal. The lack of a viewfinder kinda bothers me..harder to keep stable holding the camera at body level.

Hard to say. Sounds much for a used one, I think.  Where in the world are you located?

I own both cameras.

M3 IQ is better, E-M10 has the better handling.

They are both slow with AF.

If you need AF on a budget, get a DSLR.

You can have a M100 shipped to Sri Lanka for 360USD

Canon M100 White Body Only

DJSanjay wrote:

MyM3 wrote:

DJSanjay wrote:

MyM3 wrote:

Can you stretch to a M100?

I did find a used deal on ebay, but that includes about 100 USD(!!!) for the global shipping program, bringing the total cost to about 330 USD. Not sure if this is a good deal. The lack of a viewfinder kinda bothers me..harder to keep stable holding the camera at body level.

Hard to say. Sounds much for a used one, I think. Where in the world are you located?

Sri Lanka. If I buy locally, they are very expensive. Local dealers don't even sell MFT cameras because people don't know much about them.

Ok. I don’t know anything about the market in Sri Lanka, so I can’t help you with that. (Hopefully someone else in here can help you with that.) What I can say is, if it was me I would have tried to get an M100. Since you already have the 22mm, you can try to get a body only, if you want.

I have four M-series cameras, including the M100 and M3. The M100 I use almost daily, while the M3 is collecting dust in a drawer. The M3 is a good camera, but it has some faults as you also have noted. I think the 3 most important faults (in my opinion) are: slower/worse AF (than the newer M cameras), sometimes (not always) some incorrect colors or white balance and finally a focus box (frame) as big as Africa. But I have taken many nice photos with it, so it’s not a bad camera. It’s just that the M100, M6, M5 and the M50 are better and faster and more fun to shoot with. That’s all I can think of right now. That Olympus I have no experience with, but it seems like a nice camera, too.

Good luck with your decision and purchase!

DJSanjay wrote:

I sold my EOS M10 and now I want to buy a new camera, so theses are the two options I'm considering. I have the superb EF-M 22mm lens (what a lovely lens that is!) and I like Canon colors (although I heard the M3 leans towards greenish side?) and their simple menu systems, so I'm tempted to stay with the M system. The M3 is the best I can afford right now. But I'm worried because the M10, while capable of taking beautiful pictures, was horribly slow to autofocus and in some conditions it would only manage to hunt back and forth. Not sure that M3 will be much better because it doesn't have DPAF.

From what I've heard the Olympus has better autofocus but then my 22mm lens becomes useless for the forseeable future, and I have to invest in MFT lenses.

Any advice, guys? Thank you.

MFT is not for everyone.  If you had problems focusing with the MFT, you should stay with the M10.  One of the first tasks for a photographer, it to get focus.   
ON the other hand some like the contrast AF because it's more accurate and faster in some cases like low light.  And depending on the camera it can be very good or very bad.

I am not familiar with E-M10, but I can assure you that if the M10’s AF disappointed you, an M3 would not be an improvement. M100, M5, M6 or M50 are the only good choices in that regard.

The M100 seems to be abundant on eBay, so perhaps you can negotiate a lower shipping rate to Sri Lanka from one of them? To give you a benchmark, the going rate for a used M100 in excellent condition in Japan, from a reputable used dealer, is about US$270.

OK - so you sold the E-M10 (Mk 1 version). I can tell you that the Mk II version is superb - a fantastic camera model whose IQ capabilities punch far, far above its weight. Plus it has a nice retro design and yes, it would be a superb replacement for your old E-M10 Mk I - providing you have a desire to stay within M43. That E-M10 Mk II is one of my cherished "keepers".  And add to this the absolutely superb Panasonic 12-60 F3.5-5.6 OIS lens (which is weather proofed) and you have an absolutely outstanding combination with a great 24-120 MM focal reach equivalent.  And that Panny lens can be had for as little as $250 on eBay (new) - typically separated from the kit.  I've written plenty of times about how this kit lenses (which is weather sealed also by the way) is one of the finest kit lenses on the market - from any brand.  As an aside, that kit lens can be found on eBay - here:

https://www.ebay.com/sch/Cameras-Photo/625/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=Panasonic%2012-60mm%20f/3.5-5.6%20Lens&_dcat=625&rt=nc&LH_ItemCondition=3&_trksid=p2045573.m1684

So now let's discuss the EOS M line of cameras. First of all, there are quite a few folks on this forum that shoot with a variety of systems - whether that be Sony, Fuji X, Micro 4/3 or whatever. I still maintain the M, M2, and M3, along with the newer models of the M50 and M100. And since you mentioned "Canon colors," you'll find the older M and M2 exhibit those traditional Canon colors. The M3 modifies it slightly, slightly changing the hue of this traditional color tonality and even at times with the M10. And yes, at times the M3 has a slight greenish tint, which can be offset in post processing if you shoot in RAW. But IMO, I find the M3 to still be a delightful camera to use. I personally keep the 11-22 (now) on it and they make a wonderful combination.

