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Sony A7S vs Olympus E-400 Comparison

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Sony A7S

12 MP | Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) CMOS Sensor

Sony A7S
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Olympus E-400

10 MP | Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) CCD Sensor

Olympus E-400
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Sony A7S vs Olympus E-400 Comparison Overview

Here we are comparing two cameras with different body types: Sony A7S, which was introduced in April 2014 is a Pro Mirrorless camera with a 12.0MP Full frame sensor whereas Olympus E-400, which was introduced in September 2006 is a Entry-Level DSLR camera with a 10.0MP Four Thirds sensor. As you can see, E-400 is 8 years older than A7S. 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.

Here is a brief look at the main features of Sony A7S and Olympus E-400 before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Sony A7S Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2014-04-06
  • 12MP - Full frame CMOS Sensor
  • ISO 100 - 409600
  • Sony E Mount
  • 3 Tilting Screen
  • 2359k dot Electronic viewfinder
  • 5 fps continuous shooting
  • 4K (UHD) - 3840 x 2160 video resolution
  • 120 fps High-Speed Video
  • Built-in Wireless
  • 489g. 127 x 94 x 48 mm
  • Weather Sealed Body

Olympus E-400 Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2006-09-14
  • 10MP - Four Thirds CCD Sensor
  • ISO 100 - 1600
  • Four Thirds Mount
  • 2.5" Fixed Type Screen
  • Optical (pentamirror) viewfinder
  • 3 fps continuous shooting
  • No Video Mode
  • 435g. 130 x 91 x 53 mm

Sony A7S was replaced by Sony Alpha 7S II. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Sony Alpha 7S II vs Sony Alpha A7S
Sony Alpha 7S II vs Olympus E-400

Olympus E-400 was replaced by Olympus E-410. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Olympus E-410 vs Olympus E-400
Olympus E-410 vs Sony Alpha A7S

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Sony A7S and Olympus E-400 compares and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one is better for you.

Reasons to choose Sony Alpha A7S over Olympus E-400
Wireless Connection
Built-In vs None Better connectivity
LCD Screen
Tilting vs Fixed Type Flexible shooting positions
Viewfinder Magnification
0.71x vs 0.46x Larger Viewfinder
Face Detection Focus
Yes vs No very handy for portraits
Max Sensor Resolution
12 MP vs 10 MP 19% more pixels
Max ISO
409.600 vs 1.600 25500% higher Max ISO
Number of Focus Points
25 vs 3 22 more focus points
LCD Screen Size
3 vs 2.5" 0.5 inches larger display
LCD Screen Resolution
1.230k dots vs 215k dots 472% higher resolution screen
Viewfinder Coverage
100% vs 95% More accurate viewfinder
Max Mech. Shutter
1/8000s vs 1/4000s faster mechanical shutter
Continuous Shooting
5.0fps vs 3.0fps 2 fps faster
Microphone Port
Yes vs No High quality audio recording option
Headphone Port
Yes vs No better video control
Environmental Sealing
Yes vs No shoot at tough conditions
Max Video Resolution
3840 x 2160 vs None Higher Resolution Video
AE Bracketing
Yes vs No Useful for tough lighting conditions and HDR
NFC Connection
Yes vs No Easy wireless connectivity with compatible devices
Smartphone Remote
Yes vs No Remote control your camera with a smartphone


Reasons to choose Olympus E-400 over Sony Alpha A7S
Built-in Flash
Yes vs No Useful in low-light
Weight
435 g vs 489 g 54 g lighter

Common Strengths of Sony Alpha A7S and Olympus E-400
External Flash Shoe
Yes vs Yes Better for flash photography
Viewfinder
Yes (Electronic) vs Yes (Optical) Better framing and control
RAW Support
Yes vs Yes Better image quality
Common Weaknesses of Sony Alpha A7S and Olympus E-400
In-body Image Stabilization
No vs No No Built-in stabilization
LCD Screen Size
3 vs 2.5" Small display
Sony A7S vs Olympus E-400: 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 Sony A7S and Olympus E-400 side-by-side from the front, back and top in their relative dimensions. Sony A7S has external dimensions of 127 x 94 x 48 mm (5 x 3.7 x 1.89″) and weighs 489 g (1.08 lb / 17.25 oz) (including batteries). Olympus E-400 has external dimensions of 130 x 91 x 53 mm (5.12 x 3.58 x 2.09″) and weighs 435 g (0.96 lb / 15.34 oz) (including batteries).

