The Olympus OM-10 Review – Everything You Need To Know

I’ve worked with many OM10s over the years and I’ve discovered the pros and cons of this brilliant SLR camera!

The Olympus OM10 is a great 35mm camera for beginners. This camera will produce great shots due to the brilliant lenses available for it. The Olympus OM10 is also easy to use and will help you to learn how to use SLR cameras. This camera was very successful because it is nice and easy to use but can produce very good photos, you could also use this camera in aperture priority mode or use a manual adapter to shoot fully manually. 

If you want to know how this camera compares to others, how much you should be paying, some of its common issues and much more then read on!

Olympus OM10 Specs

Mount – OM

Format – 35mm

ISO – 25 – 1600

Shutter Speeds – 2 – 1/1000

Battery – 2 X LR44 

Exposure – Manual Exposure/Aperture-priority

Focusing – Manual Focusing  

Flash – Hotshoe

How Much Is The Olympus OM10 Worth?

Currently, the Olympus OM10 is worth around $75 or £50 without a lens and around $125 or 100 pounds with a lens. This camera can probably be purchased for less and maybe found in thrift stores if you want to find a bargain however often with old cameras, it’s worth paying a little bit more to know that it’s working properly and that its light seals are intact.

If you want to find my must-have list of accessories to use for your photography, I’ve created a list of everything I actually use!

How Does The Olympus OM10 Compare To The Olympus OM1?

Let’s compare the Olympus OM10 with the more professional Olympus OM1!

The Olympus OM10 is a good camera for beginners and people that want to take better shots while travelling and day-to-day but the OM1 is considerably better and has a stronger build.

If you’re just starting out, there’s certainly nothing wrong with the OM10 but if you want to step it up a level then there are far better SLR cameras out there.

What Kind Of Photography Is The Olympus OM10 Best For?

The Olympus OM10 is best for beginner photographers shooting travel photography, portrait photography, street photography and documenting day-to-day life. The OM10 isn’t really a professional film camera but it’s definitely a good place to start and still will produce some good results.

This camera is ideal for a beginner because of its aperture priority setting making it an easy camera to learn with while still producing better shots than at point-and-shoot cameras.

Is The Olympus OM10 Good For Beginners?

This camera is great for beginners because it has simple settings making it quite easy to use. This camera is also very accessible because it’s not overly expensive and there are a lot of them around. This is the kind of camera that you might be able to pick up from a thrift store or flea market. 

On the flip side, this camera will still give you good shots and help you progress as a beginning photographer. 

What Lens Is Best For The Olympus OM10?

The 50mm 1.8 Zuiko lens is probably the best lens for the Olympus OM10. The 50mm Zuiko Lens is a cult classic lens that can produce some very good shots that would be very sharp and detailed. 

You could also use a 28mm Zuiko lens or 35mm Zuiko lens depending on how why do you want your shots to be. Either way, these are all brilliant options for the Olympus OM10!

Is The Olympus OM10 Fully Manual?

The Olympus OM10 is an aperture priority camera that can be fitted with a manual adapter so you can use it fully manually. 

What Kind Of Film Stock Is Best For The Olympus OM10?

The best film start for the Olympus OM10 is Kodak Portra 400 due to its versatility. Portra 400 is quite expensive so Kodak gold is a great alternative for beautiful yellow hues, this is better for beginners and especially good if you’re shooting travel photography or documenting daily life. Alternatively, if you want to shoot in black and white then you can use something like Ilford HP5 or Kodak Tri-X. 

If you want to buy some film we’re not sure what to buy or where then this article will help you out!

How To Use The Olympus OM10

To remove the lens there are two buttons on either side of the base of the lens and you need to press them in and rotate the lens anticlockwise until you can remove it.  

In order to put the lens back on you have to line up the red dot on your lens with the red dot on the Olympus body and rotate it clockwise. 

To open the battery compartment you need a coin that can fit into the slot of the battery compartment. The battery compartment is located on the bottom of the camera it’s a circle with a slot running through it. Slot your coin into it and rotate it anticlockwise in order to open it.

If you’re struggling to open your battery compartment it may be because somebody has left batteries inside it for too long and the batteries have leaked acid, in this case, it can be very hard to open your compartment. My advice would be to stop using the coin so that you don’t round the edges and try to find something that you can use which may have more leverage.

To change the aperture you have to rotate the setting on the end of the lens, these numbers will read something like 1.8 to 22 or something similar. If you have no manual adapter then this is the only way to control the settings of the camera. 

To control the shutter speeds you must have a manual adapter attached to your camera. If you do have a manual adapter then all you need to do is rotate the settings between 2 and 1/1000 and decide on your shutter speeds. 

To change the ISO, rotate the dial on the right-hand side of the top of the camera.

To focus this camera you just have to rotate the middle of the lens while looking through the viewfinder and find the correct focus for that particular shot.

To attach a flash you simply have to slide it into the hot shoe located on the top middle of the prism when using the flash and make sure you are using it at the correct flash sync speed which is 1/60. 

To rewind your film you first need to rotate the dial located on the left-hand side of the front of the camera it is directly next to the OM10 logo. Just turn this dial 90 degrees and then wind the film back using the winder on the top left of the camera.

The Olympus OM10 Common Faults

Unfortunately as good as the Olympus OM10 can be it also has some common faults as it was a reasonably cheap film camera with some moderately flimsy parts.

Sometimes the Olympus OM10 can completely lock up making it unusable. This is due to a small cog in the bottom portion of the camera becoming misplaced due to a small spring becoming worn out. This can be replaced but it’s not an easy thing to fix for a novice. This is definitely something to look out for to make sure that you don’t have this type of issue.

Sometimes the light meter will not be working, of course, you can try putting new batteries inside but if it doesn’t work after that then there’s certainly an issue that needs fixing.

Often the light seals will probably need to be replaced on Olympus OM10s to prevent light leaks, this is moderately easy to do and if you want to find out how to do it then take a look at this.

Finally, there may be fungus or scratches to the lens so be sure to take a look and make sure that the lens is nice and clean.

Final Word

The Olympus OM10 is the ideal beginner’s camera or travel camera for someone that wants to take slightly better photos than with a point-and-shoot. This is a great option and it’s fairly inexpensive, it will also give you a really good chance to start learning how to use an SLR camera and become a better photographer.