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Canon 7D MII vs Olympus E-M1 II

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Canon 7D MII

20 MP | APS-C (22.4 x 15 mm) CMOS Sensor

Canon 7D MII
$1028.00

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Olympus E-M1 II

20 MP | Four Thirds (17.4 x 13 mm) CMOS Sensor

Olympus E-M1 II
$1399.00

CHECK TODAY's PRICE
Canon 7D MII vs Olympus E-M1 II Comparison Overview

Here we are comparing two cameras with different body types: Canon 7D MII, which was introduced in September 2014 is a Semi-Pro DSLR camera with a 20.0MP APS-C sensor whereas Olympus E-M1 II, which was introduced in September 2016 is a Pro Mirrorless camera with a 20.0MP Four Thirds sensor. As you can see, 7D MII is 2 years older than E-M1 II. Let's see if this age difference between two cameras makes a big difference.

Despite some fundamental differences of these two body types, Mirrorless cameras are becoming serious alternatives to DSLR cameras thanks to their size/weight advantages and recent improvements in their focus speeds , which makes this comparison even more interesting.

Let's have a brief look at the main features of Canon 7D MII and Olympus E-M1 II before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Canon 7D MII Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2014-09-15
  • 20MP - APS-C CMOS Sensor
  • ISO 100 - 16000 ( expands to 51200)
  • Canon EF/EF-S Mount
  • 3" Fixed Type Screen
  • Optical (pentaprism) viewfinder
  • 10.0 fps continuous shooting
  • 1920 x 1080 video resolution
  • Built-in GPS
  • 910g. 149 x 112 x 78 mm
  • Weather Sealed Body
  • Replaced Canon EOS 7D Compare

Olympus E-M1 II Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2016-09-19
  • 20MP - Four Thirds CMOS Sensor
  • ISO 200 - 25600 ( expands to 64)
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 3" Fully Articulated Screen
  • 2360k dot Electronic viewfinder
  • 15.0 fps continuous shooting
  • 4096 x 2160 video resolution
  • Built-in Wireless
  • 574g. 134 x 91 x 67 mm
  • Weather Sealed Body
  • Replaced Olympus OM-D E-M1 Compare

Olympus E-M1 II was replaced by Olympus OM-D E-M1X. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Olympus OM-D E-M1X vs Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II
Olympus OM-D E-M1X vs Canon EOS 7D Mark II

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Canon 7D MII and Olympus E-M1 II compares and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one is better for you.

Reasons to choose Canon EOS 7D Mark II over Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II
Built-in Flash Yes vs No Useful in low-light
GPS BuiltIn vs None track your location
Battery Life 670 shots vs 350 shots 320 more frames with a single charge
Flash Coverage 12.0m vs 9.1m 2.9m longer range
Sensor Pixel Area 16.83µm2 vs 11.22µm2 49% larger pixel area
Top LCD Yes vs No Help viewing and changing settings easily
Autofocus at f/8 aperture Center point vs none Autofocus with teleconverters
Reasons to choose Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II over Canon EOS 7D Mark II
Wireless Connection Built-In vs None Better connectivity
Built-in Image Stabilization Sensor-shift vs None All the lenses are stabilized
Articulating Screen Yes vs No Flexible shooting positions
Touch Screen Yes vs No Easy control of camera functions
Max ISO 25.600 vs 16.000 60% higher Max ISO
Number of Focus Points 121 vs 65 56 more focus points
Continuous Shooting 15.0fps vs 10.0fps 5 fps faster
Weight 574 g vs 910 g 336 g lighter
Color Depth 23.7 vs 22.4 higher color depth
Dynamic Range 12.8 vs 11.8 higher dynamic range
Low Light ISO 1312 vs 1082 better High ISO performance
Max Video Resolution 4096 x 2160 vs 1920 x 1080 Higher Resolution Video
Selfie Friendly LCD Yes vs No Rotate LCD for taking Selfies
Pixel Shift High Resolution Mode Yes (50.0MP) vs No Increased resolution with pixel shift
Focus Bracketing Yes vs No Take multiple photos shifting focus point
Focus Stacking Yes vs No Stacks photos in-camera to maximize depth of field
Smartphone_remote control Yes vs No Remote control your camera with a smartphone
Support for UHS Memory Cards UHS-II vs none Read/Write in Ultra High Speeds
Common Strengths of Canon EOS 7D Mark II and Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II
External Flash Shoe Yes vs Yes Better for flash photography
Viewfinder Yes (Optical) vs Yes (Electronic) Better framing and control
RAW Support Yes vs Yes Better image quality
Face Detection Focus Yes vs Yes very handy for portraits
Max Resolution 20 MP vs 20 MP Bigger prints and more details
LCD Screen Resolution 1.040k dots vs 1.037k dots Higher resolution screens
Microphone Port Yes vs Yes High quality audio recording option
Headphone Port Yes vs Yes better video control
Environmental Sealing Yes vs Yes shoot at tough conditions
Timelapse Recording Yes vs Yes creative shooting
AE Bracketing Yes vs Yes Useful for tough lighting conditions and HDR
Flash Sync Port Yes vs Yes Connect off-camera flash
Storage Slot 2 vs 2 Extra Storage Slot
Common Weaknesses of Canon EOS 7D Mark II and Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II
Canon 7D MII vs Olympus E-M1 II: Physical Specs and Body features Comparison

Size and weight is a big decision factor when you are trying to find the ideal camera for your needs. In this section, We are going to illustrate Canon 7D MII and Olympus E-M1 II side-by-side from the front, back and top in their relative dimensions.

