• 4/3 224.9mm2
  • 16.1 megapixels
  • ISO 200 - 25,600
  • 35mm 847.3mm2
  • 12.2 megapixels
  • ISO 100 - 102,400
  • Detailed specifications
  • Olympus OM-D E-M5
  • Sony Alpha ILCE-A7S
Links
Prices: Compare Prices Compare Prices
Manufacturer URL: Manufacturer website Manufacturer website
Predecessor:    
Successor: Olympus E-M5 II
E-M5 vs E-M5 II
Sony A7S II
A7S vs A7S II
General
Model Number: E-M5 A7S
Alternate Model Number(s):   ILCE-7S
Camera Format: Compact System Camera Compact System Camera
Currently Manufactured: No Yes
Retail Price: $1299.99 $2499.99
Street Price: $899.95 $1,998.00
Date Available: 2012-04-15 2014-07-08
Tripod Mount: Yes Yes
Weight: 23.0 oz (652 g)
includes batteries, kit lens
17.9 oz (507 g)
includes batteries
Size: 4.8 x 3.5 x 1.7 in.
(122 x 89 x 43 mm)
5.0 x 3.7 x 1.9 in.
(127 x 94 x 48 mm)
Waterproof: No No
Waterproof Depth: n/a n/a
Image Sensor
Sensor Type: Live MOS CMOS
Sensor Manufacturer: Sony Sony
Effective Megapixels: 16.1 12.2
Sensor Format: 4/3 35mm
Sensor size: 224.9mm2 (17.30mm x 13.00mm) 847.28mm2 (35.60mm x 23.80mm)
Approximate Pixel Pitch: 3.75 microns 8.40 microns
Focal Length Multiplier: 2.0x 1.0x
Aspect Ratio: 4:3 3:2
Color Filter Type: RGBG RGBG
Anti Aliasing Filter: Fixed Fixed
Self-Cleaning: Yes Yes
Sensor shift image stabilization: Yes No
On-Sensor Phase Detect: No No
DxO Sensor Score: 71 87
DxO Color Depth Score (bits): 22.8 23.9
DxO Dynamic Range Score (evs): 12.3 13.2
DxO Maximum Effective ISO Score (iso): 826 3,702
Image Capture
Image Resolution: 4608 x 3456 (15.9 MP, 4:3),
2560 x 1920 (4.9 MP, 4:3),
1024 x 768 (0.8 MP, 4:3),
640 x 480 (0.3 MP, 4:3)
4240 x 2832 (12.0 MP, 3:2),
4240 x 2384 (10.1 MP, 16:9),
2768 x 1848 (5.1 MP, 3:2),
2768 x 1560 (4.3 MP, Other),
2128 x 1416 (3.0 MP, 3:2),
2128 x 1200 (2.6 MP, Other),
12416 x 1856 (23.0 MP, Other),
8192 x 1856 (15.2 MP, Other),
2160 x 5536 (12.0 MP, Other),
2160 x 3872 (8.4 MP, Other)
Image File Format: JPEG, MPO, 12-bit RAW, RAW + JPEG JPEG, RAW (14-bit ARW 2.3), RAW+JPEG
Continuous-mode frames/second: 8.9 5.0
Video Capture
Can take movies: Yes Yes
Movie Resolution: 1920x1080 (60i)
1280x720 (60p/​30p)
640x480 (30p)
1920x1080 (60p/​60i/​50p/​50i/​30p/​25p/​24p)
1280x720 (120p/​100p)
1440x1080 (30p/​25p)
640x480 (30p/​25p)
Movie File Format: MOV (MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 with stereo sound), AVI (Motion JPEG) XAVC-S, AVCHD 2.0, MP4 with stereo sound
Composite Video Out: Yes No
NTSC/PAL Switchable Video: Yes n/a
Video Usable as Viewfinder: No n/a
HD Video Out: Yes Yes
HD Video Connection: HDMI HDMI
Lens & Optics
Lens Mount: Micro Four Thirds Sony E
Lens: Olympus M.Zuiko 12-50mm f/3.5-6.3 EZ Digital ED n/a
Focal Length (35mm equivalent): 24 - 100mm  
Focal Length (actual): 12 - 50mm  
Zoom Ratio: 4.20x  
Aperture Range: f/3.5 - 22 (wide) / f/6.3 - 22 (tele)  
Integrated ND Filter: No No
Normal Focus Range: 35 cm to Infinity
13.8 in to Infinity
 
Macro Focus Range: 20 - 50 cm
7.9 - 19.7 in
 
Filter Thread: 52.0mm n/a
Thread Type: n/a n/a
Optical Image Stabilization: No No
Digital Zoom: Yes Yes
Digital Zoom Values: Up to 2x Up to 4x; 2x Clear Image Digital Zoom
Auto Focus
Auto Focus: Yes Yes
Auto Focus Type: High-speed Contrast-detect AF: 35-area multiple AF / All target, Group target area (9-area), Single target 25-point contrast-detect AF: Wide (25 points), Center-weighted, Flexible Spot (S/M/L), Zone
Auto Focus Assist Light? Yes Yes
Manual Focus: Yes Yes
Viewfinder
Viewfinder: EVF / OLED EVF / LCD