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Sony A7S and Olympus E-400. Sony A7S is 3mm narrower and 5mm thinner than Olympus E-400 but it is also 3mm taller.

Sony A7S vs Olympus E-400 Camera Size Comparison - Front View
Comparison image of Sony A7S and Olympus E-400 Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View

Here is the back view size comparison of Sony A7S and Olympus E-400.

Sony A7S vs Olympus E-400 Camera Size Comparison - Back View
Comparison image of Sony A7S and Olympus E-400 Size and Weight - Back View

Now lets look at the top view comparison of Sony A7S and Olympus E-400.
Sony A7S vs Olympus E-400 Camera Size Comparison - Top View
Top View Comparison image of Sony A7S and Olympus E-400 Size

Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day. Olympus E-400 is 54g lighter than the Sony A7S but we don't think this will make a significant difference.

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 Sony A7S has a Full frame sensor and Olympus E-400 has a smaller Four Thirds sensor, Olympus E-400's lenses for a similar focal length and aperture will generally be lighter and smaller than the Sony A7S lenses.

Weight Comparison

DSLR Cameras

A7S
E-400
Min
Average
Max
Thickness Comparison

DSLR Cameras

A7S
E-400
Min
Average
Max

Weather Sealing

With its weather sealed body, we believe that A7S has a big advantage over E-400 which doesn't provide any kind of environmental sealing.

LCD Screen Size and Features

Sony A7S's 3 LCD screen is slightly larger than Olympus E-400's 2.5" screen.

In addition to the size advantage, Sony A7S LCD screen also has a Tilting feature where you can change the angle of the screen to make it easier to shoot from waist or over the head levels. On the other hand, Olympus E-400 has a fixed type screen which provides less flexibility in shooting positions compared to A7S.
Sony A7S vs Olympus E-400: Sensor Comparison

Sony A7S has a 12.0MP Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Bionz X processor. On the other hand, Olympus E-400 has a 10.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CCD sensor .

Below you can see the A7S and E-400 sensor size comparison.

Sony A7S vs Olympus E-400 Sensor Size Comparison
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Sony A7S and Olympus E-400 Cameras


As seen above, Sony A7S has a 3.8x Larger sensor area than Olympus E-400. 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.

Sony A7S vs Olympus E-400 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 Sony A7S has an advantage over Olympus E-400. There are 128 lenses for Sony A7S's Sony E mount, on the other hand there are only 45 lenses for Olympus E-400's Four Thirds lens mount.

Another important factor is the availability of image stabilization. None of these bodies have sensor based image stabilization so you have to buy lenses with Optical stabilization feature. Currently there are 31 lenses for Sony E mount and 3 lenses for Four Thirds mount with IS.

Lens Type # of Sony A7S Lenses # of Olympus E-400 Lenses
Standard Zoom 12 (9 Full Frame) 8
Standard Prime 18 (9 Full Frame) 4
Wideangle Zoom 7 (6 Full Frame) 4
Wideangle Prime 42 (26 Full Frame) 9
Telephoto Zoom 9 (7 Full Frame) 6
Telephoto Prime 18 (14 Full Frame) 4
SuperZoom 8 (1 Full Frame) 2
Wideangle Fisheye Prime 2 (0 Full Frame) 3
Macro Prime 8 (7 Full Frame) 4
Perspective Control Prime 2 (2 Full Frame) n/a
Telephoto Mirror Prime n/a 1
TOTAL 128 (81 Full Frame) 45

What types of Photography are Sony A7S and Olympus E-400 Good for?
In this section, we rank and compare Sony A7S and Olympus E-400 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.

