Sony Alpha7s II ILCE-7SM2 vs. Olympus PEN E-PL8

Camera Comparison, Reviews and Tests

In depth comparison and review of Sony Alpha7s II ILCE-7SM2 and Olympus PEN E-PL8. Compare design, sensors, proximity features, memory capacities and other important specifications and features to easily choose the right camera for you. Our goal is to help you uncover differences between the products and find the digital camera that will best fit your needs.

Camera Specifications Comparison

Sony Alpha7s II ILCE-7SM2 vs. Olympus PEN E-PL8 Comparison Chart
DESIGN AND DIMENSIONS Sony Alpha7s II ILCE-7SM2 Olympus PEN E-PL8
Product Type Digital camera - 4K - mirrorless system Digital camera - 1080p - mirrorless system
Lens Included Body only Body only
Height 9.57 cm 6.83 cm
Width 12.69 cm 11.71 cm
Depth 6.03 cm 3.84 cm
Weight 584 g 326 g
Weight Details - Camera body only: 326 g
Camera with battery and memory card: 374 g
Camera with battery, memory card and M.Zuiko 14-42mm II R lens: 491 g
Enclosure Colour Black Black | White
SENSOR Sony Alpha7s II ILCE-7SM2 Olympus PEN E-PL8
Sensor Resolution 12.2 Megapixel 16.1 Megapixel
Optical Sensor Type Exmor CMOS Live MOS
Total Pixels 12,400,000 pixels 17,200,000 pixels
Effective Sensor Resolution 12,200,000 pixels 16,100,000 pixels
Optical Sensor Size Full Frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) Four Thirds (17.3 x 13.0 mm)
Frame Rate (Max Resolution) 30 fps 30 fps
Sensor Dust Reduction Yes Yes
Sensor Features Dust Reduction (image sensor vibration), Anti-Dust coating Supersonic Wave Filter (SWF)
Image Stabiliser Optical (5-axis Steady Shot) Optical (3-axis image sensor shift mechanism)
Built-in Optical Image Stabiliser Yes Yes
PROCESSOR Sony Alpha7s II ILCE-7SM2 Olympus PEN E-PL8
Image Processor BIONZ X TruePic VII
LENS Sony Alpha7s II ILCE-7SM2 Olympus PEN E-PL8
Lens Mounting Type Sony E-mount Micro Four Thirds
FOCUSING Sony Alpha7s II ILCE-7SM2 Olympus PEN E-PL8
Auto Focus TTL contrast detection TTL contrast detection
Auto Focus Points (Zones) Qty 169 800
Auto Focus Features Focus Peaking function, Manual Focus Check Live View -
AE/AF Control Flex Focus Point, Face-priority AF, Subject-tracking AF, Eye detection AF Face-priority AF, Subject-tracking AF, Touch Area AF, Eye detection AF
Face Detection Face Recognition Eye Detect AF
VIEWFINDER Sony Alpha7s II ILCE-7SM2 Olympus PEN E-PL8
Viewfinder Type Electronic - OLED -
Viewfinder Colour Support Colour -
Viewfinder Diagonal Size 0.5" -
Viewfinder Resolution 2,359,296 pixels -
Optical Viewfinder Field Coverage 100% -
Optical Viewfinder Magnification 0.78x -
Optical Viewfinder Dioptric Correction Range -4 to +3 -
Features Viewfinder brightness control -
EXPOSURE & WHITE BALANCE Sony Alpha7s II ILCE-7SM2 Olympus PEN E-PL8
ISO (Max) 409600 25600
Native ISO - 100-25600
Extended ISO (Max) 409600 -
Extended ISO (Min) 50 -
Light Sensitivity ISO auto (100-12800), ISO 100-102400, ISO 50-409600 ISO 100-25600, ISO auto (100-25600)
Exposure Metering Multi-segment, centre-weighted, spot Multi-segment, centre-weighted, spot, highlight spot, shadow spot
Exposure Metering Zones 1200 324
Exposure Modes Programme, bulb, automatic, manual, aperture-priority, shutter-priority Programme, bulb, automatic, manual, aperture-priority, shutter-priority
Bracketing Modes Flash Exposure Bracketing Art Filter bracketing, focus bracketing, ISO sensitivity bracketing, white balance bracketing
