Olympus SH-50 vs Sony NEX-7
88 Imaging
39 Features
48 Overall
42


84 Imaging
63 Features
71 Overall
66
Olympus SH-50 vs Sony NEX-7 Key Specs
(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
(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

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.

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.

Olympus SH-50 vs Sony NEX-7 Gallery
Following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus SH-50 & Sony Alpha NEX-7. The full galleries are available at Olympus SH-50 Gallery & Sony NEX-7 Gallery.
Reasons to pick Olympus SH-50 over the Sony NEX-7
SH-50 | NEX-7 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Introduced | January 2013 | ![]() | December 2011 | More modern by 14 months |
Touch screen | ![]() | Quickly navigate |
Reasons to pick Sony NEX-7 over the Olympus SH-50
NEX-7 | SH-50 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Screen type | Tilting | ![]() | Fixed | Tilting screen |
Screen resolution | 921k | ![]() | 460k | Sharper screen (+461k dot) |
Common features in the Olympus SH-50 and Sony NEX-7
SH-50 | NEX-7 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Focus manually | ![]() | Dial precise focus | ||
Screen dimensions | 3" | ![]() | 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.
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.

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 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 Screen and ViewFinder


Photography Type Scores
Portrait Comparison

Street Comparison

Sports Comparison

Travel Comparison

Landscape Comparison

Vlogging Comparison

Olympus SH-50 vs Sony NEX-7 Specifications
Olympus SH-50 | Sony 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 |