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Canon 7D MII and Olympus E-M1 II. Olympus E-M1 II is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 15mm narrower, 21mm shorter and 11mm thinner than Canon 7D MII.

Canon 7D MII vs Olympus E-M1 II Camera Size Comparison - Front View


Here is the back view size comparison of Canon 7D MII and Olympus E-M1 II.


Now lets look at the top view comparison of Canon 7D MII and Olympus E-M1 II.
Canon 7D MII vs Olympus E-M1 II Camera Size Comparison - Top View

Canon 7D MII vs Olympus E-M1 II Detailed Size Comparison

Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day. Olympus E-M1 II is significantly lighter (336g ) than the Canon 7D MII which may become a big advantage especially on long walking trips.

Also keep in mind that body weight is not the only deciding factor when comparing two interchangeable camera bodies, you have to also take into account the lenses that you will be using with these bodies. Since Canon 7D MII has an APS-C sized sensor and Olympus E-M1 II has a smaller Four Thirds sensor, Olympus E-M1 II's lenses for a similar focal length and aperture will generally be lighter and smaller than the Canon 7D MII lenses.

Weight Comparison

Mirrorless Cameras

7D MII
E-M1 II
Min
Average
Max
Thickness Comparison

Mirrorless Cameras

7D MII
E-M1 II
Min
Average
Max

Weather Sealing

Both 7D MII and E-M1 II have weather sealings in their body, making them resistant to water and dust.

LCD Screen Size and Features

Canon 7D MII and Olympus E-M1 II's LCD screens has the same diagonal size of 3".

Canon 7D MII vs Olympus E-M1 II: Sensor Comparison

Both Canon 7D MII and Olympus E-M1 II have 20.0 MP resolution sensors but Canon 7D MII's sensor is APS-C (22.4 x 15 mm ) and Olympus E-M1 II's sensor is Four Thirds (17.4 x 13 mm ).

Since Canon 7D MII's has a larger sensor area with the same resolution, this means that it also has a larger pixel area hence better light collecting capacity for a given aperture compared to Olympus E-M1 II.

Below you can see the 7D MII and E-M1 II sensor size comparison.

Canon 7D MII vs Olympus E-M1 II Sensor Size Comparison


As seen above, Canon 7D MII has a 1.5x Larger sensor area than Olympus E-M1 II. Larger sensors give photographer more control on the depth of field and blurry background compared to smaller sensor when shot in same focal length and aperture.

DxOMark Sensor Scores

DxOMark is a benchmark that scientifically assesses image quality of camera sensors. It scores camera sensors for color depth (DXO Portrait), dynamic range (DXO Landscape) and low-light sensitivity (DXO Sports), and also gives them an overall score. Canon 7D MII and Olympus E-M1 II sensors have been tested by DxO and the results show that E-M1 II has a better overall score of 80, 10 points higher compared to 7D MII's score of 70.

What types of Photography are Canon 7D MII and Olympus E-M1 II Good for?
In this section, we rank and compare Canon 7D MII and Olympus E-M1 II for five different photography types in order to make your decision process easier in case you are specifically interested in one or more of these areas.

Canon 7D MII for Portrait Photography

AVERAGE

Olympus E-M1 II for Portrait Photography

AVERAGE
Large APS-C (22.4 x 15 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 20.0MP
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
No Image Stabilization
Read the details
Large Four Thirds (17.4 x 13 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 20.0MP
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details

Canon 7D MII for Street Photography

AVERAGE

Olympus E-M1 II for Street Photography

EXCELLENT
Large APS-C (22.4 x 15 mm) sensor
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
No Image Stabilization
Large Body
Read the details
Large Four Thirds (17.4 x 13 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Fully Articulated LCD Screen
Medium sized Body
Read the details

Canon 7D MII for Sports Photography

EXCELLENT

Olympus E-M1 II for Sports Photography

EXCELLENT
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Fast Continuous Shooting: 10.0fps
Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/8000s
65 Cross Type Focus sensors
65 Focus Points
Good Battery Life: 670 shots
Good Low Light ISO
No Image Stabilization
Read the details
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Fast Continuous Shooting: 15.0fps
Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/8000s
121 Focus Points
Good Low Light ISO
Wireless Connection
Read the details

Canon 7D MII for Daily Photography

AVERAGE

Olympus E-M1 II for Daily Photography

GOOD
Large APS-C (22.4 x 15 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Large Body
910g
Body Thickness 78mm
Read the details
Large Four Thirds (17.4 x 13 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Medium size Body
574g
Body Thickness 67mm
Read the details

Canon 7D MII for Landscape Photography

AVERAGE

Olympus E-M1 II for Landscape Photography

AVERAGE
Large APS-C (22.4 x 15 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 20.0MP
Environmental Sealings
Live-view
Built-in GPS
Read the details
Large Four Thirds (17.4 x 13 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 20.0MP
Environmental Sealings
Live-view
Read the details


Olympus E-M1 II vs Canon 7D MII Comparison of Available Lenses
Which camera has more lenses?

