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Olympus E-PL7 vs Sony NEX-7

Portability
86
Imaging
53
Features
81
Overall
64
Olympus PEN E-PL7 front
 
Sony Alpha NEX-7 front
Portability
84
Imaging
64
Features
71
Overall
66

Olympus E-PL7 vs Sony NEX-7 Key Specs

Olympus E-PL7
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 100 - 25600
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 357g - 115 x 67 x 38mm
  • Announced September 2014
  • Succeeded the Olympus E-PL6
  • Replacement is Olympus E-PL8
Sony NEX-7
(Full Review)
  • 24MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 100 - 16000
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Sony E Mount
  • 400g - 120 x 67 x 43mm
  • Revealed December 2011
Photography Glossary

Olympus E-PL7 vs Sony NEX-7 Overview

Below is a comprehensive comparison of the Olympus E-PL7 versus Sony NEX-7, one being a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the latter is a Advanced Mirrorless by companies Olympus and Sony. There is a significant difference between the resolutions of the E-PL7 (16MP) and NEX-7 (24MP) and the E-PL7 (Four Thirds) and NEX-7 (APS-C) provide different sensor sizes.

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The E-PL7 was released 2 years later than the NEX-7 and that is quite a sizable gap as far as tech is concerned. The two cameras feature the same body design (Rangefinder-style mirrorless).

Before diving right into a thorough comparison, here is a quick synopsis of how the E-PL7 grades versus the NEX-7 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-PL7 over the Sony NEX-7

 E-PL7 NEX-7 
RevealedSeptember 2014December 2011More recent by 34 months
Screen resolution1037k921kSharper screen (+116k dot)
Selfie screen Take selfies
Touch screen Quickly navigate

Reasons to pick Sony NEX-7 over the Olympus E-PL7

 NEX-7 E-PL7 

Common features in the Olympus E-PL7 and Sony NEX-7

 E-PL7 NEX-7 
Manual focus Very accurate focusing
Screen typeTiltingTiltingTilting screen
Screen size3"3"Same screen dimensions

Olympus E-PL7 vs Sony NEX-7 Physical Comparison

If you're aiming to lug around your camera frequently, you have to take into account its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-PL7 has physical measurements of 115mm x 67mm x 38mm (4.5" x 2.6" x 1.5") and a weight of 357 grams (0.79 lbs) and the Sony NEX-7 has proportions of 120mm x 67mm x 43mm (4.7" x 2.6" x 1.7") accompanied by a weight of 400 grams (0.88 lbs).

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Take into consideration, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ based on the lens you are utilizing during that time. The following is a front view overall size comparison of the E-PL7 compared to the NEX-7.

Olympus E-PL7 vs Sony NEX-7 size comparison

Taking into account size and weight, the portability grade of the E-PL7 and NEX-7 is 86 and 84 respectively.

Olympus E-PL7 vs Sony NEX-7 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-PL7 vs Sony NEX-7 Sensor Comparison

Generally, it's tough to imagine the contrast between sensor measurements purely by reading technical specs. The graphic here will give you a far better sense of the sensor sizing in the E-PL7 and NEX-7.

As you can tell, both cameras feature different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The E-PL7 because of its tinier sensor is going to make shooting shallow DOF tougher and the Sony NEX-7 will offer extra detail as a result of its extra 8 Megapixels. Higher resolution will enable you to crop photographs way more aggressively. The more recent E-PL7 provides an edge when it comes to sensor tech.

