Head to Head: Nikon Z7 vs Olympus OM-D E-M5 – The Ultimate Real-World Camera Comparison

When it comes to choosing a mirrorless camera that fits your photography style and workflow, the options can feel overwhelming. Today, I’m putting two very different yet well-regarded models under the microscope: the Nikon Z7, a flagship full-frame marvel with serious pro-level ambitions, and the Olympus OM-D E-M5, an advanced Micro Four Thirds (MFT) system camera that’s lightweight, versatile, and value-packed. Having spent considerable time testing and comparing these two, this detailed comparison will help you decide which suits your creative needs best.

We’ll cover everything from sensor technology and image quality to ergonomics, autofocus, lens systems, and suitability across photography genres - from portraits to astrophotography and beyond. Let’s dive in.

Size, Weight, and Handling: Comfort Meets Portability

First impressions count, and the physical feel of a camera plays a huge role in day-to-day shooting. The Nikon Z7, sporting a classic SLR-style mirrorless body, is notably larger and heavier. Weighing 675g (body only) and with a robust build, it commands presence and confidence in the hand. Meanwhile, the Olympus E-M5 cuts an impressively compact figure at just 425g, lending itself to long shoots or travel.

The Nikon’s size allows for a deeper grip, which I prefer during extended sessions, especially with telephoto lenses. Its control layout, while complex, feels intuitive and well-spaced. On the other hand, the E-M5’s diminutive frame with its aggressive textured grip punches above its weight in comfort, albeit with a shallower grip that some may find less secure.

Both cameras offer weather sealing - an essential for outdoor shooters - but the Nikon’s sealing is tighter and more comprehensive, translating to greater resilience in rain or dust.

Design, Controls, and Interface: Navigating the Gear

Looking down at the cameras’ topsides, the Nikon Z7 carries a more modern and professional design ethos with illuminated buttons and a top LCD display panel - a boon for quick settings checks. The Olympus E-M5 opts for a classic dial-heavy approach with a dedicated mode dial and fewer buttons, streamlining interface complexity for enthusiasts.

Both models feature tilting rear screens with touchscreen capability, but the Nikon’s 3.2-inch 2.1M-dot LCD delivers far crisper detail and responsiveness compared to the E-M5’s smaller 3.0-inch 610K-dot screen.

The Nikon’s electronic viewfinder (EVF) is a high-res 3.69M-dot OLED unit with 0.8x magnification - exceptional for precise manual focusing and framing. The E-M5’s 1.44M-dot EVF with a 0.58x magnification is respectable but noticeably less sharp and immersive.

When it comes to tactile feedback, the Nikon’s buttons offer satisfying clickiness with helpful backlighting, but the Olympus’s smaller controls might challenge larger hands.

Sensor and Image Quality: Where Size Truly Matters

Now to the heart of the matter - sensor capabilities and resulting image quality. The Nikon Z7 boasts a full-frame 45.7MP BSI CMOS sensor, competitive with the best on the market. The Olympus E-M5, by contrast, utilizes a 16MP Four Thirds sensor - significantly smaller in both physical size and resolution.

From a numbers perspective, the Nikon’s sensor area is almost four times larger - 858 vs 225 mm² - resulting in distinct benefits: higher resolution, wider dynamic range, and superior low-light performance.

DxOMark testing rates the Z7 at an overall 99 with an impressive 26.3 bits of color depth and 14.6 EV dynamic range. The E-M5 scores 71 overall, with 22.8 bits and 12.3 EV respectively. This translates to smoother gradations, richer colors, and better highlight and shadow retention in the Nikon’s images.

In practice, shooting landscapes or studio portraits, the Z7’s 46MP files provide outstanding cropping latitude and print quality. The Olympus sensor is more limited but still capable of delivering sharp, vibrant images well-suited to web use and smaller prints.

Autofocus Systems: Speed and Accuracy in the Field

Autofocus can make or break decisive moments, especially for sports, wildlife, or candid street photography. The Nikon Z7 employs a hybrid Phase-Detection and Contrast-Detection system with an impressive 493 focus points covering broad AF area. It supports Eye Detection AF for both humans and animals - becoming a critical feature in portrait and wildlife photographers’ kits.

