Olympus E-5 vs Sony A7R III
58 Imaging
47 Features
76 Overall
58


63 Imaging
77 Features
93 Overall
83
Olympus E-5 vs Sony A7R III Key Specs
(Full Review)
- 12MP - Four Thirds Sensor
- 3" Fully Articulated Screen
- ISO 100 - 6400
- Sensor based Image Stabilization
- 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
- 1280 x 720 video
- Micro Four Thirds Mount
- 800g - 143 x 117 x 75mm
- Announced February 2011
- Older Model is Olympus E-3
(Full Review)
- 42MP - Full frame Sensor
- 3" Tilting Screen
- ISO 100 - 32000 (Expand to 102400)
- Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
- No Anti-Alias Filter
- 1/8000s Max Shutter
- 3840 x 2160 video
- Sony E Mount
- 657g - 127 x 96 x 74mm
- Launched October 2017
- Older Model is Sony A7R II
- Updated by Sony A7R IV

Olympus E-5 vs Sony A7R III Overview
Its time to examine more in depth at the Olympus E-5 and Sony A7R III, one being a Advanced DSLR and the latter is a Pro Mirrorless by rivals Olympus and Sony. There exists a crucial gap among the resolutions of the E-5 (12MP) and A7R III (42MP) and the E-5 (Four Thirds) and A7R III (Full frame) feature totally different sensor measurements.

The E-5 was unveiled 7 years prior to the A7R III and that is a fairly serious gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of the cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-5 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony A7R III being a SLR-style mirrorless camera.
Before going straight into a complete comparison, below is a short summary of how the E-5 grades versus the A7R III when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Olympus E-5 vs Sony A7R III Gallery
Following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus E-5 and Sony Alpha A7R III. The full galleries are viewable at Olympus E-5 Gallery and Sony A7R III Gallery.
Reasons to pick Olympus E-5 over the Sony A7R III
E-5 | A7R III | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Screen type | Fully Articulated | ![]() | Tilting | Fully Articulating screen |
Selfie screen | ![]() | Easy selfies |
Reasons to pick Sony A7R III over the Olympus E-5
A7R III | E-5 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Launched | October 2017 | ![]() | February 2011 | Fresher by 81 months |
Screen resolution | 1440k | ![]() | 920k | Sharper screen (+520k dot) |
Touch screen | ![]() | Quickly navigate |
Common features in the Olympus E-5 and Sony A7R III
E-5 | A7R III | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Manually focus | ![]() | Dial exact focus | ||
Screen sizing | 3" | ![]() | 3" | Equivalent screen measurements |
Olympus E-5 vs Sony A7R III Physical Comparison
For anybody who is planning to carry your camera frequently, you will want to factor its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-5 has got physical dimensions of 143mm x 117mm x 75mm (5.6" x 4.6" x 3.0") along with a weight of 800 grams (1.76 lbs) while the Sony A7R III has proportions of 127mm x 96mm x 74mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 2.9") having a weight of 657 grams (1.45 lbs).
Compare the Olympus E-5 and Sony A7R III in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.
Don't forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ dependant on the lens you are employing at that moment. Following is the front view scale comparison of the E-5 vs the A7R III.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-5 and A7R III is 58 and 63 respectively.

Olympus E-5 vs Sony A7R III Sensor Comparison
Quite often, it is difficult to visualise the gap in sensor sizing just by seeing technical specs. The photograph underneath might provide you a stronger sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-5 and A7R III.
As you have seen, the two cameras offer different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The E-5 with its smaller sensor will make achieving shallower DOF more challenging and the Sony A7R III will show extra detail having an extra 30 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also help you crop pictures a little more aggressively. The older E-5 will be disadvantaged in sensor tech.

