Olympus E-P1 vs Sony NEX-7

Let's take a closer look at the Olympus E-P1 vs Sony NEX-7, former is a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Advanced Mirrorless by competitors Olympus and Sony. There exists a large gap between the resolutions of the E-P1 (12MP) and NEX-7 (24MP) and the E-P1 (Four Thirds) and NEX-7 (APS-C) use totally different sensor dimensions.

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The E-P1 was released 3 years earlier than the NEX-7 which is quite a serious difference as far as technology is concerned. Each of the cameras come with the identical body type (Rangefinder-style mirrorless).

Before getting straight into a full comparison, below is a short summation of how the E-P1 scores against the NEX-7 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Here is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus PEN E-P1 & Sony Alpha NEX-7. The complete galleries are provided at Olympus E-P1 Gallery & Sony NEX-7 Gallery.

If you are going to travel with your camera frequently, you should consider its weight and volume. The Olympus E-P1 has external dimensions of 121mm x 70mm x 36mm (4.8" x 2.8" x 1.4") with a weight of 355 grams (0.78 lbs) while the Sony NEX-7 has sizing of 120mm x 67mm x 43mm (4.7" x 2.6" x 1.7") having a weight of 400 grams (0.88 lbs).

Examine the Olympus E-P1 vs Sony NEX-7 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you use at that moment. Here is the front view dimensions comparison of the E-P1 vs the NEX-7.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-P1 and NEX-7 is 86 and 84 respectively.

Quite often, it is very difficult to see the contrast between sensor dimensions simply by reading specs. The pic below might give you a far better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-P1 and NEX-7.

As you can plainly see, both of those cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor dimensions. The E-P1 due to its tinier sensor will make achieving bokeh trickier and the Sony NEX-7 will deliver more detail as a result of its extra 12MP. Higher resolution will also let you crop shots somewhat more aggressively. The more aged E-P1 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor innovation.