2013 brought us new mirrorless cameras:
Sony Alpha 7, 7R, NEX-5T;
Samsung Galaxy NX, NX300;
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM1, DMC-GX7 ;
Olympus OM-D E-M1, PEN E-P5;
Nikon 1 AW1 ;
Fujifilm X-E2, X-M1.
Some of you have upgraded your mirrorless camera body, some of you have changed the whole system, convinced by the new added features or improvements.
But some of you are still fighting against the well known GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome).
If some manufactures built their new cameras patching or solving of the lacks of previous versions or upgraded the hardware based on the market trend, there are also new and innovative cameras.
At the end of 2013 Olympus and Sony acquired a lot of attention based on their new mirrorless cameras: OM-D E-M1 and A7/A7r. Both of these cameras are great, have a lot of fans, cost almost the same, and both of them offer features that combined would make the perfect camera, but you can’t have it all.
Olympus om-d e-m1 vs Sony a7 is the ultimate mirrorless camera fight in 2013 and you must know what you want before buying these cameras. Below you have some advantages and disadvantages of these cameras (not all of them, only some of the differences).
Sony A7
Advantages
- Full frames sensor (gives you better iso sensitivity, shallow depth of field, better image quality)
- More details in pictures due to the 24 Megapixels.
- Weather sealed body
Disadvantages
- Only a few lenses available (no fast lens yet)
- Missing image stabilization
- For some: loud shutter
Olympus OM-D E-M1
Advantages
- Weather-resistant body
- A lot of customizable buttons
- A lot of lenses available
- The best image stabilization 5 Axis ( reduce blur on different occasions, allow you to take sharp images on slower shutter speeds etc)
- Great image quality – Despite the smaller sensor.
- Fast autofocus
- Faster continuous shooting (up to 10fps), Live Bulb
Disadvantages
- You need fast lens to achieve a shallow depth of field (crop factor compared to Sony a7 is 2X)
Conclusions:
So, despite the small sensor, Olympus OM-D E-M1 delivers great image quality (for some compared with APS-C sensors). It has a lot of features, but for full-frame fans this will not be enough. I think Olympus (or Panasonic) fans are very happy with this camera. It is the top of the m4/3 system.
On the other hand, Sony breaks the supremacy of full frame mirror-less Leica (which is more a Rangefinder) but we are not comparing these two. A lot of mirrorless camera users were expecting since the beginning of 2013 a full frame camera. Sony was the first to deliver it.
I think in 2014 there will be other manufacturers trying to keep up with this trend. This does not mean that m4/3 will disappear. The top image quality for the size of the sensor and the high iso capability will please a lot of users in the future, users who did not caught the full frame virus.
It would be nice to have an Olympus E-M1 with full frame sensor, but keeping the size of the camera and lenses. It would be nice to have a Sony A7 with the image stabilization of Olympus and the variety of lenses… but this is impossible, for now.
As I wrote before, unfortunately you can’t have it all, not now, and maybe never, if we consider that our needs will always grow directly proportional to technology evolution.
We must never forget that cameras are only tools and having the best camera on the market will not guarantee you the best pictures too.
In the end, I recommend that you critically analyze your needs and choose the best mirrorless camera for you looking at all the brands on the market.
If you are pleased and happy with your current mirrorless camera, then please send us your thoughts. We will publish your story. Thanks.