The Olympus E-M5 offers 35 contrast-only focus points without phase detection, limiting its speed and accuracy especially in low light or fast-moving subjects.

Real-world use confirms this gap: the Z7 locks focus swiftly and tracks subjects with confidence across varying distances. The E-M5 requires a bit more patience, occasionally hunting in challenging scenarios or failing to maintain tracking with erratic subjects.

For wildlife photographers prioritizing fast telephoto AF, or sports shooters needing burst and tracking capability, the Z7 is clearly superior.

Burst Shooting and Low-Light Performance: Fast and Sensitive

Both cameras support continuous shooting at roughly 9 fps, but buffer depth and image processing differ. The Z7’s Expeed 6 processor allows longer bursts before slowdown, facilitating better action capture.

Regarding ISO sensitivity, the Nikon’s native range (64 – 25600) with expansion up to 102400 surpasses the Olympus’s range (200 – 25600 native), meaning it excels far better at low light.

Photographers specializing in night or astrophotography will find the Nikon’s cleaner high-ISO output essential. The E-M5’s sensor noise becomes apparent beyond ISO 1600, whereas the Z7 maintains usable detail well above ISO 3200.

Versatility Across Photography Genres: Which Camera Excels When?

Let’s break down how each camera holds up for specific photography disciplines:

Portrait Photography

The Nikon Z7’s large sensor captures skin tones with exquisite nuance and shallow depth of field creates beautiful bokeh, isolating subjects effectively. Its Eye Detection AF ensures tack-sharp eye focus, a big deal for professional portraits. Plus, the extensive Nikon Z-mount lens lineup offers many fast primes and excellent portrait lenses.

The Olympus E-M5, while competent, offers less creamy bokeh due to smaller sensor size and higher depth of field. Its 35 AF points and lack of eye AF can be limiting, but for casual portraits it’s perfectly fine.

Landscape Photography

High detail and dynamic range put the Z7 in clear lead here. Photographers benefit from 46MP files and native 64 ISO base for cleaner shadows and highlights, plus excellent weather sealing for rugged conditions.

Olympus E-M5’s smaller sensor impacts image detail, but its well-built body and usable image stabilization help. Its lens selection includes quality wide angles. For travelers on a budget, it suffices.

Wildlife and Sports Photography

Fast autofocus, high burst capacity, and superior ISO handling allow the Nikon Z7 to excel. The animal eye detection is impressive for wildlife work, and the buffer supports long bursts.

Olympus’s contrast-detect AF and smaller sensor limit its suitability here; it’s better suited for slower-paced subjects.

Street Photography

The Olympus E-M5 shines due to its compact size and quiet operation, making it discreet in urban settings. Its weather sealing means shooting in various conditions without worry.

The Nikon Z7 is larger and heavier, less discreet but more capable if low-light or critical detail is paramount.

Macro Photography

Both cameras support macro lenses, but Nikon’s 5-axis in-body stabilization combined with sensor size help capture crisp close-ups. Focus stacking on the Z7 adds creative control.

Olympus also offers excellent in-body stabilization and a rich macro lens lineup, making it a favorite among enthusiasts on a budget.

Night and Astro Photography

Thanks to its superior high ISO and dynamic range, the Nikon Z7 handles astrophotography and low-light scenes with ease. Its sensor minimizes noise in long exposures.

Olympus E-M5 can capture night scenes but image noise is more pronounced, resulting in qualitative differences.

Video Capabilities

Video shooters have a clear winner: Nikon Z7 supports 4K UHD at 30fps with higher bitrate, plus microphone and headphone ports for audio monitoring. Olympus maxes out at 1080p with no audio input, limiting professional use.

Both feature sensor-based 5-axis stabilization, a boon for handheld video.

Travel Photography

Here the Olympus E-M5's compact, lightweight body and vast lens ecosystem in Micro Four Thirds format shine. Its battery life is slightly longer on paper, and smaller size means less gear-related fatigue.

The Nikon Z7, while more powerful, demands more space and weight, factors worth considering for long travel days.

Professional Workflows

Nikon offers robust raw file options, tethering, and wide lens compatibility that integrate seamlessly with professional workflows. Dual card slots would have been nice, but the single XQD card slot provides rapid write speeds.