Viewfinder Type: EVF; 1.44M-dot, 1.15x magnification, 18mm eyepoint, -4 to +2 diopter, eye sensor EVF: 0.5-inch (1.30cm) 2.4M-dot XGA color OLED, 100% coverage, 0.71x magnification, -4.0 to +3.0 diopter
Focus Peaking: No Yes
EVF Resolution: 1,440,000 dots 2,359,296 dots (786,432 pixels)
Viewfinder Magnification (35mm equivalent): 0.58x 0.71x
Viewfinder Magnification (nominal/claimed): 1.15x 0.71x
Display
Eye-level Viewfinder: Yes Yes
Rear Display: Yes Yes
Rear Display Size (inches): 3.0 3.0
Rear Display Resolution: 614,000 dots (205,000 px) 921,600 dots (307,200 px)
Touchscreen: Yes No
Articulating Screen: Yes Yes
Tilt Swivel Screen: No No
Selfie Screen: No No
Max Playback Zoom:   13.3x
Top Deck Display: No No
Exposure
Maximum ISO (native): 25600 102400
Minimum ISO (native): 200 100
ISO Settings: AUTO: ISO Low (100) - 25600 (customizable, Default 200-1600) / Manual ISO Low (100) - 25600, 1/3 or 1 EV steps selectable Auto, 100 - 102,400, expandable to 50 - 409,600
Auto ISO Mode: Yes Yes
White Balance Settings: Auto, Lamp, Fluorescent, Daylight, Flash, Cloudy, Shade, Custom WB, One-touch WB Auto, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Incandescent, Fluorescent (4 settings), Flash, Custom, Color Temp./ Filter (2500-9900K with 15-step Magenta/Green compensation), Underwater
Shutter Speed Range: 1/4000 - 60 sec 1/8000 - 30 sec
Bulb Mode: Yes Yes
Exposure Compensation: +/- 3.0EV in 0.3EV steps +/- 5.0EV in 0.3EV steps
Metering Modes: Digital ESP metering (324-area multi pattern metering), Center weighted average metering, Spot metering, Spot metering with highlight control, Spot metering with shadow control 1200-zone Evaluative Multi-segment, Center-weighted, Spot
Program Auto Exposure: Yes Yes
Aperture Priority: Yes Yes
Shutter Priority: Yes Yes
Full Manual Exposure: Yes Yes
Creative Exposure Modes: Scene select AE (Portrait, e-Portrait, Landscape, Landscape + Portrait, Sport, Night, Night + Portrait, Children, High Key, Low Key, DIS mode, Macro, Nature Macro, Candle, Sunset, Documents, Panorama, Fireworks, Beach & Snow, Fisheye Conv., Wide Conv., Macro Conv., 3D Still), Art Filter, Underwater wide / macro Scene Modes: Portrait, Landscape, Macro, Sports Action, Sunset, Night Portrait, Night Scene, Hand-held Twilight, Anti Motion Blur; Sweep Panorama; Picture Effect: Posterization (Color, B/W), Pop Color, Retro Photo, Partial Color (R, G, B, Y), High Contrast Monochrome, Toy Camera, Soft Highkey, Soft Focus, HDR Painting, Rich-tone Monochrome, Miniature, Watercolor, Illustration; Dynamic Range Optimizer (Auto/Level (1-5)), Auto High Dynamic Range: Auto Exposure Difference, Exposure Difference Level (1.0-6.0 EV, 1.0 EV step)
Self Timer: 2, 10 seconds 2 or 10; 3/5 shots after 10 seconds
Time Lapse (intervalometer):    
High Resolution Composite: No No
Flash
Built-in Flash: No No
Flash Modes: Flash Auto, Redeye, Fill-in, Flash Off, Red-eye Slow sync.(1st curtain), Slow sync.(1st curtain), Slow sync.(2nd curtain), Manual(1/1 (FULL) - 1/64) Flash off, Auto flash, Fill-flash, Slow Sync., Rear Sync., Hi-speed Sync, Wireless; Red-eye reduction: On/Off
Flash Guide Number (ISO 100): 7.0 m / 23.0 ft. n/a
Flash Range Description: Bundled FL-LM2 GN = 7m/ISO 100 n/a
Max Flash Sync: 1/250 1/250
Flash Exposure Compensation: +/- 3.0 EV in 0.3EV steps +/- 3.0 EV in 0.3EV steps
External Flash Connection: Hot Shoe Multi Interface Hot shoe
Built-In Wireless Flash Control:    
Image Storage
Usable Memory Types: SD / SDHC / SDXC MS PRO Duo / SD / SDHC / SDXC
UHS Support: UHS-I UHS-I
Other Memory:    
Dual Card Slots: No No
