Olympus E-M5 vs Sony NEX-7
81 Imaging
51 Features
70 Overall
58
84 Imaging
63 Features
71 Overall
66
Olympus E-M5 vs Sony NEX-7 Key Specs
(Full Review)
- 16MP - Four Thirds Sensor
- 3" Tilting Screen
- 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
- Successor is Olympus E-M5 II
(Full Review)
- 24MP - APS-C Sensor
- 3" Tilting Display
- ISO 100 - 16000
- 1920 x 1080 video
- Sony E Mount
- 400g - 120 x 67 x 43mm
- Introduced December 2011
Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a Landslide Olympus E-M5 vs Sony NEX-7 Overview
Here, we are analyzing the Olympus E-M5 versus Sony NEX-7, both Advanced Mirrorless cameras by competitors Olympus and Sony. There exists a significant gap among the resolutions of the E-M5 (16MP) and NEX-7 (24MP) and the E-M5 (Four Thirds) and NEX-7 (APS-C) posses different sensor size.
Sora from OpenAI releases its first ever music videoThe E-M5 was released 5 months after the NEX-7 so they are of a similar generation. Both the cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-M5 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Sony NEX-7 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.
Before getting right into a complete comparison, here is a brief highlight of how the E-M5 scores against the NEX-7 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.
Apple Innovates by Creating Next-Level Optical Stabilization for iPhone Olympus E-M5 vs Sony NEX-7 Gallery
The following is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus OM-D E-M5 and Sony Alpha NEX-7. The complete galleries are available at Olympus E-M5 Gallery and Sony NEX-7 Gallery.
Reasons to pick Olympus E-M5 over the Sony NEX-7
| E-M5 | NEX-7 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Touch friendly display |  | Easily navigate |
Reasons to pick Sony NEX-7 over the Olympus E-M5
| NEX-7 | E-M5 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display resolution | 921k |  | 610k | Clearer display (+311k dot) |
Common features in the Olympus E-M5 and Sony NEX-7
| E-M5 | NEX-7 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Introduced | April 2012 |  | December 2011 | Same generation |
| Focus manually |  | Dial accurate focusing | ||
| Display type | Tilting |  | Tilting | Tilting display |
| Display size | 3" |  | 3" | Same display size |
| Selfie screen |  | Neither comes with selfie screen |
Olympus E-M5 vs Sony NEX-7 Physical Comparison
If you are going to travel with your camera frequently, you have to think about its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-M5 comes with external measurements of 122mm x 89mm x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") along with a weight of 425 grams (0.94 lbs) whilst the Sony NEX-7 has proportions of 120mm x 67mm x 43mm (4.7" x 2.6" x 1.7") along with a weight of 400 grams (0.88 lbs).
Analyze the Olympus E-M5 versus Sony NEX-7 in the latest Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.
Always remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change depending on the lens you have chosen at that time. Here is a front view dimensions comparison of the E-M5 vs the NEX-7.
Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-M5 and NEX-7 is 81 and 84 respectively.
Olympus E-M5 vs Sony NEX-7 Sensor Comparison
More often than not, its tough to picture the difference in sensor dimensions just by seeing a spec sheet. The picture below will help provide you a far better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-M5 and NEX-7.
Clearly, the two cameras feature different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The E-M5 due to its smaller sensor is going to make getting shallow DOF harder and the Sony NEX-7 will show more detail as a result of its extra 8 Megapixels. Greater resolution will enable you to crop photos way more aggressively.
