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Olympus E-M5 vs Sony S950

Portability
81
Imaging
52
Features
70
Overall
59
Olympus OM-D E-M5 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S950 front
Portability
94
Imaging
33
Features
17
Overall
26

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony S950 Key Specs

Olympus E-M5
(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
  • Replacement is Olympus E-M5 II
Sony S950
(Full Review)
  • 10MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 80 - 3200
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • No Video
  • 33-132mm (F3.3-5.2) lens
  • 167g - 93 x 56 x 24mm
  • Released February 2009
Photography Glossary

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony S950 Overview

Lets look more in depth at the Olympus E-M5 and Sony S950, one being a Advanced Mirrorless and the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by competitors Olympus and Sony. There exists a huge gap among the image resolutions of the E-M5 (16MP) and S950 (10MP) and the E-M5 (Four Thirds) and S950 (1/2.3") posses totally different sensor size.

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The E-M5 was released 3 years later than the S950 and that is a fairly significant gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of the cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-M5 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Sony S950 being a Compact camera.

Before going right into a detailed comparison, here is a simple highlight of how the E-M5 grades against the S950 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-M5 over the Sony S950

 E-M5 S950 
ReleasedApril 2012February 2009More recent by 39 months
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen size3"2.7"Bigger screen (+0.3")
Screen resolution610k230kCrisper screen (+380k dot)
Touch friendly screen Quickly navigate

Reasons to pick Sony S950 over the Olympus E-M5

 S950 E-M5 

Common features in the Olympus E-M5 and Sony S950

 E-M5 S950 
Manually focus More precise focusing
Selfie screen Neither features selfie screen

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony S950 Physical Comparison

In case you're planning to lug around your camera often, you'll need to consider its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-M5 enjoys physical measurements of 122mm x 89mm x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") with a weight of 425 grams (0.94 lbs) and the Sony S950 has proportions of 93mm x 56mm x 24mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.9") with a weight of 167 grams (0.37 lbs).

See the Olympus E-M5 and Sony S950 in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into consideration, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change depending on the lens you are using during that time. The following is a front view scale comparison of the E-M5 compared to the S950.

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony S950 size comparison

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-M5 and S950 is 81 and 94 respectively.

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony S950 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony S950 Sensor Comparison

Normally, its tough to see the gap in sensor measurements merely by looking through a spec sheet. The graphic here should provide you a much better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-M5 and S950.

As you can see, both of the cameras feature different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-M5 featuring a bigger sensor will make shooting bokeh easier and the Olympus E-M5 will result in more detail as a result of its extra 6MP. Higher resolution will also enable you to crop pictures way more aggressively. The more recent E-M5 is going to have a benefit when it comes to sensor innovation.

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony S950 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony S950 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony S950 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Portrait photography with Olympus E-M5
Portrait photography with Sony S950
71
focusing manually
decent megapixels (16 megapixels)
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
features face detection focusing
exports RAW formats
26
manual focus
lack of manual mode
can't use external flash
megapixel count low (10MP)
sensor is very small (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW files
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-M5 as a Street photography camera
Sony S950 as a Street photography camera
82
has a tilting screen
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
exports RAW formats
supports touch focus
environment proof
great high ISO (25,600)
56
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
no articulating screen
sensor is very small (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW files
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Sports photography details
Sony S950 Sports photography details
67
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
decent megapixels (16MP)
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
features tracking autofocus
environment proof
lacks phase detect AF
24
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
continuous shooting slow (1.0 frames per second)
no shutter priority mode
megapixel count low (10MP)
sensor is very small (1/2.3")
doesn't have phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-M5 as a Travel photography camera
Sony S950 as a Travel photography camera
66
environment proof
supports touch focus
decent megapixels (16MP)
lack of Timelapse recording
doesn't have a selfie friendly screen
50
flash built-in
does not have Timelapse mode
megapixel count low (10 megapixels)
does not posses selfie friendly screen
wide angle not fantastic (33mm)
slow max aperture (f3.3)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Landscape photography information
Sony S950 Landscape photography information
73
focusing manually
swap lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
pretty good screen size (3 inch)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
decent megapixels (16 megapixels)
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
great high ISO (25,600)
exports RAW formats
environment proof
lack of Timelapse recording
31
manual focus
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
can't switch lenses (fixed lens mount)
wide angle not fantastic (33mm)
slow max aperture (f3.3)
tiny screen (2.7 inches)
lack of manual mode
megapixel count low (10MP)
sensor is very small (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW files
does not have Timelapse mode
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-M5 as a Vlogging camera
Sony S950 as a Vlogging camera
34
touchscreen functionality
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
features face detection focusing
high quality video (1920 x 1080 resolution)
doesn't have a selfie friendly screen
lack of external microphone support
9
lack of video recording
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Olympus E-M5 vs Sony S950 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-M5 and Sony S950
 Olympus OM-D E-M5Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S950
General Information
Company Olympus Sony
Model type Olympus OM-D E-M5 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S950
Type Advanced Mirrorless Small Sensor Compact
Introduced 2012-04-30 2009-02-17
Physical type SLR-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor Information
Chip TruePic VI -
Sensor type CMOS CCD
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 16 megapixel 10 megapixel
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Highest Possible resolution 4608 x 3456 4000 x 3000
Maximum native ISO 25600 3200
Lowest native ISO 200 80
RAW images
Lowest enhanced ISO 100 -
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
Touch to focus
Continuous AF
AF single
AF tracking
AF selectice
Center weighted AF
AF multi area
Live view AF
Face detection AF
Contract detection AF
Phase detection AF
Total focus points 35 9
Lens
Lens mount type Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 33-132mm (4.0x)
Maximal aperture - f/3.3-5.2
Macro focusing range - 10cm
Amount of lenses 107 -
Focal length multiplier 2.1 5.8
Screen
Screen type Tilting Fixed Type
Screen diagonal 3 inches 2.7 inches
Screen resolution 610 thousand dots 230 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch friendly
Screen tech Touch control in electrostatic capacitance type OLED monitor -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic None
Viewfinder resolution 1,440 thousand dots -
Viewfinder coverage 100% -
Viewfinder magnification 0.58x -
Features
Minimum shutter speed 60s 2s
Fastest shutter speed 1/4000s 1/1600s
Continuous shutter rate 9.0fps 1.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes -
Change WB
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash distance no built-in flash 3.50 m
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync (2), Manual (3 levels) Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye reduction, Slow Sync
External flash
Auto exposure bracketing
White balance bracketing
Fastest flash synchronize 1/250s -
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1280 x 720 (60, 30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) -
Maximum video resolution 1920x1080 None
Video format H.264, Motion JPEG Motion JPEG
Microphone support
Headphone support
Connectivity
Wireless Eye-Fi Connected None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 425 gr (0.94 lb) 167 gr (0.37 lb)
Physical dimensions 122 x 89 x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") 93 x 56 x 24mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.9")
DXO scores
DXO Overall rating 71 not tested
DXO Color Depth rating 22.8 not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating 12.3 not tested
DXO Low light rating 826 not tested
Other
Battery life 360 pictures -
Style of battery Battery Pack -
Battery ID BLN-1 -
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse recording
Storage type SD/SDHC/SDXC Memory Stick Duo / Pro Duo, Internal
Card slots 1 1
Launch cost $799 $130