RAW Capture Support: Yes Yes
Uncompressed Format: 12-bit RAW, RAW + JPEG RAW (14-bit ARW 2.3), RAW+JPEG
Movie File Format: MOV (MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 with stereo sound), AVI (Motion JPEG) XAVC-S, AVCHD 2.0, MP4 with stereo sound
Included Memory: No memory included No memory included
Included Memory Type:    
Connectivity
Built-In Wi-Fi: No Yes
NFC: No Yes
Bluetooth: No No
Built-In GPS: No No
Microphone Jack: No Yes
Headphone Jack: No Yes
External Connections: USB 2.0 High Speed USB 2.0 High Speed,WiFi
PictBridge Compliant: Yes No
DPOF Compliant: Yes Yes
Remote Control: Yes Yes
Remote Control Type: Optional Remote cable RM-UC1 Yes, via USB or Wi-Fi
Connections (extended): Micro HDMI (Type-D), combined AV/USB connector, Accessory Port 2 Micro HDMI (Type-D), Multi Micro USB connector, Stereo microphone jack (3.5mm), Stereo headphone jack (3.5mm)
Performance Timing
Cycle time for JPEG shooting in single shot mode (seconds per frame, max resolution): 0.52 0.53
Cycle time for RAW shooting in single shot mode (seconds per frame): 0.51 0.57
Buffer size for RAW shooting in single shot mode (frames): 20 Unlimited
Cycle time for RAW+JPEG shooting in single shot mode (seconds per shot): 0.56 0.52
Camera penalizes early shutter press? No No
JPEG shooting speed in burst mode (fps, max resolution): 8.9 5.0
Buffer size for JPEG shooting in burst mode (frames, max resolution): 17 62
RAW shooting speed in burst mode (fps): 9.0 5.0
Buffer size for RAW shooting in burst mode (frames): 16 39
RAW+JPEG shooting speed in burst mode (fps): 9.0 5.0
Buffer Size for RAW+JPEG shooting in burst mode (frames): 15 28
Shutter lag (full AF, wide/mid): 0.28 seconds 0.18 seconds
Shutter lag (full AF, tele):    
Shutter lag (full AF, live view - DSLR):    
Shutter lag (prefocused, live view - DSLR):    
Shutter Lag (manual focus): 0.102 seconds 0.129 seconds
Shutter lag (full AF, with flash): 0.44 seconds  
Shutter Lag (prefocused): 0.056 seconds 0.024 seconds
Shutter Lag (notes): Full Autofocus, Multi-area AF mode lag = 0.175 second Full AF lag, Multi-area AF mode = 0.183s
Startup Time: 1.1 seconds 2.0 seconds
Play -> Record Time: 0.7 seconds 0.5 seconds
Flash cycle time, full power: 4.3 seconds  
Power
Battery Life, Stills (CIPA Rating Monitor/Live View): 360 shots 380 shots
Battery Life, Still (CIPA Rating OVF/EVF):   320 shots
Battery Life, Video:    
Battery Form Factor: Proprietary BLN-1 Proprietary NP-FW50
Usable Battery Types: Lithium-ion rechargeable Lithium-ion rechargeable
Batteries Included: 1 x Proprietary BLN-1 Lithium-ion rechargeable 2 x Proprietary NP-FW50 Lithium-ion rechargeable
Battery Charger Included (dedicated charger or AC/USB adapter): Yes Yes
Dedicated Battery Charger Included: Yes Yes
Internal Charging Supported: No Yes
Software
Included Software: Olympus Viewer 2 CD-ROM  
OS Compatibility:    
Miscellaneous
Notes & Features: 3" tilting OLED monitor with Touchscreen panel, Hi-res EVF, 5-axis image stabilization, 9 fps burst, Full HD video. 720p (1,280 x 720 pixel) video can be recorded at 120fps with an APS-C sensor crop. Can't record 4K video internally, but can output uncompressed 3,840 x 2,160 pixel 4K video over the HDMI port for recording on an external device. Can also output uncompressed Full HD (1,920 x 1,080 pixel) video. Can shoot still images at 5.0 fps in Speed Priority Continuous mode, or 2.5 fps otherwise. Battery life figure of 380 shots is for LCD monitor. Using electronic viewfinder, battery life falls to 320 shots.