Olympus OM-D E-M5 Vs Sony Alpha a1: complete comparison

Olympus OM-D E-M5

Sony Alpha a1 trophy medal portrait medal landscape medal sport medal street medal everyday
54

Overall Score

75

Olympus

OM-D E-M5

Announced: 30 Apr 2012
Sensor Resolution: 16Mp
Sensor Type: 4/3 CMOS
ISO: 200-25600
Weight: 425g
Physical Dimensions: 122 x 89 x 43 mm
Viewfinder: Electronic
Screen Type: 3" Tilting
Video Resolutions: 1920x1080
42
Image Quality
70
39
Speed Performance
72
85
Versatility
97
64
Comfort
64

Sony

Alpha a1

Announced: 26 Jan 2021
Sensor Resolution: 50Mp
Sensor Type: Full frame BSI-CMOS
ISO: 100-32000
Weight: 737g
Physical Dimensions: 129 x 97 x 70 mm
Viewfinder: Electronic
Screen Type: 3" Tilting
Video Resolutions: 7680x4320
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The best camera for different types of photography

Olympus
OM-D E-M5

vs

Sony
Alpha a1

42
Portrait Portrait Portrait
70
42
Landscape Landscape Landscape
70
52
SportSport Sport
75
62
Street Street Street
74
64
Everyday Everyday Everyday
76

Best alternative for types of photography

Olympus OM-D E-M5
pros and cons

Olympus OM-D E-M5

Olympus

OM-D E-M5

Announced: 30 Apr 2012
Sensor Resolution: 16Mp
Sensor Type: 4/3 CMOS
ISO: 200-25600
Weight: 425g
Physical Dimensions: 122 x 89 x 43 mm
Viewfinder: Electronic
Screen Type: 3" Tilting
Video Resolutions: 1920x1080

prospros

  • This camera autofocus is able to follow moving subjects
  • The Olympus OM-D E-M5 is tropicalized - this means you can use it also in adverse atmospheric and environmental conditions without ruining it
  • The integrated stabilizer allows you to shoot firmly even in low light conditions
  • The LCD display is a convenient and almost indispensable feature
  • The microphone input can be very useful if you shoot videos
  • It has fast shutter speed, ideal for action photos
  • Olympus OM-D E-M5 is one of the smallest cameras in its category. This makes it very easy to handle and suitable for street photography and daily use

conscons

  • Warning - Olympus OM-D E-M5 battery has only 360.0 shoots autonomy. This might be a limiting factor if you think you'll have to do long photo sessions without having the chance to recharge it.
  • Unfortunately, Olympus OM-D E-M5 does not support wireless connection

Amazon best deals on Olympus OM-D E-M5

Olympus OM-D E-M5 and its rivals

Review compare Olympus OM-D E-M5 with overall score Portrait
Portrait
Landscape
Landscape
Sport
Sport
Street
Street
Everyday
Everyday
OlympusOM-D E-M5 Olympus
OM-D E-M5
54 42 42 52 62 64 £882.00
CanonEOS R6 Mark II Canon
EOS R6 Mark II
78 68 67 86 77 80 buy on
SonyAlpha a1 Sony
Alpha a1
75 70 70 75 74 76 buy on
SonyAlpha A7R V Sony
Alpha A7R V
74 72 72 71 73 75 buy on
SonyAlpha A9 II Sony
Alpha A9 II
73 67 67 74 74 76 buy on
SonyAlpha A7c Sony
Alpha A7c
72 65 66 69 75 76 buy on
FujifilmX-Pro3 Fujifilm
X-Pro3
65 53 50 62 77 78 buy on

