Sony A7S vs Olympus E-M1 Comparison

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Sony A7S

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

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Olympus E-M1

16 MP | Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) CMOS Sensor

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Sony A7S vs Olympus E-M1 Comparison Overview

In this review, we will be comparing A7S and E-M1, two Pro Mirrorless cameras from Sony and Olympus. Sony A7S has a 12.0MP Full frame sensor whereas Olympus E-M1 has a 16.0MP Four Thirds sensor. Sony A7S was introduced to market in April 2014 and Olympus E-M1 was launched in October 2013. There is only 5 months difference between A7S and E-M1 so we are expecting this to be a fair comparison regarding age and technology level.

Here is a brief look at the main features of Sony A7S and Olympus E-M1 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-M1 Key Specs

Announcement Date: 2013-10-28

16MP - Four Thirds CMOS Sensor

ISO 100 - 25600

Micro Four Thirds Mount

Sensor-shift Image Stabilization

3" Tilting Screen

2360k dot Electronic viewfinder

10 fps continuous shooting

Full HD - 1920 x 1080 video resolution

Built-in Wireless

497g. 130 x 94 x 63 mm

Weather Sealed Body

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 OM-D E-M1

Olympus E-M1 was replaced by Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II vs Olympus OM-D E-M1
Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II vs Sony Alpha A7S

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Sony A7S and Olympus E-M1 compares and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one is better for you.

Reasons to choose Sony Alpha A7S over Olympus OM-D E-M1

Max ISO	409.600 vs 25.600	1500% higher Max ISO
LCD Screen Resolution	1.230k dots vs 1.037k dots	18% higher resolution screen
Battery Life	360 shots vs 350 shots	10 more frames with a single charge
Weight	489 g vs 497 g	8 g lighter
Headphone Port	Yes vs No	better video control
Color Depth	23.9 vs 23.0	higher color depth
Dynamic Range	13.2 vs 12.7	higher dynamic range
Low Light ISO	3702 vs 757	better High ISO performance
Sensor Pixel Area	71.24µm² vs 14.12µm²	404% larger pixel area
Max Video Resolution	3840 x 2160 vs 1920 x 1080	Higher Resolution Video
AE Bracketing Range	±5 EV vs ±2 EV	Wide Bracketing range is useful for HDR
NFC Connection	Yes vs No	Easy wireless connectivity with compatible devices

Reasons to choose Olympus OM-D E-M1 over Sony Alpha A7S

Image Stabilization	Sensor-shift vs None	Sharper images at longer focal lengths and long exposures
Touch Screen	Yes vs No	Easy control of camera functions
Viewfinder Magnification	0.74x vs 0.71x	Larger Viewfinder
Max Sensor Resolution	16 MP vs 12 MP	33% more pixels
Number of Focus Points	81 vs 25	56 more focus points
Continuous Shooting	10.0fps vs 5.0fps	5 fps faster
Timelapse Recording	Yes vs With optional app	creative shooting
Viewfinder Resolution	2360k dot vs 2359k dot	0% higher resolution
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
Webcam Function	Yes vs No	Use your camera as a Webcam

Common Strengths of Sony Alpha A7S and Olympus OM-D E-M1

Wireless Connection	Yes vs Yes	Better connectivity
Adjustable LCD Screen	Tilting vs Tilting	Flexible shooting positions
External Flash Shoe	Yes vs Yes	Better for flash photography
Viewfinder	Yes (Electronic) 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
Microphone Port	Yes vs Yes	High quality audio recording option
Environmental Sealing	Yes vs Yes	shoot at tough conditions
AE Bracketing	Yes vs Yes	Useful for tough lighting conditions and HDR
Dual-axis Electronic Level	Yes vs Yes	Level the camera easily in two axis
Smartphone Remote	Yes vs Yes	Remote control your camera with a smartphone

Common Weaknesses of Sony Alpha A7S and Olympus OM-D E-M1

Built-in Flash	No vs No	Require external flash

Sony A7S vs Olympus E-M1: 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-M1 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-M1 has external dimensions of 130 x 94 x 63 mm (5.13 x 3.68 x 2.48″) and weighs 497 g (1.10 lb / 17.53 oz) (including batteries).

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Sony A7S and Olympus E-M1. Sony A7S is 3mm narrower and 15mm thinner than Sony A7S but they have the same height of 94mm.

