Canon EOS 7D vs Olympus OM-D E-M10

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Canon EOS 7D and the Olympus OM-D E-M10, highlighting the advantages of each over the other, discussing their pros and cons, shared strengths and weaknesses, and providing a rating based on their available features and specifications to assist you in choosing the one that best suits your needs.

Canon EOS 7D was introduced in November 2009 and Olympus OM-D E-M10 was introduced in March 2014. Let us first list highlights of the models.

Now that we've looked at the most essential specifications and gained a basic understanding of these cameras, we can delve into more details and see the differences between them.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Canon EOS 7D over Olympus OM-D E-M10.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Olympus OM-D E-M10 over Canon EOS 7D.

We already listed pros and cons of each model. However, you may also find useful to look at their common strengths and weaknesses shown side-by-side.

Screen

Canon EOS 7D and Olympus OM-D E-M10 have 3.0" screens with 920k dot and 1,037k dot resolutions respectively. Canon EOS 7D has a Fixed screen Olympus OM-D E-M10 has a Tilting screen which makes it very useful for photography purposes but not so useful for video shooting. Olympus OM-D E-M10 also features touchscreen which has advantages such as easy menu navigation, intuitive controls, quick setting adjustment and most importantly a Touch-to-Focus functionality (available only on Olympus OM-D E-M10) allowing users to select a specific point on the screen where they want the camera to focus. This feature can be helpful for achieving precise focus in both photo and video recording.

Viewfinder

Canon EOS 7D has a built-in Optical (pentaprism) viewfinderOlympus OM-D E-M10 has a built-in Electronic viewfinder with 1,440k dot resolution. They both have 100% coverage.

Canon EOS 7D features a 18.0 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 22.3 x 14.9 mm and a total area of 332.3 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 6,400 and expands to 100 - 12,800 in boosted mode. Olympus OM-D E-M10 features a 16.1 megapixel Micro Four Thirds CMOS sensor with dimensions of 17.3 x 13 mm and a total area of 169 mm². Its native ISO range is 200 - 25,600.

Here is a sensor size comparison chart where you can see how different sensors compare with each other:

Sensor size chart

	Sensor	Dimensions	Area	Aspect Ratio	Crop Factor
	Medium Format	44 x 33 mm	1452 mm2	4:3	0.79x
	Full Frame	36 x 24 mm	864 mm2	3:2	1x
	APS-H	27 x 18 mm	486 mm2	3:2	1.3x
	APS-C	23.6 x 15.6 mm	368.2 mm2	3:2	1.5x
	APS-C (Canon)	22.3 x 14.9 mm	332.3 mm2	3:2	1.6x
	Micro Four Thirds	17.4 x 13 mm	226.2 mm2	4:3	2x
	1-inch	13.2 x 8.8 mm	116.2 mm2	3:2	2.7x
	1/1.7-inch	7.44 x 5.58 mm	41.5 mm2	4:3	4.7x
	1/2.3-inch	6.17 x 4.55 mm	28.1 mm2	4:3	5.6x

Canon EOS 7D is equipped with Dual DIGIC 4 processor and can take pictures up to 5184 x 3456 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 5184 x 3456, 3888 x 2592, 3456 x 2304, 2592 x 1728 with 3:2 aspect ratios. Olympus OM-D E-M10 is equipped with TruePic VII processor and can take pictures up to 4608 x 3456 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 3200 x 2400, 1280 x 960 with 1:1, 4:3, 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios.

Lens Mount

Canon EOS 7D has Canon EF/EF-S lens mount and Olympus OM-D E-M10 has Micro Four Thirds lens mount. Due to APS-C sensor in Canon EOS 7D its crop factor is equal to 1.6x, this means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 1.6. Due to Micro Four Thirds sensor in Olympus OM-D E-M10 its crop factor is equal to 2x, this means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 2.

In-Body Image Stabilization on Olympus OM-D E-M10

Olympus OM-D E-M10 has a built-in Sensor Shift in-body image stabilization (IBIS). This means that you are still getting vibration reduction when camera is paired with non-image stabilizied lenses. It also works with lenses with optical image stabilization and in combination can achieve even better compensation.

Built-in Wi-Fi on Olympus OM-D E-M10

Olympus OM-D E-M10 has a built-in Wi-Fi which allows to easily transfer photos and videos from the camera to other Wi-Fi-enabled devices, such as smartphones, tablets, printers, or computers. This eliminates the need for cables and allows for quick and convenient media sharing and social media integration. It gives you the ability to control your camera remotely using a smartphone or tablet. This is particularly useful for taking self-portraits, group shots, or capturing images in challenging conditions without having to touch the camera. Firmware updates can also be downloaded and installed wirelessly.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in WiFi.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) inputs for data transfer. Canon EOS 7D has a Mini HDMI and Olympus OM-D E-M10 has a Micro HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Canon EOS 7D comes with LP-E6 battery pack with battery life of 800 shots and Olympus OM-D E-M10 comes with BLS-5 battery pack with battery life of 320 shots.

External Storage Slots

Canon EOS 7D has a single CompactFlash (Type I/II, UDMA 7) card slot. Olympus OM-D E-M10 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC card slot.

Shutter

Canon EOS 7D has Electronic shutter and Mechanical Focal Plane shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/8000 sec on Canon EOS 7D, and up to 1/4000 sec on Olympus OM-D E-M10. Cameras can shoot continuously up to 8.0 fps.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Canon EOS 7D ranges from +1 to +20 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range on Canon EOS 7D and ±5 EV range on Olympus OM-D E-M10. You can also do exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Canon EOS 7D and exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Olympus OM-D E-M10.

Flash

Cameras have built-in flash with maximum range of 12.00 m on Canon EOS 7D and 5.80 m at ISO 100 on Olympus OM-D E-M10. They also accept external flash which can be connected via Hot Shoe or PC Terminal or Wireless Speedlite EX to Canon EOS 7D and via Hot Shoe or PC Terminal or Proprietary or Wireless connection to Olympus OM-D E-M10. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/250 sec on both cameras.

Canon EOS 7D body has dimensions of 148 x 111 x 74 mm (5.83 x 4.37 x 2.91") and Olympus OM-D E-M10 body has dimensions of 119 x 82 x 46 mm (4.69 x 3.24 x 1.81"). Canon EOS 7D weighs 860 g (1.90 lb / 30.34 oz) and Olympus OM-D E-M10 weighs 396 g (0.87 lb / 13.97 oz).

Canon EOS 7D

Olympus OM-D E-M10

148 mm

111 mm

119 mm

82 mm

111 mm

82 mm

74 mm

46 mm