Olympus E-PL6 vs Sony NEX-7

Its time to look much closer at the Olympus E-PL6 vs Sony NEX-7, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Advanced Mirrorless by competitors Olympus and Sony. There exists a noticeable gap among the resolutions of the E-PL6 (16MP) and NEX-7 (24MP) and the E-PL6 (Four Thirds) and NEX-7 (APS-C) use totally different sensor measurements.

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The E-PL6 was announced 2 years later than the NEX-7 and that is a fairly sizable difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of these cameras offer the identical body type (Rangefinder-style mirrorless).

Before getting through a thorough comparison, below is a brief highlight of how the E-PL6 grades versus the NEX-7 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Below is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus PEN E-PL6 & Sony Alpha NEX-7. The whole galleries are provided at Olympus E-PL6 Gallery & Sony NEX-7 Gallery.

In case you're going to lug around your camera often, you will have to factor in its weight and size. The Olympus E-PL6 features outside measurements of 111mm x 64mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.5") with a weight of 325 grams (0.72 lbs) while the Sony NEX-7 has specifications of 120mm x 67mm x 43mm (4.7" x 2.6" x 1.7") having a weight of 400 grams (0.88 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus E-PL6 vs Sony NEX-7 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you have at that time. Here is the front view over all size comparison of the E-PL6 versus the NEX-7.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-PL6 and NEX-7 is 88 and 84 respectively.

Typically, its difficult to visualise the contrast in sensor measurements simply by checking out technical specs. The photograph below will help offer you a better sense of the sensor sizing in the E-PL6 and NEX-7.

As you have seen, the two cameras enjoy different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-PL6 having a smaller sensor will make achieving shallower DOF more difficult and the Sony NEX-7 will show extra detail with its extra 8 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also help you crop images far more aggressively. The more recent E-PL6 is going to have an edge when it comes to sensor technology.