The Best Mirrorless Camera
After our latest round of testing, we think the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV is the best mirrorless camera for most people and the Fujifilm X-T4 makes sense for more serious photographers.
Whether you’re looking for better images than a smartphone or point-and-shoot camera can capture, or you want to learn photography or expand on your experience, a mirrorless camera is probably the best choice for you. After more than 220 hours of research and testing over the past seven years, including real-world shooting with the top contenders, we recommend the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV, a versatile, high-performing mirrorless camera that’s available at a great price. Its advanced features help capture reliably great-looking images in all kinds of conditions, and its small size makes it easier to carry than most competitors.
Our pick
Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV
The best mirrorless camera for most people
The Olympus E-M10 IV’s vast lens selection, easy portability, built-in stabilization, and excellent autofocus and exposure performance make it easy to capture reliably great images anywhere.
May be out of stock
*At the time of publishing, the price was $799.
Although the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV can’t claim the title of absolute best when it comes to image quality, it captures great-looking images and excels in other areas that matter more when you want to get the perfect shot. It’s compatible with more than 100 Micro Four Thirds lenses that all work with its impressive built-in image stabilization, which minimizes the effects of shaky hands for clearer images. And because it’s less than an inch larger in each dimension than our top point-and-shoot pick, you’d be more likely to bring this camera with you than a bulky DSLR or even a bigger mirrorless camera. The camera’s autofocus (AF) system locks on to subjects quickly and accurately and remains accurate even in dimly lit situations that cause any AF system, including this one, to slow down.
Although the auto modes are reliably great, the E-M10 IV also has manual control knobs and buttons as well as a tilting touchscreen, which together make this model one of the better-handling cameras in its class. Its built-in Wi-Fi support lets you transfer images to your phone to share with your family, friends, and Instagram followers. You can also use the Wi-Fi to trigger the shutter and change most of the settings from across the room using your smartphone. And despite this camera’s great performance and advanced features, it typically costs a couple hundred bucks less than its closest competitors.
Upgrade pick
Fujifilm X-T4
The best mirrorless camera for serious photographers
The retro-styled, weather-sealed, pro-worthy Fujifilm X-T4 is the best APS-C mirrorless camera you can buy, offering advanced autofocus, excellent 4K video, built-in stabilization, and outstanding images even in very low light.
If you’re serious enough to spend over $2,000 for a camera and lens bundle, the Fujifilm X-T4 is the best choice to bring your photography to a higher level. The sensor puts out surprisingly clean, detailed, color-accurate images even when you shoot in especially dim lighting. The camera is rugged and weather sealed, it has one of the best electronic viewfinders you can get, and it can capture beautiful 4K video. Plus, its tilt-and-swivel screen and built-in image stabilization make shooting in challenging situations even more manageable than with our top pick.
Also great
Sony α7 III
The best full-frame mirrorless camera
If you want to step up to a full-frame camera, the α7 III offers the best image quality and battery life you can get in a mirrorless camera at this price, along with a tilting touchscreen, dual SD card slots, and a 693-point AF system that covers nearly the entire frame.
Whether you want to adapt old manual-focus lenses, shoot often in very dimly lit situations, or just want the cachet of telling your friends that you shoot with a full-frame camera (which has a sensor that’s the same size as a frame of 35mm film and larger than those in our other picks), the Sony α7 III delivers images with the sharpest detail and the least noise (tiny speckles that aren’t supposed to be in the image), especially at higher sensitivities, of any mirrorless camera in its price range. Its tilting touchscreen, comfortable grip, and easy-to-use controls make shooting pleasant. Plus, its battery life (710 shots per charge) and dual SD card slots are meaningful improvements over what we’ve seen on any other full-frame mirrorless camera under $2,500. Add its weather sealing, its 10-frames-per-second burst mode, and its autofocus system, which covers 93% of the frame and performs as well as or better than systems found in cameras that cost twice as much, and we’re comfortable saying that the α7 III is the best full-frame camera for your money—if you’re willing to spend this much on a camera. Most people don’t need to
Myron Edwards 