Sony Alpha a1
pros and cons

Sony Alpha a1

Sony

Alpha a1

Announced: 26 Jan 2021
Sensor Resolution: 50Mp
Sensor Type: Full frame BSI-CMOS
ISO: 100-32000
Weight: 737g
Physical Dimensions: 129 x 97 x 70 mm
Viewfinder: Electronic
Screen Type: 3" Tilting
Video Resolutions: 7680x4320

pros pros

  • This camera autofocus is able to follow moving subjects
  • The Sony Alpha a1 is tropicalized - this means you can use it also in adverse atmospheric and environmental conditions without ruining it
  • The integrated stabilizer allows you to shoot firmly even in low light conditions
  • The LCD display is a convenient and almost indispensable feature
  • High resolution in video recording
  • The microphone input can be very useful if you shoot videos
  • Thanks to burst mode, it's ideal for action photos
  • Precise and fast autofocus, ideal for action photos, it performs well even in low light conditions
  • The second memory slot makes the camera more reliable, also for professional use
  • Thanks to the wireless connection, Sony Alpha a1 allows immediate picture sharing

Sony Alpha a1 and its rivals

Review compare Sony Alpha a1 with overall score Portrait
Portrait
Landscape
Landscape
Sport
Sport
Street
Street
Everyday
Everyday
SonyAlpha a1 Sony
Alpha a1
75 70 70 75 74 76 buy on
SonyAlpha A9 II Sony
Alpha A9 II
73 67 67 74 74 76 buy on
SonyAlpha A7c Sony
Alpha A7c
72 65 66 69 75 76 buy on
SonyAlpha A7 IV Sony
Alpha A7 IV
70 67 67 70 71 72 buy on
SonyAlpha a6100 Sony
Alpha a6100
63 51 48 62 69 72 buy on
FujifilmX-E4 Fujifilm
X-E4
63 50 48 61 69 70 buy on
PanasonicLumix DC-GH6 Panasonic
Lumix DC-GH6
62 47 46 70 64 67 buy on

Olympus OM-D E-M5 vs Sony Alpha a1, which is better?

In case you are wondering which of these cameras you should buy, then this is the right place to find an answer. Here you will find listed all the main differences among Olympus OM-D E-M5 and Sony Alpha a1, calculated by the CameraRace iCamRank algorithm.

  • Technically speaking, Sony Alpha a1 is superior to Olympus OM-D E-M5, with an overall iCamRank score of 75 and 54, respectively.
  • The image quality of Sony Alpha a1 (70) is superior to that of Olympus OM-D E-M5 (42).
  • Sony Alpha a1 (72) performs better than Olympus OM-D E-M5 (39) in terms of speed.
  • Sony Alpha a1 is more versatile than Olympus OM-D E-M5 (97 a 85).
  • Olympus OM-D E-M5 (64) and Sony Alpha a1 (64) provide a similar handling experience.

But, as you may know, the technical performance is meaningless if applied to the wrong context. This is the reason why the iCamRank "weights" differently the camera technical features for each type of photography. Thus, below you'll find our suggestions, based on your preferred photography genre:

Whatever type of photography shall you prefer, Sony Alpha a1 is superior to Olympus OM-D E-M5 in all conditions.

Need further details? Below you will find a full comparison of all the technical specifications.

Olympus
OM-D E-M5

Sensor
comparison

Sony
Alpha a1

CMOS

Sensor Type

BSI-CMOS

4/3 down

Sensor Size

up Full frame

17.3 x 13.0 mm down

Sensor Dimensions

up 35.9 x 24.0 mm

224.9 mm2 down

Sensor Area

up 861.6 mm2

16 Mp down

Sensor Resolution

up 50 Mp

4608 x 3456 down

Max Image Resolution

up 8640 x 5760

25600 down

Max Native ISO

up 32000

200 down

Min Native ISO

up 100

yes

RAW Support

yes

Olympus
OM-D E-M5

Lens
comparison

Sony
Alpha a1

Micro Four Thirds

Lens Mount

Sony E

90 down

Number of Lenses

up 142

2

Focal Length Multiplier

1

Olympus
OM-D E-M5

Screen Type
comparison

Sony
Alpha a1

Tilting

Screen Type

Tilting

3.0"

Screen Size

3.0"

