Olympus E-M5 vs Sony NEX-7

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.

Photography Glossary

The 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.

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.

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.

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.