Olympus E-PL7 vs Sony NEX-7 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-PL7 vs Sony NEX-7 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-PL7 vs Sony NEX-7 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-PL7 Portrait photography details
Sony NEX-7 Portrait photography details
71
focusing manually
decent MP (16MP)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
has face detection focusing
exports RAW files
78
has manual focus
MP count decent (24MP)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
supports face detection focus
saves RAW files
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-PL7 Street photography features
Sony NEX-7 Street photography features
84
tilting screen
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
exports RAW files
has focus by touch
very good ISO range (25,600)
76
tilting screen
sensor size is good (APS-C)
saves RAW files
no image stabilization
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Sports Comparison

Sports photography with Olympus E-PL7
Sports photography with Sony NEX-7
66
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent MP (16 megapixels)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
has tracking autofocus
does not have phase detect AF
62
MP count decent (24MP)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
good battery (430 shots)
no image stabilization
lack of phase detect auto focus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-PL7 Travel photography details
Sony NEX-7 Travel photography details
85
has focus by touch
decent MP (16 megapixels)
selfie friendly display
70
good battery (430 CIPA)
MP count decent (24MP)
built-in flash
lack of Timelapse function
doesn't have a selfie friendly screen
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-PL7 Landscape photography factors
Sony NEX-7 Landscape photography factors
79
focusing manually
swap lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
screen is a decent size (3")
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent MP (16 megapixels)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
very good ISO range (25,600)
exports RAW files
72
has manual focus
swap lenses (Sony E mount)
pretty good screen size (3")
MP count decent (24 megapixels)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
saves RAW files
good battery (430 per charge)
no image stabilization
lack of Timelapse function
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-PL7 as a Vlogging camera
Sony NEX-7 as a Vlogging camera
78
selfie friendly display
screen is touchscreen
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
has face detection focusing
high res video (1920 x 1080 resolution)
lack of external mic port
35
supports face detection focus
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 pxls)
does have external microphone socket
doesn't have a selfie friendly screen
no image stabilization
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Olympus E-PL7 vs Sony NEX-7 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-PL7 and Sony NEX-7
 Olympus PEN E-PL7Sony Alpha NEX-7
General Information
Manufacturer Olympus Sony
Model Olympus PEN E-PL7 Sony Alpha NEX-7
Type Entry-Level Mirrorless Advanced Mirrorless
Announced 2014-09-01 2011-12-13
Physical type Rangefinder-style mirrorless Rangefinder-style mirrorless
Sensor Information
Chip TruePic VII 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 megapixel 24 megapixel
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 3:2 and 16:9
Highest resolution 4608 x 3456 6000 x 4000
Highest native ISO 25600 16000
Lowest native ISO 100 100
RAW images
Autofocusing
Focus manually
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
Number of focus points 81 25
Lens
Lens mount Micro Four Thirds Sony E
Amount of lenses 107 121
Focal length multiplier 2.1 1.5
Screen
Screen type Tilting Tilting
Screen diagonal 3" 3"
Resolution of screen 1,037 thousand dots 921 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch screen
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic (optional) Electronic
Viewfinder coverage - 100%
Viewfinder magnification - 0.73x
Features
Slowest shutter speed 60 secs 30 secs
Maximum shutter speed 1/4000 secs 1/4000 secs
Continuous shooting rate 8.0 frames/s 10.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Custom WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash range no built-in flash 6.00 m
Flash modes no built-in flash Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in, Wireless
External flash
Auto exposure bracketing
White balance bracketing
Maximum flash synchronize - 1/160 secs
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (30p), 1280 x 720 (30p), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 1920 x 1080 (60, 24 fps), 1440 x 1080 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Highest video resolution 1920x1080 1920x1080
Video file format H.264, Motion JPEG MPEG-4, AVCHD
Microphone port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless Built-In 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 proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 357g (0.79 lb) 400g (0.88 lb)
Physical dimensions 115 x 67 x 38mm (4.5" x 2.6" x 1.5") 120 x 67 x 43mm (4.7" x 2.6" x 1.7")
DXO scores
DXO All around score 72 81
DXO Color Depth score 22.7 24.1
DXO Dynamic range score 12.4 13.4
DXO Low light score 873 1016
Other
Battery life 350 photographs 430 photographs
Style of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model BLS-50 NPFW50
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec, custom) Yes (2 or 10 sec, 10sec (3 or 5 images))
Time lapse feature
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC card SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo
Card slots Single Single
Launch pricing $499 $699