610Kdot down

Screen Resolution

up 1440Kdot

yes

Live View

yes

yes

Touch Screen

yes

Olympus
OM-D E-M5

Viewfinder
comparison

Sony
Alpha a1

Electronic

Viewfinder

Electronic

1440000.0

Viewfinder Resolution

9437000.0

100

Viewfinder Coverage

100

0.58

Viewfinder Magnification

0.9x

Olympus
OM-D E-M5

Features
comparison

Sony
Alpha a1

60s

Min Shutter Speed

30s

1/4000s

Max Shutter Speed

-

9fps down

Continuous Shooting

up 30fps

yes

Shutter Priority

yes

yes

Aperture Priority

yes

yes

Manual Exposure Mode

yes

yes

Exposure Compensation

yes

yes

Custom White Balance

yes

yes

Image Stabilization

yes

no

Built-in Flash

no

None

Flash Range

None

1/250s

Max Flash Sync

1/400s

Auto
On
Off
Red-Eye
Fill-in
Slow Sync (2)
Manual (3 levels)

Flash Modes

Flash off
Autoflash
Fill-flash
Slow Sync.
Rear Sync.
Red-eye reduction
Wireless
Hi-speed sync

yes

External Flash

yes

yes

AE Bracketing

yes

yes

WB Bracketing

yes

Olympus
OM-D E-M5

Exposure Modes
comparison

Sony
Alpha a1

yes

Multi-Segment

yes

no

Average

yes

yes

Spot

yes

no

Partial

no

no

AF-Area

no

yes

Center Weighted

no

Olympus
OM-D E-M5

Dxo Sensor Scores
comparison

Sony
Alpha a1

71 up

DxO Overall Score

dato non disponibile

22.8 up

DxO Color Depth

dato non disponibile

12.3 up

DxO Dynamic Range

dato non disponibile

826 up

DxO Low Light ISO

dato non disponibile

Olympus
OM-D E-M5

Autofocus
comparison

Sony
Alpha a1

yes

AF Touch

yes

yes

AF Continuous

yes

yes

AF Single

yes

yes

AF Tracking

yes

yes

AF Selective

yes

yes

AF Center

yes

yes

AF MultiArea

yes

yes

AF Live View

yes

yes

AF Face Detection

yes

yes

AF Contrast Detection

yes

no

AF Phase Detection

yes

35 down

Number of Focus Points

up 759

0

Number of Cross Focus Points

0

Olympus
OM-D E-M5

Video Features
comparison

Sony
Alpha a1

1920 x 1080 (60 fps) 1280 x 720 (60 30 fps) 640 x 480 (30 fps)

Video Resolutions

7680x4320 (30p 25p 23.98)

1920x1080

Max Video Resolution

7680x4320

H.264 Motion JPEG

Video Formats

XAVC S XAVC HS H.264 H.265

yes

Microphone Port

yes

no

Headphone Port

yes

Olympus
OM-D E-M5

Connectivity
comparison

Sony
Alpha a1

Eye-Fi Connected

Wireless Connectivity

Built-in

yes

HDMI

yes

USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)

USB

Yes

Olympus
OM-D E-M5

Physical
comparison

Sony
Alpha a1

yes

Environmental Sealing

yes

no

Water Proof

no

no

Dust Proof

no

no

Shock Proof

no

no

Crush Proof

no

no

Freeze Proof

no

425g

Weight

737g

122 x 89 x 43 mm

Physical Dimensions

129 x 97 x 70 mm

360 down

Battery Life

up 530

Battery Pack

Battery Type

Battery Pack

BLN-1

Battery Model

NP-FZ100

Olympus
OM-D E-M5

Other Features
comparison

Sony
Alpha a1

Yes (2 or 12 sec)

Self Timer

Yes

no

Timelapse Recording

yes

no

GPS

no

SD SDHC SDXC

Storage Type

Dual SD CFexpress Type A slots (UHS-II supported)

1down

Storage Slots

up2

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