Table of Contents

Olympus OM-D E-M1 compared to dSLRs

see also:

feature Olympus E-M1 Nikon D7100 Canon 7D (2009)
crop factor 2x 1.5x 1.6x
sensor length 18mm 23.7mm 22.7mm
sensor width 13.5mm 15.6mm 15.1mm
pixels 16mp 24mp 18mp
AA filter removed yes no no
sensor cleaner v.good good good
built-in IS 5-axis 4 stop none none
range of MF lenses enormous range plus IS, focus peaking and live magnification only Nikon F many
range of fast, silent AF lenses dedicated to crop factor >30 ~15 Nikkor DX but not movie silent ~ 9 Canon EF-S but not movie silent
weatherproofing almost waterproof moderate moderate
viewfinder excellent EVF optical optical
viewfinder live histogram yes no no
viewfinder focus peaking yes no no
viewfinder live magnification yes and image stabilised no no
viewfinder camera settings most settings some some
viewfinder digital levels yes ?yes ?yes
viewfinder for movie mode yes no no
AF points in viewfinder use 800 CDAF + 37 phase detect 51 phase detect 19 phase detect
S-AF speed v.fast fast fast
S-AF accuracy v.accurate needs calibration needs calibration
S-AF closest eye AF yes, almost anywhere in frame no no
live view AF v. fast medium medium
C-AF tracking good v.good? v.good?
shutter noise quiet loud loud
shutter range 60sec-1/8000th sec 30sec - 1/8000th sec 30sec - 1/8000th sec
timed BULB yes no no
live view BULB yes no no
no need for mirror lockup yes no no
handholdable 1sec wide angle shots yes no no
flash x-sync 1/320th sec 1/250th sec 1/250th sec
radio TTL flash ?3rd party PocketWizard PocketWizard
popup flash bundled flash yes yes
burst rate with C-AF 6.5fps 6fps 8fps
burst rate w/o C-AF 10fps 6fps 8fps
burst rate buffer 50 RAW ? 15 RAW
intervalometer 999 frames yes yes ?
auto HDR mode 2 modes + manual HDR no? no?
1080p modes 30p 60/24p 30/24p
IS in movie mode the best there is and usable for ANY lens depends on lens depends on lens
WiFi yes, smartphone remote control optional extra optional extra
LCD screen tiltable, touch AF/shutter fixed, no touch fixed, no touch
weight incl. battery 497g 765g 820g w/o battery
size 130.4 x 93.5 x 63.1mm 136 x 107 x 76 mm (5.35 x 4.21 x 2.99“) 148 x 111 x 74 mm (5.8 x 4.3 x 2.8”)

high optical quality standard 24-80mm zoom

Olympus E-M1 Nikon 7100 Canon 7D
lens 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro DX Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8G EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM
focal range 24-80mm 26-82mm 27-88mm
aperture f/2.8 f/2.8 f/2.8
IS 4 stops none 2-3 stops
DOF control at full frame equiv. f/5.6 f/4 f/4
weatherproof almost waterproof ? no
weight 382g 755g 645g
length 84mm 111mm 111mm
filter 62mm 77mm 72mm
close focus 0.2m 1:3 macro 0.36m 0.35m
AF movie silent, fast CDAF/PDAF quiet, PDAF only USM quiet, PDAF only
lens function button yes no no
image quality superb ? ?
price $US999 $US1399 $US879

high optical quality macro lens

Olympus E-M1 Nikon 7100 Canon 7D
lens 60mm f/2.8 DX Nikkor 85mm f/3.5G EF-S 60mm f/2.8
focal length in 35mm terms 120mm 128mm 96mm
aperture f/2.8 f/3.5 f/2.8
IS 4 stops ?2-3stops none
DOF control at full frame equiv. f/5.6 f/5.3 f/4.5 but shorter focal length
weatherproof almost waterproof no no
weight 185g 355g 335g
length 82mm 99mm 70mm
filter 46mm 52mm mm
close focus 0.19m 1:1 macro 0.29m 1:1 macro 0.2m 1:1
AF movie silent, fast CDAF/PDAF quiet, PDAF only USM quiet, PDAF only
focus limiter switch yes no no
image quality superb v.good good
price $US449 $US635 $US419

autofocus prime lenses

Olympus E-M1 Nikon 7100 Canon 7D
all have 4-stop IS as in-camera only some IS, must use full frame primes only some IS, must use full frame primes
all except ZD are fast CDAF compatible for fast, accurate, eye focus none are fast CDAF compatible none are fast CDAF compatible
21mm 14mm f/2.8 FX ($1700) 14mm f/2.8L EF ($2400)
24mm 12mm f/2.0 ($799) none none
28mm 14mm f/2.5 pancake none none
30mm 20mm f/2.8 FX ($675) 20mm f/2.8 EF ($489)
35mm 17mm f/1.8 ($499) 24mm f/1.4 FX ($2000)
40mm 20mm f/1.7 pancake ($340) 28mm f/1.8 ($700) 24mm f/1.4L EF ($1749), f/2.8 IS ($549)
50mm 25mm f/1.4 35mm f/1.8 DX ($200) Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EF ($499)
60mm 30mm f/2.8 ($199) 40mm f/2.8 DX micro ($280) 35mm f/1.4L EF ($1479), f/2 IS EF (549)
70mm ZD 35mm f/3.5 macro ($229)
85mm 42mm f/1.2 (coming) 50mm f/1.4 ($470),f/1.8 ($220) 50mm f/1.2L ($1619),f1/4 ($339),f/1.8 ($110)
90mm 45mm f/1.8 ($349), Leica 45mm f/2.8 OIS macro ($898) 60mm f/2.8 micro FX ($550) 60mm f/2.8 macro
100mm ZD 50mm f/2.0 macro ($449)
120mm 60mm f/2.8 macro ($449) 85mm f/1.4 FX ($1650), f/1.8 ($500) 75mm - none
135mm none none 85mm f/1.2L ($2199), f/1.8 ($359)
150mm 75mm f/1.8 ($849) 105mm f/2.8 micro FX ($899) 100mm f/2 EF ($449), f/2.8L macro ($1049)
200mm none yet 135mm f/2.0 FX ($1299) 135mm f/2.0L ($1089)
300mm 150mm f/2.8 (coming) or 150mm f/2.0 ZD ($2499) 200mm f/2.0 VR ($5499) FX 200mm f/2.0 IS ($5999), f/2.8L EF ($819)
450mm 200mm f/2.8 (coming 2014?) 300mm f/2.8 VR ($5799), f/4 ($1369) 300mm f/2.8L IS ($6799), f/4L IS $1449)
600mm 300mm f/4 (coming 2014?) or 300mm f/2.8 ZD ($6999) 400mm f/2.8 VR ($8999) FX 400mm f/2.8 IS ($10999) or 5.6 ($1339) FX

image stabilised autofocus macro lens

Olympus E-M1 Nikon Canon EF-S
via in-camera IS VR lenses IS lenses
70mm ZD 35mm f/3.5 ($229)
90mm Leica 45mm f/2.8 OIS ($898)
100mm ZD 50mm f/2.0 ($449)
120mm mZD 60mm f/2.8 ($449/185g) 85mm f/3.5 DX ($635/355g)
150mm 105mm f/2.8 FX ($985/720g) 100mm f/2.8L ($1049/625g)

Basic enthusiast/pro camera kits

Olympus E-M1 kit

Nikon 7100 kit

Canon 7D kit