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Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A7R II

Portability
81
Imaging
52
Features
70
Overall
59
Olympus OM-D E-M5 front
 
Sony Alpha A7R II front
Portability
68
Imaging
76
Features
84
Overall
79

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A7R II Key Specs

Olympus E-M5
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Display
  • ISO 200 - 25600
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 425g - 122 x 89 x 43mm
  • Introduced April 2012
  • Refreshed by Olympus E-M5 II
Sony A7R II
(Full Review)
  • 42MP - Full frame Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Display
  • ISO 100 - 25600 (Push to 102400)
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • No Anti-Alias Filter
  • 1/8000s Max Shutter
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • Sony E Mount
  • 625g - 127 x 96 x 60mm
  • Announced June 2015
  • Old Model is Sony A7R
  • Successor is Sony A7R III
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Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A7R II Overview

Let's look a little more closely at the Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A7R II, one is a Advanced Mirrorless and the other is a Pro Mirrorless by companies Olympus and Sony. There is a significant difference between the resolutions of the E-M5 (16MP) and A7R II (42MP) and the E-M5 (Four Thirds) and A7R II (Full frame) posses different sensor sizing.

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The E-M5 was brought out 4 years earlier than the A7R II which is quite a sizable gap as far as tech is concerned. Both of these cameras feature the same body design (SLR-style mirrorless).

Before going right into a in depth comparison, here is a simple summation of how the E-M5 matches up versus the A7R II when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-M5 over the Sony A7R II

 E-M5 A7R II 
Touch friendly display Easily navigate

Reasons to pick Sony A7R II over the Olympus E-M5

 A7R II E-M5 
AnnouncedJune 2015April 2012More modern by 37 months
Display resolution1229k610kSharper display (+619k dot)

Common features in the Olympus E-M5 and Sony A7R II

 E-M5 A7R II 
Manually focus Dial accurate focusing
Display typeTiltingTiltingTilting display
Display size3"3"Same display measurement
Selfie screen Lack of selfie screen

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A7R II Physical Comparison

When you are going to carry around your camera often, you're going to have to think about its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-M5 has got external dimensions of 122mm x 89mm x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") having a weight of 425 grams (0.94 lbs) whilst the Sony A7R II has dimensions of 127mm x 96mm x 60mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 2.4") with a weight of 625 grams (1.38 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A7R II in the latest Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into consideration, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary based on the lens you are employing at the time. The following is a front view measurements comparison of the E-M5 against the A7R II.

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A7R II size comparison

Looking at size and weight, the portability rating of the E-M5 and A7R II is 81 and 68 respectively.

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A7R II top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A7R II Sensor Comparison

Oftentimes, it is very tough to picture the contrast between sensor sizes simply by checking specs. The pic below will offer you a much better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-M5 and A7R II.

As you can plainly see, the 2 cameras feature different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The E-M5 because of its tinier sensor is going to make shooting shallower DOF harder and the Sony A7R II will give greater detail having its extra 26 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also enable you to crop pics way more aggressively. The more aged E-M5 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor tech.

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A7R II sensor size comparison

