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Olympus SH-50 vs Sony NEX-7

Portability
88
Imaging
39
Features
48
Overall
42
Olympus SH-50 front
 
Sony Alpha NEX-7 front
Portability
84
Imaging
63
Features
71
Overall
66

Olympus SH-50 vs Sony NEX-7 Key Specs

Olympus SH-50
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 125 - 6400
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 25-600mm (F3.0-6.9) lens
  • 269g - 112 x 63 x 42mm
  • Introduced January 2013
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
  • Introduced December 2011
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Olympus SH-50 vs Sony NEX-7 Overview

Let's take a more detailed look at the Olympus SH-50 and Sony NEX-7, former is a Small Sensor Superzoom while the latter is a Advanced Mirrorless by manufacturers Olympus and Sony. There exists a considerable gap between the resolutions of the SH-50 (16MP) and NEX-7 (24MP) and the SH-50 (1/2.3") and NEX-7 (APS-C) offer totally different sensor sizes.

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The SH-50 was unveiled 14 months after the NEX-7 which makes them a generation away from one another. Both of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus SH-50 being a Compact camera and the Sony NEX-7 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before getting straight to a step-by-step comparison, here is a brief summary of how the SH-50 scores vs the NEX-7 for portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

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Reasons to pick Olympus SH-50 over the Sony NEX-7

 SH-50 NEX-7 
IntroducedJanuary 2013December 2011More modern by 14 months
Touch screen Quickly navigate

Reasons to pick Sony NEX-7 over the Olympus SH-50

 NEX-7 SH-50 
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen resolution921k460kSharper screen (+461k dot)

Common features in the Olympus SH-50 and Sony NEX-7

 SH-50 NEX-7 
Focus manually Dial precise focus
Screen dimensions3"3"Equal screen dimensions
Selfie screen Neither features selfie screen

Olympus SH-50 vs Sony NEX-7 Physical Comparison

If you are planning to carry around your camera often, you need to take into account its weight and dimensions. The Olympus SH-50 enjoys external measurements of 112mm x 63mm x 42mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.7") and a weight of 269 grams (0.59 lbs) whilst the Sony NEX-7 has dimensions of 120mm x 67mm x 43mm (4.7" x 2.6" x 1.7") and a weight of 400 grams (0.88 lbs).

Examine the Olympus SH-50 and Sony NEX-7 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you select at the time. Following is a front view size comparison of the SH-50 and the NEX-7.

Olympus SH-50 vs Sony NEX-7 size comparison

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the SH-50 and NEX-7 is 88 and 84 respectively.

Olympus SH-50 vs Sony NEX-7 top view buttons comparison

Olympus SH-50 vs Sony NEX-7 Sensor Comparison

Sometimes, its hard to visualise the difference between sensor sizes only by reading through technical specs. The image here may provide you a more clear sense of the sensor measurements in the SH-50 and NEX-7.

As you have seen, both cameras provide different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The SH-50 with its tinier sensor will make achieving shallow depth of field tougher and the Sony NEX-7 will give you more detail having an extra 8MP. Higher resolution will also let you crop photographs more aggressively. The younger SH-50 is going to have an advantage with regard to sensor tech.

Olympus SH-50 vs Sony NEX-7 sensor size comparison

Olympus SH-50 vs Sony NEX-7 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus SH-50 vs Sony NEX-7 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
Photography Glossary

Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus SH-50 Portrait photography information
Sony NEX-7 Portrait photography information
43
focusing manually
decent megapixels (16 megapixels)
supports face detection autofocus
external flash not possible
small sensor size (1/2.3")
does not have RAW support
77
you can focus manually
good megapixels (24 megapixels)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
features face detection focus
exports RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Olympus SH-50 as a Street photography camera
Sony NEX-7 as a Street photography camera
64
built in image stabilization (Optical)
has touch to focus
lighter than competitors (269 grams)
screen is fixed
small sensor size (1/2.3")
does not have RAW support
76
screen tilts
sensor size is good (APS-C)
exports RAW formats
does not have image stabilization
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Sports Comparison