Shooting Programs Landscape, portrait mode, action, macro, night portrait, night scene, sports mode, sunset, handheld twilight, anti-motion blur -
Special Effects Black & White, Sepia, Neutral, Vivid, sunset, soft focus, illustration, landscape, portrait, Water Colour, miniature, clear, deep, autumn leaves, Retro, HDR, partial colour, Toy camera, Posterisation, High contrast monochrome, Pop Colour, Rich-tone monochrome, Soft High-key, Night Scene, Lighting, Standard Sepia, Monotone, Neutral, Vivid, Custom Effect, soft focus, natural, Muted, Water Colour, Diorama, Cross Process, partial colour, Grainy Film, Light Tone, Pop Art, Pale & Light Colour, pin hole, Gentle Sepia, Dramatic Tone, Key Line, Vintage
White Balance Custom, automatic, presets Custom, automatic, presets
White Balance Presets Incandescent, cloudy, Flash, daylight, shade, fluorescent light (cool white), fluorescent light (daylight), fluorescent light (warm white), 2500K - 9900K, fluorescent light (daylight white) Incandescent, fluorescent, cloudy, sunlight, Flash, shade, Underwater, 2000K - 14000K
Shutter Type Mechanical electronically-controlled Electronic
Max Shutter Speed 1/8000 sec 1/4000 sec
Min Shutter Speed 30 sec 60 sec
Exposure Compensation ±5 EV range, in 1/2 or 1/3 EV steps ±5 EV range, in 1, 1/2 or 1/3 EV steps
Auto Exposure Bracketing 3 or 5 steps 7 steps in 1/3 or 2/3 EV steps
White Balance Bracketing Yes Yes
X-sync Speed 1/250sec 1/125sec, 1/4000 sec
Exposure Range EV -3-20 (ISO 100) EV -2-20 - wide lens (ISO 100)
DISPLAY Sony Alpha7s II ILCE-7SM2 Olympus PEN E-PL8
Type 3" LCD display 3" LCD display
Touch Screen - Yes
Display Format 1,228,800 pixels 1,037,000 pixels
Display Form Factor Folding Folding
Display Features Display brightness control Display brightness control, display colour control
FLASH Sony Alpha7s II ILCE-7SM2 Olympus PEN E-PL8
Camera Flash - Detachable flash
Guide Number (m / ISO 100) - 10
Flash Modes - Fill-in mode, rear curtain sync, slow synchro, auto mode, flash OFF mode, red-eye reduction
Red-Eye Reduction - Yes
Features - AF illuminator, flash +/- compensation, wireless off-camera control
External Flash Name - Olympus FL-LM1
VIDEOGRAPHY / CAMCORDER Sony Alpha7s II ILCE-7SM2 Olympus PEN E-PL8
Digital Video Format AVCHD, H.264, XAVC S, AVC AVI, MJPEG, H.264, MOV
Image Recording Format JPEG, RAW, RAW + JPEG JPEG, RAW, RAW + JPEG, MPO
Max Video Resolution 3840 x 2160 1920 x 1080
Surround Sound Dolby Digital AC-3 (2 channel) recording -
Microphone Operation Mode Stereo Stereo
Microphone Features - Wind noise reduction, sensitivity control
MEMORY Sony Alpha7s II ILCE-7SM2 Olympus PEN E-PL8
Memory Card Slot Memory Stick Micro (M2) card, Memory Stick PRO Duo card, SD card SD card
Supported Memory Cards SD Memory Card, Memory Stick PRO Duo, SDXC Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card, Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo, Memory Stick Micro Mark2, SDHC UHS-I Memory Card, SDXC UHS-I Memory Card SD Memory Card, SDXC Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card, SDHC UHS-I Memory Card, SDXC UHS-I Memory Card
Memory Card Included No No
Image Storage JPEG 4240 x 2832
JPEG 2768 x 1848
JPEG 2128 x 1416
JPEG 1376 x 920
JPEG 4240 x 2384
JPEG 2768 x 1560
JPEG 2128 x 1200
JPEG 1376 x 776
RAW 4608 x 3456 - 17 MB
JPEG 4608 x 3456 - 7.5 MB