Sony A7S for Portrait Photography

GOOD

Olympus E-400 for Portrait Photography

POOR
Large Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
No Image Stabilization
Read the details
Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Very Low Resolution Sensor: 10.0MP
No Image Stabilization
Read the details

Sony A7S for Street Photography

GOOD

Olympus E-400 for Street Photography

POOR
Large Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Tilting LCD Screen
Medium sized Body
No Image Stabilization
Read the details
Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
No Image Stabilization
No Live-view
Large Body
Read the details

Sony A7S for Sports Photography

GOOD

Olympus E-400 for Sports Photography

GOOD
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/8000s
25 Focus Points
Good Low Light ISO
Wireless Connection
Average Continuous Shooting: 5.0fps
No Image Stabilization
Read the details
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
No Image Stabilization
Slow Continuous Shooting: 3.0fps
Environmental Sealings
3 Focus Points
Read the details

Sony A7S for Daily Photography

EXCELLENT

Olympus E-400 for Daily Photography

AVERAGE
Large Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Medium size Body
489g
Body Thickness 48mm
Read the details
Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Large Body
435g
Body Thickness 53mm
Read the details

Sony A7S for Landscape Photography

AVERAGE

Olympus E-400 for Landscape Photography

POOR
Large Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Live-view
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
Read the details
Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Very Low Resolution Sensor: 10.0MP
No Environmental Sealings
No Live-view
Read the details

Sony A7S vs Olympus E-400: 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 Sony A7S and Olympus E-400, 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 Sony A7S and Olympus E-400 scores compare:

Sony A7S
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #39 out of 86 in SLR-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked #71 out of 1220 in all Cameras
Olympus E-400
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #77 out of 78 in Compact SLR cameras
Ranked #797 out of 1220 in all Cameras

Sony A7S has a higher Overall Score than the Olympus E-400 and would be our choice if we have to decide between these two cameras.

Sony A7S
Sony A7S
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Olympus E-400
Olympus E-400
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Olympus E-400 vs Sony A7S Specs Table
Detailed comparison of specifications
General Sony Alpha A7S Olympus E-400
Brand Sony Olympus
Announced 2014-04-06 2006-09-14
Body Type SLR-style mirrorless Compact SLR
Sensor
Type CMOS CCD
Size Full frame Four Thirds
Dimensions 35.8 x 23.9 mm 17.3 x 13 mm
Area 855.62mm2 224.90mm2
Megapixels 12 megapixels 10 megapixels
Max Resolution 4240 x 2832 3648 x 2736
Max Native Light sensitivity 409,600 ISO 1,600 ISO
Min Native Light sensitivity 100 ISO 100 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 25 3
Lens
Manual Focus
Lens Mount Sony E Four Thirds
Number of Available Lenses 128 45
Screen
Type Tilting Fixed type
Size 3 2.5"
Resolution 1,230k dots 215k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder Electronic Optical (pentamirror)
Viewfinder Resolution 2,359k dots no electronic viewfinder
Viewfinder Coverage 100% 95%
Viewfinder Magnification 0.71x 0.46x
Photography Features
Max Mechanical Shutter 1/8000s 1/4000s
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Custom White Balance
Image Stabilization No No
Built-in Flash
Flash Range no built-in flash 10.00 m (at ISO 100)
Max Flash Sync n/a s
External Flash
Continuous Shooting 5.0 fps 3.0 fps
Multi-Segment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF-Area
Center Weighted
AE Bracketing
WB Bracketing
Video Features
Max Video Resolution 3840 x 2160 None
Video Formats MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC n/a
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Connectivity
Wireless Connectivity Built-In None
HDMI
Physical
Environmental Sealing
Weight 489g 435g
Dimensions 127 x 94 x 48mm 130 x 91 x 53mm
Battery Life 360 shots n/a
Other Features
Timelapse Recording With Downloadable App
GPS None None
DxO Sensor Scores
DxO Overall Score 87 not tested
DxO Color Depth 23.9 not tested
DxO Dynamic Range 13.2 not tested
DxO Low Light ISO 3702 not tested
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