Number of available lenses is a big decision factor while choosing your interchangeable lens camera. When we look at the available lenses for these two cameras, we see that Canon 7D MII has an advantage over Olympus E-M1 II. There are 319 lenses for Canon 7D MII's Canon EF/EF-S mount, on the other hand there are only 101 lenses for Olympus E-M1 II's Micro Four Thirds lens mount.

Another important factor is the availability of image stabilization. Olympus E-M1 II has a big advantage in this regard because it has a sensor based image stabilization which means that all the lenses mounted to this body will be stabilized. On the other hand, Canon 7D MII doesn't have this feature so you have to buy a lens with optical stabilization feature. Currently there are 107 lenses for Canon EF/EF-S mount with Optical Image Stabilization features.

Lens Type # of Canon 7D MII Lenses # of Olympus E-M1 II Lenses
Standard Zoom 40 14
Standard Prime 18 12
Wideangle Zoom 35 5
Wideangle Prime 48 27
Telephoto Zoom 58 17
Telephoto Prime 41 8
SuperZoom 28 8
Wideangle Fisheye Prime 7 5
Macro Prime 27 4
Perspective Control Prime 16 n/a
Telephoto Mirror Prime 1 1
TOTAL 319 101
Canon 7D MII vs Olympus E-M1 II: OUR DECISION

You may have already made your decision about which camera suits better for your needs and your budget so far but in case you wonder how we rated Canon 7D MII and Olympus E-M1 II, below you can find their scores in five different aspects. Our Decision Algorithm dynamically scores cameras using 63 different specs, current price and DxO Mark scores (where possible) in order to make a more objective and consistent comparison.

Here is a summary of how Canon 7D MII and Olympus E-M1 II scores compare:

Canon 7D MII
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #37 out of 94 in Mid-size SLR cameras
Ranked #139 out of 1190 in all Cameras
Olympus E-M1 II
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #15 out of 68 in SLR-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked #27 out of 1190 in all Cameras

Olympus E-M1 II has a higher Overall Score than the Canon 7D MII and would be our choice if we have to decide between these two cameras.

Canon 7D MII
Canon 7D MII
$1028.00

Olympus E-M1 II
Olympus E-M1 II
$1399.00

Olympus E-M1 II vs Canon 7D MII Specs Table
Detailed comparison of specifications
General Canon EOS 7D Mark II Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II
Brand Canon Olympus
Announced 2014-09-15 2016-09-19
Body Type Mid-size SLR SLR-style mirrorless
Sensor
Type CMOS CMOS
Size APS-C Four Thirds
Dimensions 22.4 x 15 mm 17.4 x 13 mm
Area 336.00mm2 226.20mm2
Megapixels 20 megapixels 20 megapixels
Max Resolution 5472 x 3648 5184 x 3888
Max Native Light sensitivity 16,000 ISO 25,600 ISO
Max Boosted Light Sensitivity 51200 ISO -
Min Native Light sensitivity 100 ISO 200 ISO
Min Boosted Light Sensitivity - 64 ISO
RAW Support
Autofocus
AF Touch
AF Continuous
AF Single
AF Tracking
AF Selective
AF Center
AF Multi Area
AF Live View
AF Face Detection
AF Contrast Detection
AF Phase Detection
Number of Focus Points 65 121
Lens
Manual Focus
Lens Mount Canon EF/EF-S Micro Four Thirds
Number of Available Lenses 319 101
Screen
Type Fixed type Fully Articulated
Size 3" 3"
Resolution 1,040k dots 1,037k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder Optical (pentaprism) Electronic
Viewfinder Resolution no electronic viewfinder 2,360k dots
Viewfinder Coverage 100% 100%
Viewfinder Magnification 0.63 0.74
Photography Features
Max Shutter Speed 1/8000s 1/8000s
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Custom White Balance
Image Stabilization No Sensor-shift
Built-in Flash
Flash Range 12.00 m 9.10 m (at ISO 100)
Max Flash Sync 1/250s no built-in flash
External Flash
Continuous Shooting 10.0 fps 15.0 fps
Multi-Segment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF-Area
Center Weighted
AE Bracketing
WB Bracketing
Video Features
Max Video Resolution 1920 x 1080 4096 x 2160
Video Formats MPEG-4 MOV, H.264
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Connectivity
Wireless Connectivity None Built-In
HDMI
Physical
Environmental Sealing
Weight 910g 574g
Dimensions 149 x 112 x 78mm 134 x 91 x 67mm
Battery Life 670 shots 350 shots
Other Features
Timelapse Recording
GPS BuiltIn None
DxO Sensor Scores
DxO Overall Score 70 80
DxO Color Depth 22.4 23.7
DxO Dynamic Range 11.8 12.8
DxO Low Light ISO 1082 1312
Report a correction Report a correction
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