Do keep in mind that if you look on eBay, there are quite a few outstanding vendors there where you can find excellent EOS M series cameras (new) for some fantastic prices, and that's where I've purchased just about all of mine - to include EOS EF-M lenses. You don't have to go broke looking for the right EOS M body, that's for sure. But if the EOS M3 is all you can afford, I'd also look at the EOS M10 and EOS M100. I used to have the EOS M10 (until I got the M100) and found it to be delightful - absolutely so! No, the M10 and M100 don't have options for an external flash and I found the AF to be just fine for most of what I used them for (general photography scenarios). But I don't think you'd be using an M10 or M100 for sports scenarios anyway. Remember, anything produced after the M10 is 24 MP's (as opposed to the older, yet still very capable 18 MP's that you find in the M, M2, M3, and M10).

Here are a series of samples - some scenes very similar to each other - taken by the M10, M100, and M3, and you may be able to detect the slight differences in color tonality. I will list the camera and lenses used with each image. Do note that the EXIF data is not there because I use Irfanview, which is an excellent free batch conversion program to create JPG's for web display, When you convert from TIF to JPG in Irfanview, the Exif data is stripped unfortunately (it's an issue with the software, but one that the developer will not tackle). All images were shot in RAW mode and converted with either Lightroom or ACR within Photoshop.

M10 sample images - all taken with the kit 15-45 lens (not the greatest copy of the lens, but a half-assed decent verson of it):

M10 with the 15-45

EOS M10 with the 15-45

ISO 3200 - M10 with 15-45 kit lens.

M3 Images - various lenses used to include the Tamron 18-200 F3.5-6.3 Di III VC for EOS M mount.

M3 with the Tamron 18-200 F3.5-6.3 Di III VC lens for EOS M mount.

M3 with the Tamron 18-200

M3 with the Canon Ef-M 18-55.

M100 images with a fairly good copy of the 15-45 lens attached:

M100 with 15-45 kit lens

M100 with 15-45 kit lens

M100 with 15-45 kit lens.

Here are various samples taken with the awesome Olympus E-M10 Mk II and the Panasonic weather sealed 12-60 F3.5-5.6 OIS lens.  All images shot in RAW and converted with either Lightroom or ACR within Lightroom.

ISO 4000

DJSanjay wrote: I sold my EOS M10and now I want to buy a new camera, so theses are the two options I'm considering. I have the superb EF-M 22mm lens (what a lovely lens that is!) and I like Canon colors (although I heard the M3 leans towards greenish side?) and their simple menu systems, so I'm tempted to stay with the M system. The M3 is the best I can afford right now. But I'm worried because the M10, while capable of taking beautiful pictures, was horribly slow to autofocus and in some conditions it would only manage to hunt back and forth. Not sure that M3 will be much better because it doesn't have DPAF.

I had M1 with 22/2.0, so I understand your frustration against earlier slow AF. Basically:

• Early Generation: M1 / M2 / M3 / M10 = are best AVOID all together
• Later Generation M5 / M6 / M50 / M100 = are the ONE worth buying

Since you are frustrated by M10's  "horribly slow to autofocus", buying M3 is NOT a solution.  I recommend you

• Save Money toward a superior M50/ M100 or 
• Switch to M43 for speed

From what I've heard the Olympus has better autofocus

Its true.  Like you, I got fit up with EOS-M1 + 22/2.0 unreliable focusing and switch to M43 4 years ago.

but then my 22mm lens becomes useless for the forseeable future, and I have to invest in MFT lenses.

22mm is NOT a useless lens, you can easily sell Good Money for it.  Another option you can do is to trade for a M43 lens.  That is what I did when I sold my EOS-M camera and looking to swap for a M43 lens

Any advice, guys? Thank you.

Selling the slow M10 is a good moved.   Canon 22mm f/2.0 lens is worth keeping, if you want to saved money and buy a faster focusing M100 or M50 down the road.

Additional recommendation:

Check out Sony A6000 / A5000 / A5100, these APS-C focus FAST, and affordable Sigma primes makes Sony FE platform a worthy contenter

Fuji X focus rather slowly as well.  Unless your buying the latest XT-3, H1, majority of Fuji primes focus so slowly that there equally frustrating.  Speed isn't that much better than EOS-M3 in AF.

M43 might have limited future (imho) so there is something to think about as well.