JPEG 4608 x 3456 - 3.5 MB
JPEG 2560 x 1920 - 1.1 MB
JPEG 1280 x 960 - 0.4 MB
Video Capture XAVC S - 3840 x 2160 - 30 fps
XAVC S - 3840 x 2160 - 24Mbps
XAVC S - 1920 x 1080 - 60 fps
XAVC S - 1920 x 1080 - 30 fps
XAVC S - 1920 x 1080 - 24 fps
XAVC S - 1920 x 1080 - 120 fps
AVCHD - 1920 x 1080 - 60 fps
AVCHD - 1920 x 1080 - 24 fps
H.264 - 1920 x 1080 - 60 fps
H.264 - 1920 x 1080 - 30 fps
H.264 - 1280 x 720 - 30 fps
MOV - 1920 x 1080 p - 30 fps - 24Mbps
MOV - 1920 x 1080 p - 30 fps - 16Mbps
MOV - 1280 x 720 p - 30 fps - 12Mbps
MOV - 1280 x 720 p - 30 fps - 8Mbps
MJPEG - 1280 x 720 - 30 fps
MJPEG - 640 x 480 - 30 fps
BATTERY AND CHARGING Sony Alpha7s II ILCE-7SM2 Olympus PEN E-PL8
Battery Type Sony NP-FW50 Lithium Ion Olympus BLS-50 Lithium Ion
Details Sony NP-FW50 Li-ion rechargeable battery - 1080 mAh (included) Olympus BLS-50 Li-ion rechargeable battery (included)
Battery Life Photo shooting - 310 shots (EVF on)
Photo shooting - 370 shots (LCD Monitor on)
Photo shooting - 350 shots
Video recording - 2.5 hours
CONNECTIONS Sony Alpha7s II ILCE-7SM2 Olympus PEN E-PL8
Interface HDMI, USB 2.0, IEEE 802.11b/g/n, NFC (Near Field Communication) Composite video/audio, HDMI, USB 2.0, IEEE 802.11b/g/n
Connectivity Features Remote control via mobile devices, remote live view Remote control via mobile devices, remote live view
Print Standard DPOF support, Exif Print support, PRINT Image Matching DPOF support, Exif Print support, PRINT Image Matching
Flash Terminal Hot shoe Hot shoe
Connector Type USB 2.0
HDMI output (19 pin micro HDMI Type D)
Microphone (mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm)
Headphones (mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm)
USB 2.0
Composite video/audio output
HDMI output (19 pin micro HDMI Type D)
FEATURES Sony Alpha7s II ILCE-7SM2 Olympus PEN E-PL8
Self-Timer Delay 10 sec, 2sec, 5 sec 2sec, 12sec
Continuous Shooting Speed 2.5 frames per second, 5 frames per second 3.7 frames per second, 8.5 frames per second, 7.4 frames per second
HDR Mode Auto HDR mode Auto HDR mode, HDR post-processing
Additional Features Built-in speaker, RGB primary colour filter, sharpness control, histogram display, AE lock, AF lock, saturation control, Sweep Panorama technology, contrast control, Dynamic Range Optimizer, peripheral illumination correction, Dolby Digital Stereo Creator, Chromatic Aberration Compensation (CAC), x.v.Colour technology, Multi-Frame Noise Reduction, Intelligent AUTO (iAUTO), High ISO NR, high-speed recording, Superior Auto mode, noise reduction over long exposures, BRAVIA Sync function, PhotoTV HD, distortion correction function, Clean HDMI output for 4K movies Audio recording, built-in speaker, auto power save, digital image rotation, camera orientation detection, histogram display, shadow point display, highlight point display, in-camera RAW processing, Full-time Live View, Intelligent AUTO (iAUTO), Eye-Fi Card Ready, Touch Shutter technology
OTHERS Sony Alpha7s II ILCE-7SM2 Olympus PEN E-PL8
Included Accessories Eyepiece cover, battery charger, shoulder strap, AC power adaptor, shoe cap, micro-USB cable, cable protector Battery charger, body cap, shoulder strap, USB cable
Software - Drivers & Utilities, Olympus Viewer 3
Max Operating Temperature 40 °C 40 °C
Min Operating Temperature 0 °C 0 °C
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