Olympus SH-50 as a Sports photography camera
Sony NEX-7 as a Sports photography camera
48
incredible zoom range (25-600mm 24.0 x zoom)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
decent megapixels (16 megapixels)
supports tracking autofocus
no shutter priority
small sensor size (1/2.3")
does not have phase detect autofocus
61
good megapixels (24 megapixels)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
great battery power (430 shots)
does not have image stabilization
doesn't have phase detect auto focus
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Olympus SH-50
Travel photography with Sony NEX-7
69
lighter than competitors (269g)
has touch to focus
decent megapixels (16 megapixels)
flash built-in
reasonably wide (25mm)
very long reach (600mm)
does not have Time Lapse mode
screen is not selfie friendly
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
70
great battery power (430 shots)
good megapixels (24 megapixels)
flash built-in
no Time Lapse recording
doesn't have a selfie friendly display
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Olympus SH-50
Landscape photography with Sony NEX-7
49
focusing manually
reasonably wide (25mm)
screen is a decent size (3 inch)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
decent megapixels (16MP)
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
small sensor size (1/2.3")
does not have RAW support
does not have Time Lapse mode
72
you can focus manually
interchangeable lenses (Sony E mount)
screen is a good size (3 inch)
good megapixels (24MP)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
exports RAW formats
great battery power (430 shots)
does not have image stabilization
no Time Lapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Olympus SH-50
Vlogging with Sony NEX-7
34
reasonably wide (25mm)
touchscreen capability
built in image stabilization (Optical)
supports face detection autofocus
good video quality (1920 x 1080 pxls)
lighter than competitors (269g)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
screen is not selfie friendly
does not have external mic port
35
features face detection focus
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 pixels)
has external mic support
doesn't have a selfie friendly display
does not have image stabilization
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Olympus SH-50 vs Sony NEX-7 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus SH-50 and Sony NEX-7
 Olympus SH-50Sony Alpha NEX-7
General Information
Make Olympus Sony
Model type Olympus SH-50 Sony Alpha NEX-7
Category Small Sensor Superzoom Advanced Mirrorless
Introduced 2013-01-08 2011-12-13
Physical type Compact Rangefinder-style mirrorless
Sensor Information
Chip TruePic VI Bionz
Sensor type BSI-CMOS CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" APS-C
Sensor dimensions 6.17 x 4.55mm 23.5 x 15.6mm
Sensor surface area 28.1mm² 366.6mm²
Sensor resolution 16MP 24MP
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 3:2 and 16:9
Full resolution 4608 x 3456 6000 x 4000
Max native ISO 6400 16000
Min native ISO 125 100
RAW images
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
AF touch
Continuous AF
AF single
AF tracking
AF selectice
AF center weighted
AF multi area
Live view AF
Face detect AF
Contract detect AF
Phase detect AF
Total focus points - 25
Lens
Lens mount type fixed lens Sony E
Lens zoom range 25-600mm (24.0x) -
Max aperture f/3.0-6.9 -
Macro focusing range 5cm -
Amount of lenses - 121
Focal length multiplier 5.8 1.5
Screen
Type of display Fixed Type Tilting
Display diagonal 3 inch 3 inch
Resolution of display 460k dots 921k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch operation
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type None Electronic
Viewfinder coverage - 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification - 0.73x
Features
Lowest shutter speed 15 seconds 30 seconds
Highest shutter speed 1/2000 seconds 1/4000 seconds
Continuous shooting rate 12.0 frames/s 10.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Set WB
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash distance 4.00 m 6.00 m
Flash settings Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in, Wireless
Hot shoe
AEB
White balance bracketing
Highest flash synchronize - 1/160 seconds
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60fps), 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 480fps (176 x 128), 240fps (384 x 288) 1920 x 1080 (60, 24 fps), 1440 x 1080 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Max video resolution 1920x1080 1920x1080
Video format MPEG-4, H.264 MPEG-4, AVCHD
Mic support
Headphone support
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 proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 269 grams (0.59 lb) 400 grams (0.88 lb)
Physical dimensions 112 x 63 x 42mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.7") 120 x 67 x 43mm (4.7" x 2.6" x 1.7")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating not tested 81
DXO Color Depth rating not tested 24.1
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested 13.4
DXO Low light rating not tested 1016
Other
Battery life - 430 shots
Form of battery - Battery Pack
Battery ID SLB-10A NPFW50
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec, Pet Auto Shutter) Yes (2 or 10 sec, 10sec (3 or 5 images))
Time lapse shooting
Storage type SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo
Card slots Single Single
Retail cost $300 $699