Comparison image of Sony A7S and Olympus E-M1 Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View

Here is the back view size comparison of Sony A7S and Olympus E-M1.

Comparison image of Sony A7S and Olympus E-M1 Size and Weight - Back View

Now lets look at the top view comparison of Sony A7S and Olympus E-M1.

Top View Comparison image of Sony A7S and Olympus E-M1 Size

Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day. Sony A7S is 8g lighter than the Olympus E-M1 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-M1 has a smaller Four Thirds sensor, Olympus E-M1's lenses for a similar focal length and aperture will generally be lighter and smaller than the Sony A7S lenses.

Weight Comparison

Mirrorless Cameras

A7S

E-M1

Min

Average

Max

Thickness Comparison

Mirrorless Cameras

A7S

E-M1

Min

Average

Max

Weather Sealing

Both A7S and E-M1 have weather sealings in their body, making them resistant to water and dust.

LCD Screen Size and Features

Sony A7S and Olympus E-M1's LCD screens has the same diagonal size of 3.

Both cameras feature Tilting screens where you can change the angle of the screen to make it easier to shoot from waist or over the head levels.

Sony A7S vs Olympus E-M1: 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-M1 has a 16.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features TruePIC VII processor.

Below you can see the A7S and E-M1 sensor size comparison.

Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Sony A7S and Olympus E-M1 Cameras

As seen above, Sony A7S has a 3.8x Larger sensor area than Olympus E-M1. 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

Both Sony A7S and Olympus E-M1 sensors have been tested by DxoMark. DxoMark 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. Of the two cameras that we are comparing, A7S has scored 87, 14 points higher than E-M1.

Model	Overall	Color Depth	Dynamic Range	Low-light ISO
Sony A7S	87	23.9 bits	13.2 Evs	3702 ISO
Olympus E-M1	73	23.0 bits	12.7 Evs	757 ISO

Sony A7S vs Olympus E-M1 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-M1. There are 128 lenses for Sony A7S's Sony E mount, on the other hand there are only 107 lenses for Olympus E-M1's Micro Four Thirds lens mount.

Another important factor is the availability of image stabilization. Olympus E-M1 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, Sony A7S doesn't have this feature so you have to buy a lens with optical stabilization feature. Currently there are 31 lenses for Sony E mount with Optical Image Stabilization features.

Lens Type	# of Sony A7S Lenses	# of Olympus E-M1 Lenses
Standard Zoom	12 (9 Full Frame)	15
Standard Prime	18 (9 Full Frame)	13
Wideangle Zoom	7 (6 Full Frame)	5
Wideangle Prime	42 (26 Full Frame)	29
Telephoto Zoom	9 (7 Full Frame)	18
Telephoto Prime	18 (14 Full Frame)	9
SuperZoom	8 (1 Full Frame)	8
Wideangle Fisheye Prime	2 (0 Full Frame)	5
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)	107

Now let's compare some sample lenses from each mount with typical Focal ranges for Sony A7S and Olympus E-M1 to see how these lenses compares:

Fast Standard Zoom Lenses

Model		FF Equiv.	Weight	Weight w/ Cam	Length	Street Price
	Sony FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM	24 - 70mm	886gr	1375gr	136mm	Amazon B&H Photo
	Olympus ED 12-40mm f2.8 PRO	24 - 80mm	382gr	879gr	84mm	Amazon B&H Photo

Fast Tele Zoom Equivalent Lenses

Model		FF Equiv.	Weight	Weight w/ Cam	Length	Street Price
	Sony FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS	70 - 200mm	1480gr	1969gr	200mm	Amazon B&H Photo
	Olympus ED 35-100mm f2.0	70 - 200mm	1650gr	2147gr	214mm	Amazon B&H Photo

Fast Normal Prime Equivalent Lenses

Model		FF Equiv.	Weight	Weight w/ Cam	Length	Street Price
	Sony FE 50mm F1.4	50mm	778gr	1267gr	108mm	Amazon B&H Photo
	Olympus M 25mm F1.8	50mm	136gr	633gr	41mm	Amazon B&H Photo

Fast Wideangle Zoom Equivalent Lenses

Model		FF Equiv.	Weight	Weight w/ Cam	Length	Street Price
	Sony FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM	16 - 35mm	680gr	1169gr	122mm	Amazon B&H Photo
	Olympus ED 7-14mm F2.8 PRO	14 - 28mm	534gr	1031gr	106mm	Amazon B&H Photo

