Olympus Pen E PL7 vs Sony A6000

This time, we have two entry-level mirrorless cameras that are both lightweight and very portable, Olympus Pen E PL7 vs Sony A6000. However, they have their differences. Olympus Pen E PL7 is a Micro Four Thirds camera meant for bloggers and content creators, featuring built-in stabilization and enhanced ease of use. Meanwhile, Sony A6000 is an APS-C camera that will attract photography enthusiasts with its myriad of advanced features.

Continue reading below to learn further about:

  • The features and capabilities of Olympus Pen E PL7 vs Sony A6000
  • The comparison of their design and ease of use
  • Which one between Olympus Pen E PL7 and Sony A6000 has better image quality
  • Which one between Olympus Pen E PL7 and Sony A600 that’s better for recording videos
  • The comparison of Olympus Pen E PL7’s Art Filters and Sony A6000’s Creative Styles
  • Whether you should get Olympus Pen E PL7 or Sony A6000

Olympus Pen E PL7 vs Sony A6000: Features

It is obvious from the feature set that Olympus Pen E PL7 is focused on practicality, while still offering decent image quality. In its core is a 16MP Micro Four-Thirds image sensor, which is supported by 3-axis in-body image stabilization. This camera has a decent ISO range of 100 – 25600 and is capable of 8-fps continuous shooting. Read also: Olympus PEN E Pl7 vs OMD EM10.

The built-in Wi-Fi allows remote operation via the Olympus Image Share mobile app as well as photo and video transfer. Another notable feature is the Live Guide function, which can provide real-time adjustment hints when operating the camera in the manual mode. This is incredibly useful for beginners and casual users.

Olympus Pen E PL7 has a 3-inch tilting display screen with a touchscreen panel, which further underlines the camera’s target audience. There is no viewfinder, though there is a possibility to buy an electronic viewfinder add-on that can be placed on the hotshoe. Again, there is no built-in flash, but you can get a flash add-on and place it on the hotshoe. 1080p video recording is available at 30fps in the MOV format.

Sony A6000 is more about providing advanced capabilities through a compact body and a budget-friendly price. This camera has a bunch of amazing features, starting from the 24.3MP back-illuminated APS-C Exmor image sensor, which has an ISO range of 100 – 25600 (expandable to 51200), the powerful Bionz X processor, to the hybrid autofocus system that combines 25 contrast detection points and 179 phase detection points with 92% coverage for extremely fast and accurate performance.

Sony A6000 also has a 3-inch tilting display screen, though this is not a touchscreen panel. It also has a nice OLED electronic viewfinder, a built-in flash, and a multi-interface accessory shoe. It is capable of 11-fps continuous shooting with full resolution and autofocus, and is equipped with Wi-Fi and NFC for remote control and easy file transfer. For videos, Sony A600 can capture 1080p footage at 60, 50, 25, or 24 fps in AVCHD or MP4.

Olympus Pen E PL7Sony A6000
Product Dimensions4.5 x 2 x 2.6 inches
4.72 x 1.77 x 2.64 inches
Shipping Weight12 ounces
12.2 ounces
Best offerCheck priceCheck price

Olympus Pen E PL7 vs Sony A6000: Ease of Use

The predecessors of Olympus Pen E PL7 have gained reputation as the ultimate fashion cameras, so it is not surprising that Olympus Pen E PL7 comes with such a fashionable design. The camera is available in white-and-beige, vintage silver, and classic black color choices, all of which feature a beautiful faux leather finish. This finish feels nice to the touch, and the wide thumb grip surface helps to ensure a solid grip.

Olympus Pen E PL7 is really easy and intuitive to use. There is almost no learning curve for operating the camera. You can quickly access essential settings via the top dial, and the rest of the functions can be easily found in the menu screen. The Live Guide feature is particularly beneficial for beginners who want to achieve better shots by manually adjusting the settings. However, experienced users may be disappointed by the lack of more advanced features and viewfinder.

