Sony Alpha 7R vs Olympus E-520

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Sony Alpha 7R and the Olympus E-520, 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 7R was introduced in February 2014 and Olympus E-520 was introduced in August 2008. 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 7R over Olympus E-520.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Olympus E-520 over Sony Alpha 7R.

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 7R has a 3.0" Tilting screen with 1,230k dot resolution and Olympus E-520 has a 2.7" Fixed screen with 230k dot resolution. Tilting screen makes Sony Alpha 7R very useful for photography purposes but not so useful for video shooting.

Viewfinder

Sony Alpha 7R has a built-in Electronic viewfinder with 2,359k dot resolution and Olympus E-520 has a built-in Optical (pentamirror) viewfinder. Sony Alpha 7R has 100% coverage with 0.71x magnification and Olympus E-520 has 95% coverage with 0.92x (0.46x 35mm equivalent) magnification.

Sony Alpha 7R features a 36 megapixel Full Frame CMOS sensor with dimensions of 35.9 x 24 mm and a total area of 861.6 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 25,600. Olympus E-520 features a 10.0 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 100 - 1,600.

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 7R is equipped with BIONZ X processor and can take pictures up to 7360 x 4912 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 7360 x 4144, 4800 x 3200, 4800 x 2704, 3680 x 2072, 2400 x 1600 with 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios. Olympus E-520 can take pictures up to 3648 x 2736 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 3200 x 2400, 2560 x 1920, 1600 x 1200, 1280 x 960, 1024 x 768, 640 x 480 with 4:3 aspect ratios.

Lens Mount

Sony Alpha 7R has Sony E lens mount and Olympus E-520 has Four Thirds lens mount. Due to Full Frame sensor in Sony Alpha 7R 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 E-520 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 Sony Alpha 7R

There is no optical low-pass filter (OLPF), also known as an anti-aliasing filter, in front of the sensor on Sony Alpha 7R. 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 E-520

Olympus E-520 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 7R

Sony Alpha 7R 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.

NFC on Sony Alpha 7R

Sony Alpha 7R 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. connector for video signal output.

Battery

Sony Alpha 7R comes with NP-FW50 battery pack with battery life of 340 shots.

External Storage Slots

Sony Alpha 7R has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Duo/Pro Duo/Pro-HG Duo card slot. Olympus E-520 has a single Compact Flash (Type I/II), xD Picture Card card slot.

Shutter

Sony Alpha 7R has Electronically controlled Vertical-traverse Focal-plane shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/8000 sec on Sony Alpha 7R, and up to 1/4000 sec on Olympus E-520. Sony Alpha 7R can shoot continuously up to 4.0 fps. Olympus E-520 can shoot continuously up to 3.5 fps.

Flash

Olympus E-520 has a built-in flash with maximum range of 12.00 m at ISO 100 and also accepts external flash which can be connected via Hot Shoe. Sony Alpha 7R has no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/160 sec on Sony Alpha 7R and 1/180 sec on Olympus E-520.

Sony Alpha 7R body has dimensions of 127 x 94 x 48 mm (5 x 3.7 x 1.89") and Olympus E-520 body has dimensions of 136 x 92 x 68 mm (5.35 x 3.62 x 2.68"). Sony Alpha 7R weighs 465 g (1.03 lb / 16.40 oz) and Olympus E-520 weighs 552 g (1.22 lb / 19.47 oz).

Sony Alpha 7R

Olympus E-520

127 mm

94 mm

136 mm

92 mm

94 mm

92 mm

48 mm

68 mm