24-105mm f4 Equivalent Lenses

Model		FF Equiv.	Weight	Weight w/ Cam	Length	Street Price
	Sony FE 24-105mm F4 G OSS	24 - 105mm	663gr	1152gr	113mm	Amazon B&H Photo
	Olympus ED 12-60mm f2.8-4.0 SWD	24 - 120mm	575gr	1072gr	99mm	Amazon B&H Photo

Super-Tele Zoom Equivalent Lenses

Model		FF Equiv.	Weight	Weight w/ Cam	Length	Street Price
	Sony FE 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 GM OSS	100 - 400mm	1395gr	1884gr	205mm	Amazon B&H Photo
	Olympus 150-400mm F4.5 TC 1.25x IS	300mm	1850gr	2347gr	mm	Amazon B&H Photo

What types of Photography are Sony A7S and Olympus E-M1 Good for?

In this section, we rank and compare Sony A7S and Olympus E-M1 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-M1 for Portrait Photography

GOOD

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
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Average Resolution Sensor: 16.0MP
Read the details

Sony A7S for Street Photography

GOOD

Olympus E-M1 for Street Photography

EXCELLENT

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
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Tilting LCD Screen
Medium sized Body
Read the details

Sony A7S for Sports Photography

GOOD

Olympus E-M1 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

Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Fast Continuous Shooting: 10.0fps
Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/8000s
81 Focus Points
Wireless Connection
Read the details

Sony A7S for Daily Photography

EXCELLENT

Olympus E-M1 for Daily Photography

GOOD

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
Environmental Sealings
Medium size Body
497g
Body Thickness 63mm
Read the details

Sony A7S for Landscape Photography

AVERAGE

Olympus E-M1 for Landscape Photography

AVERAGE

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
Environmental Sealings
Live-view
Average Resolution Sensor: 16.0MP
Read the details

Sony A7S vs Olympus E-M1: 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-M1, 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-M1 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-M1

Imaging

Features

Value

Portability

Overall

Ranked #50 out of 86 in SLR-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked #101 out of 1220 in all Cameras

Sony A7S has a higher Overall Score than the Olympus E-M1 and would be our choice if we have to decide between these two cameras.

Olympus E-M1 vs Sony A7S Specs Table

Detailed comparison of specifications

General	Sony Alpha A7S	Olympus OM-D E-M1
Brand	Sony	Olympus
Announced	2014-04-06	2013-10-28
Body Type	SLR-style mirrorless	SLR-style mirrorless
Sensor
Type	CMOS	CMOS
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	16 megapixels
Max Resolution	4240 x 2832	4608 x 3456
Max Native Light sensitivity	409,600 ISO	25,600 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	81
Lens
Manual Focus
Lens Mount	Sony E	Micro Four Thirds
Number of Available Lenses	128	107
Screen
Type	Tilting	Tilting
Size	3	3"
Resolution	1,230k dots	1,037k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder	Electronic	Electronic
Viewfinder Resolution	2,359k dots	2,360k dots
Viewfinder Coverage	100%	100%
Viewfinder Magnification	0.71x	0.74x
Photography Features
Max Mechanical Shutter	1/8000s	1/8000s
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Custom White Balance
Image Stabilization	No	Sensor-shift
Built-in Flash
Max Flash Sync	n/a	1/320s
External Flash
Continuous Shooting	5.0 fps	10.0 fps
Multi-Segment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF-Area
Center Weighted
AE Bracketing
WB Bracketing
Video Features
Max Video Resolution	3840 x 2160	1920 x 1080
Video Formats	MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC	H.264, Motion JPEG
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Connectivity
Wireless Connectivity	Built-In	Built-In
HDMI
Physical
Environmental Sealing
Weight	489g	497g
Dimensions	127 x 94 x 48mm	130 x 94 x 63mm
Battery Life	360 shots	350 shots
Other Features
Timelapse Recording	With Downloadable App
GPS	None	None
DxO Sensor Scores
DxO Overall Score	87	73
DxO Color Depth	23.9	23.0
DxO Dynamic Range	13.2	12.7
DxO Low Light ISO	3702	757
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