Olympus E-M5 vs Sony NEX-7 Screen and ViewFinder
Photography Glossary Photography Type Scores
Portrait Comparison
President Biden pushes bill mandating TikTok sale or banStreet Comparison
Snapchat Adds Watermarks to AI-Created ImagesSports Comparison
Japan-exclusive Leica Leitz Phone 3 features big sensor and new modesTravel Comparison
Photobucket discusses licensing 13 billion images with AI firmsLandscape Comparison
Meta to Introduce 'AI-Generated' Labels for Media starting next monthVlogging Comparison
Samsung Releases Faster Versions of EVO MicroSD Cards
Olympus E-M5 vs Sony NEX-7 Specifications
| Olympus OM-D E-M5 | Sony Alpha NEX-7 | |
|---|---|---|
| General Information | ||
| Company | Olympus | Sony |
| Model type | Olympus OM-D E-M5 | Sony Alpha NEX-7 |
| Category | Advanced Mirrorless | Advanced Mirrorless |
| Introduced | 2012-04-30 | 2011-12-13 |
| Body design | SLR-style mirrorless | Rangefinder-style mirrorless |
| Sensor Information | ||
| Processor | TruePic VI | Bionz |
| Sensor type | CMOS | CMOS |
| Sensor size | Four Thirds | APS-C |
| Sensor measurements | 17.3 x 13mm | 23.5 x 15.6mm |
| Sensor surface area | 224.9mm² | 366.6mm² |
| Sensor resolution | 16 megapixel | 24 megapixel |
| Anti alias filter | ||
| Aspect ratio | 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 | 3:2 and 16:9 |
| Peak resolution | 4608 x 3456 | 6000 x 4000 |
| Highest native ISO | 25600 | 16000 |
| Minimum native ISO | 200 | 100 |
| RAW support | ||
| Minimum enhanced ISO | 100 | - |
| Autofocusing | ||
| Focus manually | ||
| Touch to focus | ||
| Continuous autofocus | ||
| Single autofocus | ||
| Tracking autofocus | ||
| Autofocus selectice | ||
| Center weighted autofocus | ||
| Autofocus multi area | ||
| Live view autofocus | ||
| Face detection autofocus | ||
| Contract detection autofocus | ||
| Phase detection autofocus | ||
| Total focus points | 35 | 25 |
| Lens | ||
| Lens support | Micro Four Thirds | Sony E |
| Available lenses | 107 | 121 |
| Crop factor | 2.1 | 1.5 |
| Screen | ||
| Screen type | Tilting | Tilting |
| Screen size | 3" | 3" |
| Resolution of screen | 610k dot | 921k dot |
| Selfie friendly | ||
| Liveview | ||
| Touch display | ||
| Screen tech | Touch control in electrostatic capacitance type OLED monitor | - |
| Viewfinder Information | ||
| Viewfinder type | Electronic | Electronic |
| Viewfinder resolution | 1,440k dot | - |
| Viewfinder coverage | 100 percent | 100 percent |
| Viewfinder magnification | 0.58x | 0.73x |
| Features | ||
| Minimum shutter speed | 60s | 30s |
| Fastest shutter speed | 1/4000s | 1/4000s |
| Continuous shutter speed | 9.0fps | 10.0fps |
| Shutter priority | ||
| Aperture priority | ||
| Manual exposure | ||
| Exposure compensation | Yes | Yes |
| Custom white balance | ||
| Image stabilization | ||
| Integrated flash | ||
| Flash distance | no built-in flash | 6.00 m |
| Flash settings | Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync (2), Manual (3 levels) | Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in, Wireless |
| External flash | ||
| Auto exposure bracketing | ||
| White balance bracketing | ||
| Fastest flash sync | 1/250s | 1/160s |
| Exposure | ||
| Multisegment metering | ||
| Average metering | ||
| Spot metering | ||
| Partial metering | ||
| AF area metering | ||
| Center weighted metering | ||
| Video features | ||
| Video resolutions | 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1280 x 720 (60, 30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) | 1920 x 1080 (60, 24 fps), 1440 x 1080 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) |
| Highest video resolution | 1920x1080 | 1920x1080 |
| Video format | H.264, Motion JPEG | MPEG-4, AVCHD |
| Microphone input | ||
| Headphone input | ||
| Connectivity | ||
| Wireless | Eye-Fi Connected | Eye-Fi Connected |
| 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 | 425g (0.94 lbs) | 400g (0.88 lbs) |
| Physical dimensions | 122 x 89 x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") | 120 x 67 x 43mm (4.7" x 2.6" x 1.7") |
| DXO scores | ||
| DXO Overall rating | 71 | 81 |
| DXO Color Depth rating | 22.8 | 24.1 |
| DXO Dynamic range rating | 12.3 | 13.4 |
| DXO Low light rating | 826 | 1016 |
| Other | ||
| Battery life | 360 photos | 430 photos |
| Type of battery | Battery Pack | Battery Pack |
| Battery ID | BLN-1 | NPFW50 |
| Self timer | Yes (2 or 12 sec) | Yes (2 or 10 sec, 10sec (3 or 5 images)) |
| Time lapse recording | ||
| Type of storage | SD/SDHC/SDXC | SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo |
| Storage slots | Single | Single |
| Pricing at release | $799 | $699 |