Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A57
Portability
81 Imaging
52 Features
70 Overall
59
81 Imaging
52 Features
70 Overall
59
Portability
64 Imaging
57 Features
85 Overall
68
64 Imaging
57 Features
85 Overall
68
Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A57 Key Specs
Olympus E-M5
(Full Review)
(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
- Announced April 2012
- Updated by Olympus E-M5 II
Sony A57
(Full Review)
(Full Review)
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In this article, we will be reviewing the Olympus E-M5 and Sony A57, former is a Advanced Mirrorless while the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by manufacturers Olympus and Sony. The sensor resolution of the E-M5 (16MP) and the A57 (16MP) is relatively close but the E-M5 (Four Thirds) and A57 (APS-C) use different sensor sizing.
Samsung Releases Faster Versions of EVO MicroSD CardsThe E-M5 was launched 4 months prior to the A57 and they are of a similar age. Both of the cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-M5 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Sony A57 being a Compact SLR camera.
Before we go through a more detailed comparison, below is a short view of how the E-M5 scores vs the A57 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall score.
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This is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus OM-D E-M5 & Sony SLT-A57. The complete galleries are available at Olympus E-M5 Gallery & Sony A57 Gallery.
Reasons to pick Olympus E-M5 over the Sony A57
| E-M5 | A57 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Touch screen |  | Quickly navigate |
Reasons to pick Sony A57 over the Olympus E-M5
| A57 | E-M5 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screen type | Fully Articulated |  | Tilting | Fully Articulating screen |
| Screen resolution | 921k |  | 610k | Crisper screen (+311k dot) |
| Selfie screen |  | Easy selfies |
Common features in the Olympus E-M5 and Sony A57
| E-M5 | A57 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Introduced | April 2012 |  | September 2012 | Same age |
| Manual focus |  | More precise focusing | ||
| Screen sizing | 3" |  | 3" | Equivalent screen measurement |
Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A57 Physical Comparison
For those who are going to carry around your camera often, you are going to need to think about its weight and size. The Olympus E-M5 enjoys outside dimensions of 122mm x 89mm x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") and a weight of 425 grams (0.94 lbs) and the Sony A57 has specifications of 132mm x 98mm x 81mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.2") having a weight of 618 grams (1.36 lbs).
Compare the Olympus E-M5 and Sony A57 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.
Don't forget, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you use at that moment. Following is the front view overall size comparison of the E-M5 versus the A57.
Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-M5 and A57 is 81 and 64 respectively.
Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A57 Sensor Comparison
Quite often, its difficult to visualize the contrast in sensor sizes just by researching technical specs. The image underneath may give you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-M5 and A57.
As you have seen, both of the cameras enjoy the same exact megapixel count albeit different sensor sizes. The E-M5 has the smaller sensor which will make achieving bokeh trickier.
Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A57 Screen and ViewFinder
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Portrait Comparison
Olympus E-M5 as a Portrait photography camera
Sony A57 as a Portrait photography camera
has manual focus
decent megapixels (16 megapixels)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
has face detect focusing
supports RAW files
focusing manually
decent sensor resolution (16MP)
good sensor size (APS-C)
features face detect focus
exports RAW formats
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Olympus E-M5 Street photography info
Sony A57 Street photography info
screen tilts up and down
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
supports RAW files
supports touch to focus
environment proof
very good ISO range (25,600)
fully articulated screen
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
good sensor size (APS-C)
exports RAW formats
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Olympus E-M5 as a Sports photography camera
Sony A57 as a Sports photography camera
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
decent megapixels (16MP)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
has tracking focus
environment proof
lack of phase detect AF
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor resolution (16 megapixels)
good sensor size (APS-C)
features tracking focus
has phase detect auto focus
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Olympus E-M5 Travel photography information
Sony A57 Travel photography information
environment proof
supports touch to focus
decent megapixels (16 megapixels)
does not have Time Lapse recording
screen isn't selfie friendly
decent sensor resolution (16MP)
has built in flash
