Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A7R

Below is a in depth comparison of the Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A7R, former being a Advanced Mirrorless while the other is a Pro Mirrorless by brands Olympus and Sony. There is a considerable difference between the image resolutions of the E-M5 (16MP) and A7R (36MP) and the E-M5 (Four Thirds) and A7R (Full frame) enjoy totally different sensor size.

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The E-M5 was released 21 months earlier than the A7R making the cameras a generation apart from each other. Each of these cameras come with the identical body type (SLR-style mirrorless).

Before delving through a complete comparison, below is a short summary of how the E-M5 matches up against the A7R with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

The following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus OM-D E-M5 & Sony Alpha A7R. The complete galleries are viewable at Olympus E-M5 Gallery & Sony A7R Gallery.

In case you're looking to lug around your camera often, you'll have to take into account its weight and volume. The Olympus E-M5 enjoys physical dimensions of 122mm x 89mm x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") along with a weight of 425 grams (0.94 lbs) and the Sony A7R has sizing of 127mm x 94mm x 48mm (5.0" x 3.7" x 1.9") accompanied by a weight of 465 grams (1.03 lbs).

See the Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A7R in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you are working with during that time. Following is the front view physical size comparison of the E-M5 compared to the A7R.

Using size and weight, the portability rating of the E-M5 and A7R is 81 and 78 respectively.

Oftentimes, it's difficult to envision the contrast between sensor measurements just by looking at technical specs. The photograph underneath will provide you a clearer sense of the sensor sizes in the E-M5 and A7R.

As you have seen, both cameras posses different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The E-M5 because of its tinier sensor will make achieving shallow DOF harder and the Sony A7R will resolve greater detail as a result of its extra 20 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also allow you to crop pics somewhat more aggressively. The older E-M5 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor tech.