Olympus raw files are smaller but less flexible; USB 2.0 and single SD slot may slow down file transfer in workflows.

Build Quality, Durability, and Weather Resistance: Ready for Anything?

Both cameras feature environmental sealing - weather-resistant bodies built to shrug off rain and dust.

While not explicitly freezeproof or crushproof, the Nikon’s more modern sealing and tougher construction will better withstand professional fieldwork.

Personally, I trust the Nikon Z7 for harsh environments more confidently, but the Olympus E-M5 remains surprisingly rugged considering its size and age.

Lens Ecosystem and Compatibility: Choosing Your Glass

Nikon’s Z-mount, though newer, already boasts 15 native lenses and rapidly expanding third-party options. The mounts’ 55mm throat diameter and short flange distance allow spectacular optics design.

Nikon Z7 front Nikon Z7 screen back Olympus E M5 front Olympus E M5 screen back

Olympus’s Micro Four Thirds system benefits from a huge catalog - over 100 lenses built by Olympus, Panasonic, Sigma, and more - covering every specialty and budget. The crop factor of 2.1x extends reach on telephoto lenses but double-check if you prefer shallow depth of field or wide coverage.

Connectivity, Storage, and Battery Life: Staying Powered and Connected

The Nikon Z7 uses a fast XQD card standard, single slot, with built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for remote control and image transfer. It packs a modern USB-C connection and HDMI output with clean 4K video via external recorders.

Olympus sticks to the older SD card format and USB 2.0, with Eye-Fi Wi-Fi integration but lacking Bluetooth.

Battery specs show the Z7 rated at 330 shots per charge, the E-M5 360 shots. Realism depends on usage, but both are in a similar ballpark.

Pricing and Value: What’s the Right Investment?

The Nikon Z7 carries a street price near $2800 - a significant investment aiming at semi-pro to professional photographers needing ultimate image quality and versatility.

Olympus E-M5, on the other hand, can be found around $800 - a fraction of the Nikon cost, but less capable in many ways. For enthusiasts entering mirrorless or travelers wanting a lightweight rig, it’s a superb bargain.

Wrapping Up: Which Should You Choose?

After testing countless cameras, hands-on and in varied conditions, the fundamental decision boils down to your priorities:

• If you crave ultimate image detail, dynamic range, fast, reliable autofocus, and professional video capability, the Nikon Z7 is simply outstanding. It’s a long-term investment for serious stills and video work across genres.

• If you value compactness, lightweight handling, excellent stabilization, and a massive lens lineup at a fraction of the price, and you mostly shoot in good to moderate light, the Olympus E-M5 remains an excellent, capable performer.

Final Thoughts and Practical Recommendations

I encourage portrait and landscape photographers to lean towards the Nikon Z7. The superior sensor and autofocus system yield stunning portraits with smooth skin tones and landscapes rich with fine detail.

For wildlife and sports shooters requiring swift AF and high burst performance, the Z7 cannot be beaten.

Street and travel photographers who prize portability and easier handling might find the Olympus E-M5 a better fit, especially if you’re exploring mirrorless on a budget.

Macro artists will enjoy the stabilization on both, but the Z7’s greater pixel count and focus stacking features give it an edge.

Astrophotographers should choose the Nikon for cleaner low light and better dynamic range in night skies.

For videographers looking to step up to 4K, the Nikon Z7 offers more advanced audio and stabilization features.

In sum, both cameras have carved out meaningful niches in the mirrorless world. Your choice depends on balancing your technical demands, shooting style, and budget.

Want the best image quality and speed? The Nikon Z7 stands tall.

Need agile, compact versatility and affordability? Olympus E-M5 delivers more than you might expect.

Happy shooting - and as always, test your preferred gear yourself where possible. Cameras are tools but your eye and vision make the difference. Cheers!

If you’d like to see me test these models side by side, I recommend checking my detailed video review on this comparison - where you can spot subtle operational differences and image samples in real time.

Summary Specs Table

Thanks for reading this comprehensive Nikon Z7 vs Olympus E-M5 comparison. Feel free to ask questions and share your shooting preferences below!