Olympus E-M1 vs Sony A850

Its time to take a deeper look at the Olympus E-M1 versus Sony A850, one is a Pro Mirrorless and the other is a Advanced DSLR by competitors Olympus and Sony. There is a sizeable difference between the sensor resolutions of the E-M1 (16MP) and A850 (25MP) and the E-M1 (Four Thirds) and A850 (Full frame) posses different sensor dimensions.

Photography Glossary

The E-M1 was announced 3 years after the A850 which is quite a large gap as far as tech is concerned. Both of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-M1 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Sony A850 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before delving into a in depth comparison, here is a short view of how the E-M1 scores against the A850 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Below is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus OM-D E-M1 and Sony Alpha DSLR-A850. The whole galleries are available at Olympus E-M1 Gallery and Sony A850 Gallery.

If you're looking to travel with your camera frequently, you will want to factor in its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-M1 provides outer dimensions of 130mm x 94mm x 63mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.5") along with a weight of 497 grams (1.10 lbs) while the Sony A850 has measurements of 156mm x 117mm x 82mm (6.1" x 4.6" x 3.2") along with a weight of 895 grams (1.97 lbs).

Look at the Olympus E-M1 versus Sony A850 in the latest Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ dependant on the lens you are utilizing at the time. Following is a front view physical size comparison of the E-M1 against the A850.

Considering size and weight, the portability grade of the E-M1 and A850 is 71 and 54 respectively.

In many cases, it's tough to visualize the difference between sensor dimensions just by going over a spec sheet. The image here will help provide you a much better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-M1 and A850.

As you can see, each of the cameras have different resolutions and different sensor dimensions. The E-M1 having a tinier sensor is going to make getting bokeh more difficult and the Sony A850 will deliver more detail with its extra 9MP. Greater resolution can also let you crop pics a bit more aggressively. The more modern E-M1 provides an edge in sensor technology.