Sigma fp vs Olympus OM-D E-M5

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Sigma fp and the Olympus OM-D E-M5, 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.

Sigma fp was introduced in July 2019 and Olympus OM-D E-M5 was introduced in April 2012. 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 Sigma fp over Olympus OM-D E-M5.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Olympus OM-D E-M5 over Sigma fp.

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

Sigma fp has a 3.15" Fixed screen with 2,100k dot resolution and Olympus OM-D E-M5 has a 3.0" Tilting screen with 610k dot resolution. Tilting screen makes Olympus OM-D E-M5 very useful for photography purposes but not so useful for video shooting. Both models feature touchscreen which has advantages such as easy menu navigation, intuitive controls, quick setting adjustment and most importantly a Touch-to-Focus functionality 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.

Electronic Viewfinder on Olympus OM-D E-M5

Olympus OM-D E-M5 has a built-in Electronic viewfinder with 1,440k dot resolution. It has a 100% coverage and 1.15x (0.58x 35mm equivalent) magnification. There is no built-in or optional viewfinder available on Sigma fp.

Sigma fp features a 24.6 megapixel Full Frame BSI-CMOS sensor with dimensions of 35.9 x 23.9 mm and a total area of 858 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 25,600 and expands to 6 - 102,400 in boosted mode. Olympus OM-D E-M5 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 and expands to 100 - 25,600 in boosted mode.

Sigma fp has BSI-CMOS sensor, short for Backside Illuminated Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor sensor. In traditional CMOS sensors, the wiring and circuitry are located on the front side of the sensor, which can block some of the incoming light. BSI technology flips this design by placing the photosensitive elements (pixels) on the backside of the sensor, allowing more light to reach the pixels. This significantly enhances light sensitivity and improves low-light performance. BSI-CMOS sensors are particularly effective in low-light conditions, as they can capture more light, resulting in brighter and less noisy images. This makes them well-suited for indoor and night photography. BSI-CMOS sensors deliver a higher SNR and reduced cross-talk.

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

Sigma fp can take pictures up to 6000 x 4000 resolution. Olympus OM-D E-M5 is equipped with TruePic VI processor and can take pictures up to 4608 x 3456 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4608 x 3072, 4608 x 2592, 3456 x 3456, 2592 x 3456, 3200 x 2400, 3200 x 1800, 3216 x 2144, 2400 x 2400, 1824 x 2432, 2560 x1920, 2560 x 1440, 2544 x 1696, 1920 x 1920, 1440 x 1920, 1920 x 1440, 1920 x 1080, 1920 x 1280, 1440 x 1440, 1104 x 1472, 1600 x 1200, 1536 x 864, 1584 x 1056, 1216 x 1216, 864 x 1152, 1280 x 960, 1280 x 720, 1296 x 864, 960 x 960, 720 x 960, 1024 x 768, 1024 x 576, 1008 x 672, 768 x 768, 576 x 768, 640 x 480, 640 x 360, 624 x 416, 480 x 480, 384 x 512 with 1:1, 4:3, 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios.

Lens Mount

Sigma fp has Leica L lens mount and Olympus OM-D E-M5 has Micro Four Thirds lens mount. Due to Full Frame sensor in Sigma fp its crop factor is equal to 1x, this means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length. Due to Micro Four Thirds sensor in Olympus OM-D E-M5 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-M5

Olympus OM-D E-M5 has a built-in 5-Axis 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.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB inputs for data transfer. Sigma fp has a Micro HDMI and Olympus OM-D E-M5 has a Mini type D HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Sigma fp comes with BP-51 battery pack and Olympus OM-D E-M5 comes with BLN-1 battery pack with battery life of 360 shots.

External Storage Slots

Sigma fp has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II) card slot. Olympus OM-D E-M5 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC card slot.

Shutter

Sigma fp has Electronic shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/8000 sec on Sigma fp, and up to 1/4000 sec on Olympus OM-D E-M5. Sigma fp can shoot continuously up to 18.0 fps. Olympus OM-D E-M5 can shoot continuously up to 9.0 fps.

Focusing

Sigma fp has 49 focusing points and Olympus OM-D E-M5 has 35 focusing points. Sigma fp has detection range from -5 to +18 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Sigma fp ranges from -5 to +18 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range on Sigma fp and ±3 EV range on Olympus OM-D E-M5. You can also do exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Sigma fp and exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Olympus OM-D E-M5.

Flash

Cameras have no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected to both of them via Hot Shoe. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/30 sec on Sigma fp and 1/250 sec on Olympus OM-D E-M5.

Sigma fp body has dimensions of 113 x 70 x 45 mm (4.45 x 2.76 x 1.77") and Olympus OM-D E-M5 body has dimensions of 122 x 89 x 43 mm (4.8 x 3.5 x 1.69"). Sigma fp weighs 422 g (0.93 lb / 14.89 oz) and Olympus OM-D E-M5 weighs 425 g (0.94 lb / 14.99 oz).

Sigma fp

Olympus OM-D E-M5

113 mm

70 mm

122 mm

89 mm

70 mm

89 mm

45 mm

43 mm