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Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A77

Portability
81
Imaging
52
Features
70
Overall
59
Olympus OM-D E-M5 front
 
Sony SLT-A77 front
Portability
59
Imaging
63
Features
83
Overall
71

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A77 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
  • Announced April 2012
  • New Model is Olympus E-M5 II
Sony A77
(Full Review)
  • 24MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Fully Articulated Screen
  • ISO 50 - 16000 (Raise to 25600)
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
  • 732g - 143 x 104 x 81mm
  • Announced October 2011
  • Old Model is Sony A700
  • Successor is Sony A77 II
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Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A77 Overview

Below, we will be looking at the Olympus E-M5 versus Sony A77, former is a Advanced Mirrorless while the latter is a Advanced DSLR by brands Olympus and Sony. There exists a sizable gap among the resolutions of the E-M5 (16MP) and A77 (24MP) and the E-M5 (Four Thirds) and A77 (APS-C) use different sensor dimensions.

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The E-M5 was unveiled 7 months after the A77 which means that they are of a similar age. Both the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-M5 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Sony A77 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before diving straight into a in-depth comparison, below is a simple synopsis of how the E-M5 grades against the A77 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-M5 over the Sony A77

 E-M5 A77 
AnnouncedApril 2012October 2011More modern by 7 months
Touch friendly screen Quickly navigate

Reasons to pick Sony A77 over the Olympus E-M5

 A77 E-M5 
Screen typeFully ArticulatedTiltingFully Articulating screen
Screen resolution921k610kClearer screen (+311k dot)
Selfie screen Easy selfies

Common features in the Olympus E-M5 and Sony A77

 E-M5 A77 
Manually focus Very precise focus
Screen dimension3"3"Identical screen sizing

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A77 Physical Comparison

For anybody who is looking to carry around your camera frequently, you will have to think about its weight and size. The Olympus E-M5 has external measurements 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 A77 has specifications of 143mm x 104mm x 81mm (5.6" x 4.1" x 3.2") with a weight of 732 grams (1.61 lbs).

Look at the Olympus E-M5 versus Sony A77 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you select during that time. Below is the front view sizing comparison of the E-M5 vs the A77.

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A77 size comparison

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-M5 and A77 is 81 and 59 respectively.

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A77 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A77 Sensor Comparison

More often than not, its difficult to picture the contrast in sensor sizes merely by seeing a spec sheet. The pic underneath should give you a much better sense of the sensor sizing in the E-M5 and A77.

As you can see, both of these cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The E-M5 with its smaller sensor is going to make getting shallow depth of field tougher and the Sony A77 will provide greater detail having an extra 8 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also make it easier to crop pictures somewhat more aggressively. The younger E-M5 should have a benefit with regard to sensor tech.

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A77 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A77 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A77 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Portrait photography with Olympus E-M5
Portrait photography with Sony A77
71
focusing manually
good resolution (16MP)
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
features face detection focusing
delivers RAW formats
77
manual focus
megapixel count good (24 megapixels)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
offers face detection autofocus
supports RAW files
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Olympus E-M5
Street photography with Sony A77
82
screen tilts
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW formats
supports focus via touch
weather proofing
great high ISO (25,600)
74
screen articulates
image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
supports RAW files
environment proofing
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Sports photography details
Sony A77 Sports photography details
67
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
good resolution (16MP)
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
features tracking autofocus
weather proofing
no phase detect AF
74
maximum shutter speed is high (1/8,000 seconds)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
megapixel count good (24MP)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
environment proofing
sensor has phase detect autofocus
terrible battery pack (470 CIPA)
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Olympus E-M5
Travel photography with Sony A77
66
weather proofing
supports focus via touch
good resolution (16 megapixels)
does not have Timelapse mode
display is not selfie friendly
62
environment proofing
megapixel count good (24 megapixels)
has built in flash
screen is selfie friendly
doesn't have Timelapse recording
terrible battery pack (470 per charge)
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Olympus E-M5
Landscape photography with Sony A77
73
focusing manually
interchangeable lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
screen is a good size (3 inches)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
good resolution (16MP)
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
great high ISO (25,600)
delivers RAW formats
weather proofing
does not have Timelapse mode
71
manual focus
switch lenses (Sony/Minolta Alpha mount)
nice screen size (3 inch)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
megapixel count good (24MP)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
supports RAW files
environment proofing
terrible battery pack (470 per charge)
doesn't have Timelapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Vlogging information
Sony A77 Vlogging information
34
touchscreen enabled
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
features face detection focusing
high res video (1920 x 1080 pixels)
display is not selfie friendly
does not have external microphone support
76
screen is selfie friendly
image stabilization (Sensor based)
offers face detection autofocus
video res high (1920 x 1080 pixels)
includes external microphone port
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Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A77 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-M5 and Sony A77
 Olympus OM-D E-M5Sony SLT-A77
General Information
Company Olympus Sony
Model Olympus OM-D E-M5 Sony SLT-A77
Category Advanced Mirrorless Advanced DSLR
Announced 2012-04-30 2011-10-25
Body design SLR-style mirrorless Mid-size SLR
Sensor Information
Chip 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 megapixels 24 megapixels
Anti aliasing 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
Highest enhanced ISO - 25600
Min native ISO 200 50
RAW files
Min enhanced ISO 100 -
Autofocusing
Focus manually
AF touch
AF continuous
AF single
AF tracking
AF selectice
AF center weighted
Multi area AF
Live view AF
Face detect focusing
Contract detect focusing
Phase detect focusing
Number of focus points 35 19
Cross focus points - 11
Lens
Lens mounting type Micro Four Thirds Sony/Minolta Alpha
Amount of lenses 107 143
Focal length multiplier 2.1 1.5
Screen
Display type Tilting Fully Articulated
Display size 3" 3"
Resolution of display 610k dot 921k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch functionality
Display tech Touch control in electrostatic capacitance type OLED monitor -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Electronic Electronic
Viewfinder resolution 1,440k dot 2,359k dot
Viewfinder coverage 100 percent 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification 0.58x 0.73x
Features
Min shutter speed 60 secs 30 secs
Max shutter speed 1/4000 secs 1/8000 secs
Continuous shutter speed 9.0fps 12.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Set WB
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash range no built-in flash 12.00 m
Flash settings 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
Hot shoe
AEB
WB bracketing
Max flash sync 1/250 secs 1/250 secs
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
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 (30fps), 640 x 424 (29.97 fps)
Highest video resolution 1920x1080 1920x1080
Video file format H.264, Motion JPEG MPEG-4, AVCHD, H.264
Microphone jack
Headphone jack
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 BuiltIn
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 425g (0.94 lbs) 732g (1.61 lbs)
Dimensions 122 x 89 x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") 143 x 104 x 81mm (5.6" x 4.1" x 3.2")
DXO scores
DXO Overall score 71 78
DXO Color Depth score 22.8 24.0
DXO Dynamic range score 12.3 13.2
DXO Low light score 826 801
Other
Battery life 360 images 470 images
Type of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model BLN-1 NP-FM500H
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse feature
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo
Storage slots 1 1
Retail cost $799 $900