Sigma SD1 vs Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Sigma SD1 and the Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III, 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 SD1 was introduced in September 2010 and Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III was introduced in October 2019. 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 SD1 over Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III over Sigma SD1.

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 SD1 and Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III have 3.0" screens with 460k dot and 1,040k dot resolutions respectively. Sigma SD1 has a Fixed screen Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III has a Fully Articulated screen which makes it selfie and vlogger friendly and generally very useful for video shooting. Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III 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-M5 Mark III) 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

Sigma SD1 has a built-in Optical (pentaprism) viewfinderOlympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III has a built-in Electronic (OLED) viewfinder with 2,360k dot resolution. Sigma SD1 has 96% coverage with 0.95x (0.63x 35mm equivalent) magnification and Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III has 100% coverage with 1.37x (0.68x 35mm equivalent) magnification.

Sigma SD1 features a 15 megapixel APS-C CMOS (Foveon X3) sensor with dimensions of 24 x 16 mm and a total area of 384 mm². Its native ISO range is []. Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III features a 20.4 megapixel Micro Four Thirds MOS sensor with dimensions of 17.4 x 13 mm and a total area of 169 mm². Its native ISO range is 200 - 25,600 and expands to 64 - 25,600 in boosted mode.

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 SD1 is equipped with Dual TRUE II processor and can take pictures up to 4800 x 3200 resolution. Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III is equipped with TruePic VIII processor and can take pictures up to 5184 x 3888 resolution.

Lens Mount

Sigma SD1 has Sigma SA lens mount and Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III has Micro Four Thirds lens mount. Due to APS-C sensor in Sigma SD1 its crop factor is equal to 1.5x, this means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 1.5. Due to Micro Four Thirds sensor in Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III 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.

No Low-Pass Filter on Sigma SD1

There is no optical low-pass filter (OLPF), also known as an anti-aliasing filter, in front of the sensor on Sigma SD1. This results in a slightly sharper image but may also introduce moiré patterns and aliasing artifacts when photographing subjects with fine, repetitive patterns or details.

In-Body Image Stabilization on Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III has a built-in 5-Axis Sensor Shift in-body image stabilization (IBIS) with 6.5 stops of compensation. 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-M5 Mark III

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III has a built-in Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n, 2.4 GHz) 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.

Bluetooth on Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III has a built-in Bluetooth which lets you to connect the camera to a smartphone or a dedicated remote control device. This allows you to remotely trigger the camera, adjust settings and controls remotely through a paired mobile app. While Wi-Fi is generally faster for transferring larger files, Bluetooth can be used for small, selective transfers, it can provide real-time information about your camera's battery status, memory card capacity, and other key settings directly on your paired smartphone or smartwatch.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in Bluetooth.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) inputs for data transfer. connector for video signal output.

Battery

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III comes with BLS-50 battery pack with battery life of 310 shots.

External Storage Slots

Sigma SD1 has a single Compact Flash (Type I, UDMA compatible) card slot. Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II) card slot.

Shutter

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III has Electronic shutter and Mechanical Focal Plane shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/2000 sec on Sigma SD1, and up to 1/32000 sec with electronic shutter and up to 1/8000 sec with mechanical shutter on Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III. Sigma SD1 can shoot continuously up to 5.0 fps. Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III can shoot continuously up to 30.0 fps with electronic shutter and up to 10.0 fps with mechanical shutter.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III ranges from -2 to +20 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range on Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III. You can also do and manual exposure adjustment on Sigma SD1 and exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III.

Flash

Sigma SD1 has a built-in flash and also accepts external flash which can be connected via Hot Shoe. Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III has no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected via Hot Shoe. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/250 sec on Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III.

Sigma SD1 body has dimensions of 146 x 113 x 80 mm (5.75 x 4.45 x 3.15") and Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III body has dimensions of 125 x 85 x 50 mm (4.92 x 3.35 x 1.97"). Sigma SD1 weighs 790 g (1.74 lb / 27.87 oz) and Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III weighs 414 g (0.91 lb / 14.60 oz).

Sigma SD1

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III

146 mm

113 mm

125 mm

85 mm

113 mm

85 mm