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A7R II Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A7R II Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Portrait photography with Olympus E-M5
Portrait photography with Sony A7R II
71
has manual focus
good MP (16MP)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
includes face detect focus
supports RAW files
85
has manual focus
resolution is excellent (42MP)
sensor size is great (Full frame)
has face detect focus
exports RAW files
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-M5 as a Street photography camera
Sony A7R II as a Street photography camera
82
screen tilts up and down
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
supports RAW files
supports touch to focus
environment proof
very good high ISO (25,600)
81
has a tilting screen
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor size is great (Full frame)
exports RAW files
weather sealing
great high ISO (25,600)
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Sports photography info
Sony A7R II Sports photography info
67
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
good MP (16MP)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
includes tracking focus
environment proof
lacks phase detect auto focus
76
high shutter speed (1/8,000s)
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
resolution is excellent (42MP)
sensor size is great (Full frame)
has tracking focus
weather sealing
has phase detect auto focus
slow continuous shooting (5.0 frames per second)
terrible battery power (290 CIPA)
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Olympus E-M5
Travel photography with Sony A7R II
66
environment proof
supports touch to focus
good MP (16MP)
doesn't have Time Lapse recording
does not contain selfie friendly display
62
weather sealing
resolution is excellent (42MP)
terrible battery power (290 shots)
display isn't selfie friendly
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Olympus E-M5
Landscape photography with Sony A7R II
73
has manual focus
switch lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
good sized screen (3")
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
good MP (16MP)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
very good high ISO (25,600)
supports RAW files
environment proof
doesn't have Time Lapse recording
82
has manual focus
switch lenses (Sony E mount)
good sized screen (3")
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
resolution is excellent (42 megapixels)
sensor size is great (Full frame)
does not have low pass filter
great high ISO (25,600)
exports RAW files
weather sealing
terrible battery power (290 shots)
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Vlogging highlights
Sony A7R II Vlogging highlights
34
touchscreen functionality
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
includes face detect focus
video res high (1920 x 1080 resolution)
does not contain selfie friendly display
doesn't have mic port
37
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
has face detect focus
good video quality (3840 x 2160 resolution)
has mic support
display isn't selfie friendly
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Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A7R II Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-M5 and Sony A7R II
 Olympus OM-D E-M5Sony Alpha A7R II
General Information
Brand Name Olympus Sony
Model Olympus OM-D E-M5 Sony Alpha A7R II
Class Advanced Mirrorless Pro Mirrorless
Introduced 2012-04-30 2015-06-10
Physical type SLR-style mirrorless SLR-style mirrorless
Sensor Information
Processor Chip TruePic VI Bionz X
Sensor type CMOS BSI-CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds Full frame
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 35.9 x 24mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 861.6mm²
Sensor resolution 16MP 42MP
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 3:2 and 16:9
Maximum resolution 4608 x 3456 7974 x 5316
Maximum native ISO 25600 25600
Maximum boosted ISO - 102400
Minimum native ISO 200 100
RAW data
Minimum boosted ISO 100 50
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch focus
Continuous autofocus
Autofocus single
Tracking autofocus
Autofocus selectice
Autofocus center weighted
Autofocus multi area
Live view autofocus
Face detect focus
Contract detect focus
Phase detect focus
Number of focus points 35 399
Lens
Lens mounting type Micro Four Thirds Sony E
Total lenses 107 121
Crop factor 2.1 1
Screen
Type of display Tilting Tilting
Display sizing 3 inch 3 inch
Display resolution 610k dots 1,229k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch capability
Display technology Touch control in electrostatic capacitance type OLED monitor -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Electronic Electronic
Viewfinder resolution 1,440k dots 2,359k dots
Viewfinder coverage 100 percent 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification 0.58x 0.78x
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60 seconds 30 seconds
Highest shutter speed 1/4000 seconds 1/8000 seconds
Continuous shooting rate 9.0 frames per second 5.0 frames per second
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual mode
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Custom white balance
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash range no built-in flash no built-in flash
Flash settings Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync (2), Manual (3 levels) no built-in flash
Hot shoe
Auto exposure bracketing
WB bracketing
Highest flash synchronize 1/250 seconds -
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1280 x 720 (60, 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)
Maximum video resolution 1920x1080 3840x2160
Video data format H.264, Motion JPEG MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC S
Mic support
Headphone support
Connectivity
Wireless Eye-Fi Connected Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 425 grams (0.94 pounds) 625 grams (1.38 pounds)
Physical dimensions 122 x 89 x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") 127 x 96 x 60mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 2.4")
DXO scores
DXO All around score 71 98
DXO Color Depth score 22.8 26.0
DXO Dynamic range score 12.3 13.9
DXO Low light score 826 3434
Other
Battery life 360 shots 290 shots
Battery style Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model BLN-1 NP-FW50
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec; continuous (3 or 5 exposures))
Time lapse feature With downloadable app
Storage type SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Duo/Pro Duo/Pro-HG Duo
Card slots One One
Price at launch $799 $2,913