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Olympus PEN-F vs Sony A6400

Portability
84
Imaging
59
Features
79
Overall
67
Olympus PEN-F front
 
Sony Alpha a6400 front
Portability
83
Imaging
70
Features
88
Overall
77

Olympus PEN-F vs Sony A6400 Key Specs

Olympus PEN-F
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Fully Articulated Display
  • ISO 200 - 25600
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Max Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 427g - 125 x 72 x 37mm
  • Launched January 2016
Sony A6400
(Full Review)
  • 24MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Display
  • ISO 100 - 32000 (Expand to 102400)
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • Sony E Mount
  • 403g - 120 x 67 x 50mm
  • Announced January 2019
Photography Glossary

Olympus PEN-F vs Sony A6400 Overview

Lets look more closely at the Olympus PEN-F and Sony A6400, both Advanced Mirrorless digital cameras by competitors Olympus and Sony. The sensor resolution of the PEN-F (20MP) and the A6400 (24MP) is fairly well matched but the PEN-F (Four Thirds) and A6400 (APS-C) offer different sensor measurements.

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The PEN-F was manufactured 4 years before the A6400 and that is quite a significant difference as far as technology is concerned. Each of the cameras feature the same body design (Rangefinder-style mirrorless).

Before going straight to a in-depth comparison, here is a short synopsis of how the PEN-F matches up versus the A6400 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Olympus PEN-F over the Sony A6400

 PEN-F A6400 
Display typeFully ArticulatedTiltingFully Articulating display
Display resolution1037k922kCrisper display (+115k dot)

Reasons to pick Sony A6400 over the Olympus PEN-F

 A6400 PEN-F 
AnnouncedJanuary 2019January 2016Fresher by 36 months

Common features in the Olympus PEN-F and Sony A6400

 PEN-F A6400 
Manually focus More precise focusing
Display size3"3"Same display measurements
Selfie screen Both good for selfies
Touch friendly display Easily navigate

Olympus PEN-F vs Sony A6400 Physical Comparison

When you are planning to carry your camera frequently, you will need to think about its weight and measurements. The Olympus PEN-F offers outer measurements of 125mm x 72mm x 37mm (4.9" x 2.8" x 1.5") with a weight of 427 grams (0.94 lbs) whilst the Sony A6400 has proportions of 120mm x 67mm x 50mm (4.7" x 2.6" x 2.0") having a weight of 403 grams (0.89 lbs).

Check out the Olympus PEN-F and Sony A6400 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you are using during that time. The following is a front view proportions comparison of the PEN-F versus the A6400.

Olympus PEN-F vs Sony A6400 size comparison

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability score of the PEN-F and A6400 is 84 and 83 respectively.

Olympus PEN-F vs Sony A6400 top view buttons comparison

Olympus PEN-F vs Sony A6400 Sensor Comparison

Sometimes, its tough to imagine the gap between sensor sizing only by reading through a spec sheet. The visual below should give you a stronger sense of the sensor sizing in the PEN-F and A6400.

As you can see, the 2 cameras feature different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The PEN-F due to its tinier sensor is going to make shooting shallower DOF tougher and the Sony A6400 will give you greater detail due to its extra 4MP. Greater resolution can also help you crop photos way more aggressively. The older PEN-F is going to be behind in sensor technology.

Olympus PEN-F vs Sony A6400 sensor size comparison

Olympus PEN-F vs Sony A6400 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus PEN-F vs Sony A6400 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus PEN-F Portrait photography highlights
Sony A6400 Portrait photography highlights
75
focusing manually
good resolution (20MP)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
comes with face detection autofocus
exports RAW files
82
manual focus
megapixel count good (24 megapixels)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
has face detection autofocus
exports RAW files
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Street Comparison

Olympus PEN-F Street photography highlights
Sony A6400 Street photography highlights
84
fully articulated screen
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
exports RAW files
boasts touch to focus
above average ISO range (25,600)
81
screen tilts up and down
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
exports RAW files
supports touch to focus
environment proofing
very good ISO range (32,000)
lack of image stabilization
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Sports Comparison

Olympus PEN-F Sports photography features
Sony A6400 Sports photography features
67
max shutter speed is good (1/8,000 seconds)
quiet mode (1/16,000 seconds)
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
good resolution (20 megapixels)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
comes with tracking autofocus
bad battery power (330 shots)
lacks phase detect autofocus
76
megapixel count good (24MP)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
has tracking autofocus
environment proofing
supports phase detect autofocus
lack of image stabilization
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Travel Comparison

