Sony NEX-7 vs Olympus OM-D E-M5 Low ISO Comparison (ISO 200-800)
Let’s take a look at how the Sony NEX-7 compares to the Olympus OM-D E-M5 with a Micro Four Thirds sensor. The base ISO of the Olympus sensor starts at ISO 200 and it can go all the way to ISO 25,600. Here is a comparison of both cameras at ISO 200 (Left: Sony NEX-7, Right: Olympus OM-D E-M5):
Both cameras look very clean at ISO 200, with no difference in noise characteristics. However, the image from the NEX-7 appears sharper, thanks to the advantages of downsampling.
The same is true for ISO 400.
As we increase ISO to 800, we start to see more noise on both cameras. But I can’t say that one is better than the other – despite a smaller sensor size, the OM-D has impressive image quality.
Sony NEX-7 vs Olympus OM-D E-M5 High ISO Comparison (ISO 1600-25600)
Here is ISO 1600 comparison:
At ISO 1600, sharpness aside, there is still very little difference between the two.
Both cameras add plenty of noise at ISO 3200, but the Sony NEX-7 seems to look a tad better due to smaller grain.
Pushing ISO to extreme (for APS-C) values obviously results in significant amount of noise – ISO 6400 is already above my comfort level. Once again, the NEX-7 looks better and sharper due to smaller noise patterns / grain and has the down-sampling advantage.
At ISO 12800, there is too much noise on both cameras. However, you can still see some details on the NEX-7 image, while the OM-D E-M5 loses most of the fine details.
Sony NEX-7 vs Olympus OM-D E-M5 Summary
As you can see from the above crops, the Sony NEX-7 and the Olympus OM-D E-M5 generally have similar noise characteristics at lower ISO levels. However, the NEX-7 has the upper hand due to its high resolution and down-sampling advantage. This is especially true for very high ISOs, where the NEX-7 shows better details and smaller grain. When looking at image crops, you might have noticed that images from the Olympus OM-D E-M5 look slightly darker. This is not due to a difference in exposure – if you look at EXIF data from all images, you will see that there were shot at exactly the same aperture, shutter speed and ISO. After testing a number of mirrorless cameras, I came to the conclusion that the OM-D has a tendency to slightly underexpose by about 1/3 to 2/3 of a stop (it was the only camera that did it). This means that ISO 200 is not really ISO 200, but something like ISO 160.
Sony NEX-7 vs Sony NEX-6 Low ISO Comparison (ISO 100-800)
Let’s take a look at how the NEX-7 compares to its smaller brother, the NEX-6 with a 16 MP sensor. Here is a comparison of base ISO 100 on both cameras:
While both cameras produce impressive, noise-free images at ISO 100, the Sony NEX-7 produces slightly sharper images. Once again, this is due to downsampling – the NEX-7 has a lot more resolution to play with.
ISO 200 again looks impressive on both cameras.
We start seeing some noise at ISO 400, but there is no clear winner here – both cameras produce about the same amount of noise at the same resolution.
The same goes for ISO 800.
Sony NEX-7 vs Sony NEX-6 High ISO Comparison (ISO 1600-25600)
Let’s take a look at ISO 1600:
The NEX-6 shows a little bigger grain than the NEX-7 due to lower resolution.
Which we see again at ISO 3200. The NEX-7 seems to lose a little bit in the shadows.
Despite the bigger grain on the NEX-6, it seems to retain the shadow details and colors a little better than the NEX-7 at ISO 6400.
This is even more noticeable at ISO 12800 – the shadows on the NEX-7 added quite a bit of artificial red.
Lastly, let’s take a look at both sensors at their highest ISO values. The NEX-6 maxes out at ISO 25600, while the NEX-7 maxes out at ISO 16000:
Both images look terrible, but the NEX-7 certainly has better details, despite the added red color all over the image.
Sony NEX-7 vs Sony NEX-6 Summary
When comparing images between sensors with different resolution, the only proper way to do it is to downsample images. Otherwise, sensors with bigger pixels (lower resolution) are always going to show better noise characteristics (assuming both are of similar generation/technology). In this case, the NEX-6 has a 16.1 MP sensor, while the NEX-7 has a very high resolution 24.3 MP sensor. An 8.2 MP difference can play a huge role when comparing sensors. As I have pointed out before, the NEX-7 has the advantage of a high resolution sensor and its images retain excellent detail even at very high ISO values. It certainly does lose to the NEX-6 in the shadows at extremely high ISOs, resulting in visible artificial colors in the shadow areas, but the amount of detail is still higher. Overall, it would be wrong to say that one is better than the other, since both have their uses. For landscape photography, the NEX-7 would be the obvious choice, while for everything else, the NEX-6 also produces superb images at lower resolution (only considering the sensors). Now ask yourself this question – do you really need 24 MP for your photography? If the answer is yes, then the NEX-7 is the way to go. Otherwise, the NEX-6 has a lot to offer both in features and in comparable image quality.
Sony NEX-7 vs Canon EOS M (ISO 100-800)
The Canon EOS M mirrorless camera has the same APS-C size sensor from the Canon EOS 650D DSLR. Physically, the sensor on the EOS M is a little smaller than the one on the NEX-6 (1.6x vs 1.5x crop factor), as shown on the first page of this review.
Here is ISO 100 on both:
As usual, there is no difference in noise characteristics at such low ISO values. A little bit more detail on the NEX-7 side again.
The same goes for ISO 200 – both cameras show no noise, even in the shadow area.
At ISO 400 we start to see some grain on both cameras, but the NEX-7 seems a tad cleaner.
ISO 800 looks great on both, with the NEX-7 still leading with cleaner image due to smaller grain.
Sony NEX-7 vs Canon EOS M High ISO Comparison (ISO 1600-12800)
Let’s take a look at what happens at high ISO levels:
Boosted to ISO 1600, the Canon EOS M seems to produce a little more noise.
Not much change at ISO 3200.
Both are comparable, with the NEX-7 retaining the details a little better.
And at the maximum ISO of 12800, both look really bad.
Sony NEX-7 vs Canon EOS M Summary
In this case, the NEX-7 seems to perform at about the same level as the EOS M in terms of noise. Details are still retained a tad better, thanks to higher resolution of the NEX-7 images. But this is only an image quality comparison – the EOS M is not on the same league in terms of features, lens selection and other criteria.