On the other hand, Sony A6000 is more like a crossing between a compact digital camera and a DSLR camera. It has a slim rectangle body, except on the front, where it has a large rubberized hand grip that enables solid, confident handling and allows the use of large zoom lenses. The grip also houses the battery compartment and memory card slot.

Photography enthusiasts will appreciate the viewfinder of Sony A6000. It is sharp, bright, and accurate. It even has an eye sensor that enables it to switch on automatically when you place your eye in front of it. A live histogram is also available in both the display screen and the viewfinder. In general, Sony A6000 can be more powerful and more versatile for working in different environmental conditions.

Olympus Pen E PL7 vs Sony A6000: Image Quality

Olympus Pen E PL7 has decent image quality, but it can’t beat Sony A6000. To begin with, it has a lower resolution, 16MP, so the results are generally not as detailed and are less resistant to zooming. Then, it has a smaller image sensor, so it won’t be as good as Sony A6000 in terms of low-light performance. Olympus Pen E PL7 also has a slight tendency to under-expose images.

However, we can see why Olympus Pen E PL7 is popular for fashion photography and other purposes that are not very demanding. The camera’s body is really light, easy to carry around, and the slightly under-exposed shots are great for maintaining fine details in garments and skins. The noise reduction is quite aggressive at higher ISO levels, but it works really well at up to ISO 6400. The built-in stabilization is quite useful for compensating minor shakes that may happen when shooting by hand.

Sony A6000 generally delivers superior image quality. It shoots at a higher resolution of 24MP. The images come out with better fine details and sharpness. The noise reduction performance is exceptional. You can use ISO 6400 with virtually zero noise, whilst ISO 12800 and ISO 25600 are not too bad when really needed. The low-light performance is great. The 30-second maximum shutter speed and the Bulb mode are particularly handy for night photography.

Sony A6000 also has a Dynamic Range Optimizer function, which is really effective for capturing more shadow and highlight details without adding noise. Meanwhile, the High Dynamic Range (HDR) mode works nicely for capturing everything in the frame with proper exposure. The only weakness of Sony A600 is the lack of built-in stabilization, but this issue can be addressed by using an optically stabilized lens or using a tripod.

Olympus Pen E PL7 vs Sony A6000: Effects

Worth noting is the built-in Art Filter picture effects of Olympus Pen E PL7. It comes with a total of 14 filters, including one Vintage filter that looks really nice. You can select an Art Filter quickly by just turning a dial, which is really convenient.

But there is also an option to capture using all filters at once when shooting an image. This way, you can compare the results and keep the ones you like. These filters can eliminate the need to do post-production editing by giving you artistic JPEG images right out of the camera.

Sony A600, similarly, comes with various effects in the form of 18 Creative Style presets and 13 Picture Effects. So, there are even more options here. But it lacks the ability to capture images in all effects at once. In addition, Sony A6000 also has the Sweep Panorama Mode, which allows you to take a wide panoramic image easily by panning the camera without having to keep the shutter button pressed. This feature works really well, and is able to compensate moving subjects accurately.

Olympus Pen E PL7 vs Sony A6000

- 16MP Live MOS Sensor
- 3-Axis In-Body Image Stabilization
- Built-In Wi-Fi
- 81 Point FAST AF with Small Target AF
- 24 MP APS-C CMOS sensor ISO 100-25600 and Focus Sensitivity Range: EV 0 to EV 20 (at ISO 100 equivalent with F28 lens attached)
- Operating temperature: 32-104°F / 0-40°C.Hybrid AF with 179-point focal plane phase-detection and 25 contrast detect points Built-in Wi-Fi and NFC
- Up to 11 FPS continuous shooting, Compatible OS:Windows Vista SP2-8, Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8, Windows 81, Mac OS X (v106-v109)
- 3-inch tilting LCD with 921,000 dots compatible with Sony E Mount lenses

Conclusion

All in all, both are good cameras suitable for different purposes. But, in the end, Sony A6000 comes out with a better overall score and thus is generally more recommended. Sony A6000 comes with a lot of advanced features. It offers a very fast and powerful autofocus, great low-light performance, and excellent image quality.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *