Sony Alpha 5100 vs Olympus PEN E-PM2

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Sony Alpha 5100 and the Olympus PEN E-PM2, 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.

Sony Alpha 5100 was introduced in August 2014 and Olympus PEN E-PM2 was introduced in May 2013. 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 Sony Alpha 5100 over Olympus PEN E-PM2.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Olympus PEN E-PM2 over Sony Alpha 5100.

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

Sony Alpha 5100 and Olympus PEN E-PM2 have 3.0" screens with 922k dot and 460k dot resolutions respectively. Sony Alpha 5100 has a Tilting screen which makes it very useful for photography purposes but not so useful for video shooting. Olympus PEN E-PM2 has a Fixed screen 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.

Camera does not have a built-in viewfinder but an optional electronic viewfinder can be attached on Olympus PEN E-PM2.

Sony Alpha 5100 features a 24.3 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 23.5 x 15.6 mm and a total area of 366.6 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 25,600. Olympus PEN E-PM2 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

Sony Alpha 5100 is equipped with BIONZ X processor and can take pictures up to 6000 x 4000 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 6000 x 3376, 4240 x 2832, 4240 x 2400, 3008 x 2000, 3008 x 1688 with 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios. Olympus PEN E-PM2 can take pictures up to 4608 x 3456 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 2560 x 1920, 1024 x 768 with 4:3, 16:9 aspect ratios.

Lens Mount

Sony Alpha 5100 has Sony E lens mount and Olympus PEN E-PM2 has Micro Four Thirds lens mount. Due to APS-C sensor in Sony Alpha 5100 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 PEN E-PM2 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 PEN E-PM2

Olympus PEN E-PM2 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 Sony Alpha 5100

Sony Alpha 5100 has a built-in Wi-Fi (802.11b/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.

NFC on Sony Alpha 5100

Sony Alpha 5100 has Near Field Communication (NFC) technology which simplifies the process of pairing it with other NFC-enabled devices like smartphones or tablets. It allows to quickly transfer photos and videos or remotely control the camera from compatible device. NFC can also be used for authentication and security purposes. It can verify your identity before accessing certain features or transferring sensitive data. It can be used with NFC-enabled accessories as well, such as lenses, flashes and GPS devices.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) inputs for data transfer. Sony Alpha 5100 has a Micro HDMI and Olympus PEN E-PM2 has a Mini type C HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Sony Alpha 5100 comes with NP-FW50 battery pack with battery life of 400 shots and Olympus PEN E-PM2 comes with BLS-5 battery pack with battery life of 360 shots.

External Storage Slots

Sony Alpha 5100 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Duo Hybrid (UHS-I) card slot. Olympus PEN E-PM2 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC card slot.

Shutter

Sony Alpha 5100 has Electronically controlled Vertical-traverse Focal-plane shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/4000 sec on Sony Alpha 5100, and up to 1/4000 sec on Olympus PEN E-PM2. Sony Alpha 5100 can shoot continuously up to 6.0 fps. Olympus PEN E-PM2 can shoot continuously up to 8.0 fps.

Focusing

Sony Alpha 5100 has Fast Hybrid AF (Phase-detection / Contrast-detection) system with 179 focusing points and Olympus PEN E-PM2 has 35 focusing points. Sony Alpha 5100 has detection range from -1 to +20 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Sony Alpha 5100 ranges from -1 to +20 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±3 EV range on Sony Alpha 5100 and ±3 EV range on Olympus PEN E-PM2. You can also do exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Sony Alpha 5100 and exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Olympus PEN E-PM2.

Flash

Sony Alpha 5100 has a built-in flash with maximum range of 4.00 m at ISO 100. Olympus PEN E-PM2 has no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected via Hot Shoe or Wireless connection. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/160 sec on Sony Alpha 5100 and 1/250 sec on Olympus PEN E-PM2.

Sony Alpha 5100 body has dimensions of 110 x 63 x 36 mm (4.33 x 2.48 x 1.42") and Olympus PEN E-PM2 body has dimensions of 110 x 64 x 34 mm (4.33 x 2.52 x 1.34"). Sony Alpha 5100 weighs 283 g (0.62 lb / 9.98 oz) and Olympus PEN E-PM2 weighs 269 g (0.59 lb / 9.49 oz).

Sony Alpha 5100

Olympus PEN E-PM2

110 mm

63 mm

110 mm

64 mm

63 mm

64 mm

36 mm

34 mm