Olympus E-5 vs Sony A7R III Screen and ViewFinder


Photography Type Scores
Portrait Comparison

Street Comparison

Sports Comparison

Travel Comparison

Landscape Comparison

Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-5 vs Sony A7R III Specifications
Olympus E-5 | Sony Alpha A7R III | |
---|---|---|
General Information | ||
Make | Olympus | Sony |
Model type | Olympus E-5 | Sony Alpha A7R III |
Class | Advanced DSLR | Pro Mirrorless |
Announced | 2011-02-03 | 2017-10-25 |
Body design | Mid-size SLR | SLR-style mirrorless |
Sensor Information | ||
Processor Chip | TruePic V+ | Bionz X |
Sensor type | CMOS | BSI-CMOS |
Sensor size | Four Thirds | Full frame |
Sensor measurements | 17.3 x 13mm | 35.9 x 24mm |
Sensor surface area | 224.9mm² | 861.6mm² |
Sensor resolution | 12 megapixels | 42 megapixels |
Anti alias filter | ||
Aspect ratio | 4:3 and 16:9 | 3:2 and 16:9 |
Peak resolution | 4032 x 3024 | 7952 x 5304 |
Highest native ISO | 6400 | 32000 |
Highest enhanced ISO | - | 102400 |
Lowest native ISO | 100 | 100 |
RAW support | ||
Lowest enhanced ISO | - | 50 |
Autofocusing | ||
Focus manually | ||
Touch focus | ||
Autofocus continuous | ||
Single autofocus | ||
Tracking autofocus | ||
Selective autofocus | ||
Center weighted autofocus | ||
Multi area autofocus | ||
Autofocus live view | ||
Face detection autofocus | ||
Contract detection autofocus | ||
Phase detection autofocus | ||
Total focus points | 11 | 425 |
Cross type focus points | 11 | - |
Lens | ||
Lens support | Micro Four Thirds | Sony E |
Total lenses | 45 | 121 |
Crop factor | 2.1 | 1 |
Screen | ||
Screen type | Fully Articulated | Tilting |
Screen size | 3" | 3" |
Resolution of screen | 920 thousand dot | 1,440 thousand dot |
Selfie friendly | ||
Liveview | ||
Touch function | ||
Screen tech | HyperCrystal transmissive LCD | - |
Viewfinder Information | ||
Viewfinder | Optical (pentaprism) | Electronic |
Viewfinder resolution | - | 3,686 thousand dot |
Viewfinder coverage | 100% | 100% |
Viewfinder magnification | 0.58x | 0.78x |
Features | ||
Min shutter speed | 60 seconds | 30 seconds |
Max shutter speed | 1/8000 seconds | 1/8000 seconds |
Continuous shutter speed | 5.0 frames/s | 10.0 frames/s |
Shutter priority | ||
Aperture priority | ||
Expose Manually | ||
Exposure compensation | Yes | Yes |
Change white balance | ||
Image stabilization | ||
Integrated flash | ||
Flash distance | 18.00 m (at ISO 200) | no built-in flash |
Flash options | Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, Fill-in | Off, Auto, Fill-flash, Slow Sync, Rear Sync, Red-eye reduction, Wireless, Hi-speed sync |
Hot shoe | ||
AE bracketing | ||
WB bracketing | ||
Max flash sync | 1/250 seconds | - |
Exposure | ||
Multisegment | ||
Average | ||
Spot | ||
Partial | ||
AF area | ||
Center weighted | ||
Video features | ||
Video resolutions | 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) | 3840 x 2160 (30p, 25p, 24p), 1920 x 1080 (60p, 60i, 24p), 1440 x 1080 (30p), 640 x 480 (30p) |
Highest video resolution | 1280x720 | 3840x2160 |
Video data format | Motion JPEG | MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC S |
Microphone input | ||
Headphone input | ||
Connectivity | ||
Wireless | None | Built-In |
Bluetooth | ||
NFC | ||
HDMI | ||
USB | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) | USB 3.1 Gen 1(5 GBit/sec) |
GPS | None | None |
Physical | ||
Environment seal | ||
Water proofing | ||
Dust proofing | ||
Shock proofing | ||
Crush proofing | ||
Freeze proofing | ||
Weight | 800 gr (1.76 lb) | 657 gr (1.45 lb) |
Dimensions | 143 x 117 x 75mm (5.6" x 4.6" x 3.0") | 127 x 96 x 74mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 2.9") |
DXO scores | ||
DXO Overall rating | 56 | 100 |
DXO Color Depth rating | 21.6 | 26.0 |
DXO Dynamic range rating | 10.5 | 14.7 |
DXO Low light rating | 519 | 3523 |
Other | ||
Battery life | 870 images | 650 images |
Type of battery | Battery Pack | Battery Pack |
Battery ID | BLM-5 | NP-FZ100 |
Self timer | Yes (2 or 12 sec) | Yes (2 or 10 sec; continuous (3 or 5 exposures)) |
Time lapse recording | ||
Type of storage | Compact Flash (Type I or II)/SD/SDHC/SDXC | Two SD/SDHC/SDXC slots (UHS-II support on one) |
Storage slots | 2 | 2 |
Cost at release | $1,700 | $2,800 |