Olympus PEN-F Travel photography highlights
Sony A6400 Travel photography highlights
75
boasts touch to focus
good resolution (20MP)
selfie friendly display
bad battery power (330 CIPA)
87
environment proofing
has bluetooth
supports touch to focus
megapixel count good (24 megapixels)
built-in flash
selfie friendly display
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus PEN-F Landscape photography information
Sony A6400 Landscape photography information
76
focusing manually
interchangeable lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
screen is a good size (3 inch)
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
good resolution (20MP)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
above average ISO range (25,600)
exports RAW files
bad battery power (330 CIPA)
80
manual focus
interchangeable lenses (Sony E mount)
pretty good screen size (3")
megapixel count good (24 megapixels)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
very good ISO range (32,000)
exports RAW files
environment proofing
lack of image stabilization
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus PEN-F as a Vlogging camera
Sony A6400 as a Vlogging camera
78
selfie friendly display
screen is touchscreen
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
comes with face detection autofocus
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 resolution)
lack of external microphone socket
80
selfie friendly display
touchscreen functionality
has face detection autofocus
video res high (3840 x 2160 resolution)
comes with external microphone port
lack of image stabilization
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Olympus PEN-F vs Sony A6400 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus PEN-F and Sony A6400
 Olympus PEN-FSony Alpha a6400
General Information
Company Olympus Sony
Model Olympus PEN-F Sony Alpha a6400
Type Advanced Mirrorless Advanced Mirrorless
Launched 2016-01-27 2019-01-15
Body design Rangefinder-style mirrorless Rangefinder-style mirrorless
Sensor Information
Chip TruePic VII Bionz X
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds APS-C
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 23.5 x 15.6mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 366.6mm²
Sensor resolution 20MP 24MP
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 1:1, 3:2 and 16:9
Full resolution 5184 x 3888 6000 x 4000
Max native ISO 25600 32000
Max boosted ISO - 102400
Min native ISO 200 100
RAW format
Min boosted ISO 80 -
Autofocusing
Manual focus
Touch to focus
AF continuous
AF single
AF tracking
Selective AF
AF center weighted
Multi area AF
AF live view
Face detect focusing
Contract detect focusing
Phase detect focusing
Number of focus points 81 425
Lens
Lens mounting type Micro Four Thirds Sony E
Amount of lenses 107 121
Focal length multiplier 2.1 1.5
Screen
Display type Fully Articulated Tilting
Display diagonal 3 inches 3 inches
Resolution of display 1,037k dot 922k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch screen
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic Electronic
Viewfinder resolution 2,360k dot 2,359k dot
Viewfinder coverage 100 percent 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification 0.62x 0.7x
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60 secs 30 secs
Highest shutter speed 1/8000 secs 1/4000 secs
Highest quiet shutter speed 1/16000 secs -
Continuous shooting speed 10.0 frames per sec 11.0 frames per sec
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Change WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash range no built-in flash 6.00 m (at ISO 100)
Flash modes Flash Auto, Redeye, Fill-in, Flash Off, Red-eye Slow sync (1st curtain), Slow sync (1st curtain), Slow sync (2nd curtain) Off, auto, on, slow sync, rear sync, redeye reduction, wireless, hi-speed sync
External flash
AEB
WB bracketing
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, 24p), 1280 x 720 (60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, 24p) 3840 x 2160 @ 30p / 100 Mbps, XAVC S, MP4, H.264, Linear PCM
Max video resolution 1920x1080 3840x2160
Video data format MPEG-4, H.264, Motion JPEG MPEG-4, H.264, XAVC-S
Microphone jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless Built-In Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 427 grams (0.94 pounds) 403 grams (0.89 pounds)
Physical dimensions 125 x 72 x 37mm (4.9" x 2.8" x 1.5") 120 x 67 x 50mm (4.7" x 2.6" x 2.0")
DXO scores
DXO All around score 74 83
DXO Color Depth score 23.1 24.0
DXO Dynamic range score 12.4 13.6
DXO Low light score 894 1431
Other
Battery life 330 photographs 410 photographs
Style of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model BLN-1 NP-FW50
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 seconds, custom) Yes
Time lapse shooting
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick DUO (UHS-I compliant)
Storage slots One One
Retail price $1,000 $898