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Olympus E-M5 II vs Sony A7S II

Portability
80
Imaging
54
Features
84
Overall
66
Olympus OM-D E-M5 II front
 
Sony Alpha A7S II front
Portability
68
Imaging
62
Features
76
Overall
67

Olympus E-M5 II vs Sony A7S II Key Specs

Olympus E-M5 II
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Fully Articulated Display
  • ISO 200 - 25600
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Max Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 469g - 124 x 85 x 45mm
  • Revealed February 2015
  • Succeeded the Olympus E-M5
  • Renewed by Olympus E-M5 III
Sony A7S II
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - Full frame Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 100 - 102400 (Expand to 409600)
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Max Shutter
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • Sony E Mount
  • 627g - 127 x 96 x 60mm
  • Released October 2015
  • Superseded the Sony A7S
  • Successor is Sony A7S III
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Olympus E-M5 II vs Sony A7S II Overview

Below, we will be reviewing the Olympus E-M5 II and Sony A7S II, one being a Advanced Mirrorless and the latter is a Pro Mirrorless by companies Olympus and Sony. There is a big difference between the resolutions of the E-M5 II (16MP) and A7S II (12MP) and the E-M5 II (Four Thirds) and A7S II (Full frame) enjoy different sensor measurements.

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The E-M5 II was announced 8 months earlier than the A7S II which means that they are both of a similar generation. Both of the cameras come with the identical body type (SLR-style mirrorless).

Before diving straight into a in depth comparison, below is a simple synopsis of how the E-M5 II scores against the A7S II in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-M5 II over the Sony A7S II

 E-M5 II A7S II 
Screen typeFully ArticulatedTiltingFully Articulating screen
Selfie screen Easy selfies
Touch friendly screen Quickly navigate

Reasons to pick Sony A7S II over the Olympus E-M5 II

 A7S II E-M5 II 
ReleasedOctober 2015February 2015More recent by 8 months
Screen resolution1229k1037kClearer screen (+192k dot)

Common features in the Olympus E-M5 II and Sony A7S II

 E-M5 II A7S II 
Manually focus Dial exact focus
Screen dimension3"3"Identical screen measurements

Olympus E-M5 II vs Sony A7S II Physical Comparison

When you are going to lug around your camera often, you'll need to consider its weight and size. The Olympus E-M5 II enjoys outside dimensions of 124mm x 85mm x 45mm (4.9" x 3.3" x 1.8") having a weight of 469 grams (1.03 lbs) whilst the Sony A7S II has specifications of 127mm x 96mm x 60mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 2.4") along with a weight of 627 grams (1.38 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-M5 II and Sony A7S II in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Do not forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ based on the lens you are utilising at that time. Underneath is the front view physical size comparison of the E-M5 II and the A7S II.

Olympus E-M5 II vs Sony A7S II size comparison

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability grade of the E-M5 II and A7S II is 80 and 68 respectively.

Olympus E-M5 II vs Sony A7S II top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-M5 II vs Sony A7S II Sensor Comparison

Often, it can be tough to imagine the gap between sensor measurements simply by reading specs. The graphic underneath will help offer you a better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-M5 II and A7S II.

All in all, both of these cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-M5 II with its tinier sensor is going to make achieving shallow DOF trickier and the Olympus E-M5 II will deliver more detail with its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also allow you to crop shots somewhat more aggressively. The older E-M5 II is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor tech.

