Olympus E-M10 vs Sony A57

Let's examine more closely at the Olympus E-M10 vs Sony A57, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by competitors Olympus and Sony. The image resolution of the E-M10 (16MP) and the A57 (16MP) is pretty well matched but the E-M10 (Four Thirds) and A57 (APS-C) come with different sensor sizing.

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The E-M10 was released 19 months later than the A57 which makes the cameras a generation apart from each other. Each of the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-M10 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Sony A57 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before diving through a detailed comparison, below is a concise synopsis of how the E-M10 matches up against the A57 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Below is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus OM-D E-M10 & Sony SLT-A57. The complete galleries are viewable at Olympus E-M10 Gallery & Sony A57 Gallery.

When you are going to lug around your camera often, you need to consider its weight and size. The Olympus E-M10 comes with external measurements of 119mm x 82mm x 46mm (4.7" x 3.2" x 1.8") having a weight of 396 grams (0.87 lbs) and the Sony A57 has specifications of 132mm x 98mm x 81mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.2") along with a weight of 618 grams (1.36 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-M10 vs Sony A57 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you are utilizing at that time. Underneath is the front view proportions comparison of the E-M10 versus the A57.

Considering size and weight, the portability grade of the E-M10 and A57 is 82 and 64 respectively.

Usually, it can be hard to visualize the gap between sensor measurements merely by reading through technical specs. The visual below should offer you a stronger sense of the sensor sizing in the E-M10 and A57.

As you can tell, both cameras posses the exact same MP albeit different sensor measurements. The E-M10 contains the tinier sensor which is going to make getting bokeh more difficult. The younger E-M10 provides a benefit with regard to sensor technology.