selfie friendly screen
missing Time Lapse recording
Photography GlossaryLandscape Comparison
Olympus E-M5 Landscape photography highlights
Sony A57 Landscape photography highlights
has manual focus
swap lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
nice screen size (3 inches)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
decent megapixels (16MP)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
very good ISO range (25,600)
supports RAW files
environment proof
does not have Time Lapse recording
focusing manually
change lenses (Sony/Minolta Alpha mount)
decent sized screen (3 inch)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor resolution (16 megapixels)
good sensor size (APS-C)
exports RAW formats
missing Time Lapse recording
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Olympus E-M5 Vlogging factors
Sony A57 Vlogging factors
touchscreen
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
has face detect focusing
great video quality (1920 x 1080 resolution)
screen isn't selfie friendly
does not have mic port
selfie friendly screen
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
features face detect focus
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 pixels)
has mic support
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Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A57 Specifications
| Olympus OM-D E-M5 | Sony SLT-A57 | |
|---|---|---|
| General Information | ||
| Make | Olympus | Sony |
| Model type | Olympus OM-D E-M5 | Sony SLT-A57 |
| Type | Advanced Mirrorless | Entry-Level DSLR |
| Announced | 2012-04-30 | 2012-09-13 |
| Physical type | SLR-style mirrorless | Compact SLR |
| Sensor Information | ||
| Processor Chip | TruePic VI | - |
| Sensor type | CMOS | CMOS |
| Sensor size | Four Thirds | APS-C |
| Sensor dimensions | 17.3 x 13mm | 23.5 x 15.6mm |
| Sensor area | 224.9mm² | 366.6mm² |
| Sensor resolution | 16MP | 16MP |
| Anti alias filter | ||
| Aspect ratio | 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 | 3:2 and 16:9 |
| Highest resolution | 4608 x 3456 | 4912 x 3264 |
| Highest native ISO | 25600 | 16000 |
| Highest boosted ISO | - | 25600 |
| Lowest native ISO | 200 | 100 |
| RAW data | ||
| Lowest boosted ISO | 100 | - |
| Autofocusing | ||
| Manual focusing | ||
| Autofocus touch | ||
| Continuous autofocus | ||
| Single autofocus | ||
| Autofocus tracking | ||
| Selective autofocus | ||
| Center weighted autofocus | ||
| Autofocus multi area | ||
| Autofocus live view | ||
| Face detection focus | ||
| Contract detection focus | ||
| Phase detection focus | ||
| Total focus points | 35 | 15 |
| Cross type focus points | - | 3 |
| Lens | ||
| Lens support | Micro Four Thirds | Sony/Minolta Alpha |
| Total lenses | 107 | 143 |
| Focal length multiplier | 2.1 | 1.5 |
| Screen | ||
| Screen type | Tilting | Fully Articulated |
| Screen diagonal | 3 inch | 3 inch |
| Screen resolution | 610 thousand dots | 921 thousand dots |
| Selfie friendly | ||
| Liveview | ||
| Touch operation | ||
| Screen technology | Touch control in electrostatic capacitance type OLED monitor | Xtra Fine TFT drive with TruBlack technology |
| Viewfinder Information | ||
| Viewfinder | Electronic | Electronic |
| Viewfinder resolution | 1,440 thousand dots | 1,440 thousand dots |
| Viewfinder coverage | 100% | 100% |
| Viewfinder magnification | 0.58x | 0.7x |
| Features | ||
| Lowest shutter speed | 60s | 30s |
| Highest shutter speed | 1/4000s | 1/4000s |
| Continuous shooting rate | 9.0 frames/s | 12.0 frames/s |
| Shutter priority | ||
| Aperture priority | ||
| Manual mode | ||
| Exposure compensation | Yes | Yes |
| Set white balance | ||
| Image stabilization | ||
| Built-in flash | ||
| Flash distance | no built-in flash | 10.00 m (@ ISO 100) |
| Flash options | Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync (2), Manual (3 levels) | Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, High Speed Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in, Wireless |
| External flash | ||
| AEB | ||
| WB bracketing | ||
| Highest flash synchronize | 1/250s | 1/160s |
| 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) | 1920 x 1080 (60p, 24p), 1440 x 1080 (30p), 640 x 480 (30 fps) |
| Highest video resolution | 1920x1080 | 1920x1080 |
| Video file format | H.264, Motion JPEG | MPEG-4, AVCHD, H.264 |
| Mic support | ||
| Headphone support | ||
| 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 | ||
| Environmental sealing | ||
| Water proofing | ||
| Dust proofing | ||
| Shock proofing | ||
| Crush proofing | ||
| Freeze proofing | ||
| Weight | 425 grams (0.94 pounds) | 618 grams (1.36 pounds) |
| Dimensions | 122 x 89 x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") | 132 x 98 x 81mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.2") |
| DXO scores | ||
| DXO All around rating | 71 | 75 |
| DXO Color Depth rating | 22.8 | 23.4 |
| DXO Dynamic range rating | 12.3 | 13.0 |
| DXO Low light rating | 826 | 785 |
| Other | ||
| Battery life | 360 shots | 550 shots |
| Battery style | Battery Pack | Battery Pack |
| Battery ID | BLN-1 | NP-FM500H |
| Self timer | Yes (2 or 12 sec) | Yes (2 or 10 sec) |
| Time lapse shooting | ||
| Storage type | SD/SDHC/SDXC | SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo |
| Card slots | One | One |
| Launch pricing | $799 | $1,000 |