Olympus E-M5 II vs Sony A7S II sensor size comparison

Olympus E-M5 II vs Sony A7S II Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-M5 II vs Sony A7S II Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-M5 II Portrait photography info
Sony A7S II Portrait photography info
72
manual focus
good MP (16 megapixels)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
comes with face detect focus
delivers RAW formats
69
focusing manually
sensor size is great (Full frame)
features face detect autofocus
exports RAW formats
MP count low (12 megapixels)
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-M5 II as a Street photography camera
Sony A7S II as a Street photography camera
82
screen can move to multiple angles
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW formats
comes with touch to focus
weather sealing
very good high ISO (25,600)
78
has a tilting screen
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor size is great (Full frame)
exports RAW formats
weather sealing
very good high ISO (102,400)
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-M5 II Sports photography details
Sony A7S II Sports photography details
65
high shutter speed (1/8,000 seconds)
quiet shutter (1/16,000 seconds)
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
good MP (16MP)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
comes with tracking focus
weather sealing
not so great battery life (310 per charge)
lacks phase detect auto focus
58
high shutter speed (1/8,000 seconds)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor size is great (Full frame)
features tracking focus
weather sealing
low frames per second (5.0 frames/s)
MP count low (12MP)
not so great battery power (370 shots)
no phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-M5 II Travel photography information
Sony A7S II Travel photography information
74
weather sealing
comes with touch to focus
good MP (16 megapixels)
screen is selfie friendly
not so great battery life (310 CIPA)
49
weather sealing
not so great battery power (370 per charge)
MP count low (12MP)
display is not selfie friendly
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-M5 II Landscape photography factors
Sony A7S II Landscape photography factors
74
manual focus
interchangeable lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
pretty good screen size (3 inch)
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
good MP (16 megapixels)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
very good high ISO (25,600)
delivers RAW formats
weather sealing
not so great battery life (310 per charge)
71
focusing manually
switch lenses (Sony E mount)
screen size is good (3 inch)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor size is great (Full frame)
very good high ISO (102,400)
exports RAW formats
weather sealing
MP count low (12MP)
not so great battery power (370 CIPA)
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-M5 II as a Vlogging camera
Sony A7S II as a Vlogging camera
82
screen is selfie friendly
touch screen
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
comes with face detect focus
great video quality (1920 x 1080 pixels)
does have microphone port
35
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
features face detect autofocus
good video quality (3840 x 2160 resolution)
comes with microphone port
display is not selfie friendly
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Olympus E-M5 II vs Sony A7S II Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-M5 II and Sony A7S II
 Olympus OM-D E-M5 IISony Alpha A7S II
General Information
Company Olympus Sony
Model type Olympus OM-D E-M5 II Sony Alpha A7S II
Type Advanced Mirrorless Pro Mirrorless
Revealed 2015-02-06 2015-10-12
Body design SLR-style mirrorless SLR-style mirrorless
Sensor Information
Processor TruePic VII Bionz X
Sensor type MOS CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds Full frame
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 35.6 x 23.8mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 847.3mm²
Sensor resolution 16MP 12MP
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 3:2 and 16:9
Highest resolution 4608 x 3456 4240 x 2832
Highest native ISO 25600 102400
Highest boosted ISO - 409600
Lowest native ISO 200 100
RAW data
Lowest boosted ISO 100 50
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
Touch focus
Autofocus continuous
Single autofocus
Tracking autofocus
Selective autofocus
Autofocus center weighted
Multi area autofocus
Autofocus live view
Face detect focus
Contract detect focus
Phase detect focus
Total focus points 81 169
Lens
Lens support Micro Four Thirds Sony E
Available lenses 107 121
Crop factor 2.1 1
Screen
Range of display Fully Articulated Tilting
Display diagonal 3 inch 3 inch
Display resolution 1,037k dot 1,229k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch functionality
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Electronic Electronic
Viewfinder resolution 2,360k dot 2,359k dot
Viewfinder coverage 100 percent 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification 0.74x 0.78x
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60 secs 30 secs
Highest shutter speed 1/8000 secs 1/8000 secs
Highest quiet shutter speed 1/16000 secs -
Continuous shooting speed 10.0 frames per sec 5.0 frames per sec
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Change white balance
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash distance no built-in flash no built-in flash
Flash settings Auto, redeye, fill, off, redeye slow sync, slow sync, 2nd-curtain slow sync, manual no built-in flash
Hot shoe
AEB
White balance bracketing
Highest flash sync 1/250 secs -
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, 24p), 1280 x 720 (60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, 24p), 640 x 480 (30p) 4K (3840 x 2160 @ 30p/24p [60-100Mbps]), Full HD (1920 x 1080 @ 120p/60p/60i/30p/24p [50-100Mbps]), 720p (30p [16Mbps])
Highest video resolution 1920x1080 3840x2160
Video data format MPEG-4, H.264, Motion JPEG MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC S
Microphone jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless Built-In Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 469g (1.03 pounds) 627g (1.38 pounds)
Dimensions 124 x 85 x 45mm (4.9" x 3.3" x 1.8") 127 x 96 x 60mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 2.4")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating 73 85
DXO Color Depth rating 23.0 23.6
DXO Dynamic range rating 12.4 13.3
DXO Low light rating 896 2993
Other
Battery life 310 photographs 370 photographs
Battery form Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID BLN-1 NP-FW50
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 secs, custom) Yes (2 or 10 sec; continuous (3 or 5 exposures))
Time lapse shooting With downloadable app
Storage media SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Duo/Pro Duo/Pro-HG Duo
Storage slots 1 1
Cost at launch $699 $2,767