Sensors, schmensors
I have made a decision - no more rigid comparisons. It's like trying to cut open an apple and a banana and explain how they are different and how they are the same. Yes, they're both fruit. Yes, they're both different fruit; they taste different, they look different, they smell different. Now what? Is one better than the other?
After spending considerable time trying to do just that with the Sony A6000 and the Olympus EM 1, I just gave up, and decided instead on a new tack - since I know the equipment, I decided to use them in a way I know they work at their very best. Instead of trying to create some weird pie with apples and bananas in it that no one would ever eat, we're gonna bake two pies, an apple pie with vanilla ice cream melting over it, and a banana cream pie with real whipped cream on top. Mmmm. And I promise I won't use that analogy anymore.
The two pictures below, at any zoom level, are in the end almost impossible to distinguish. The specs are noted under the pics. Two things of note: the Sony, for the money, performs at a level well above it's pay grade, matching quality with a camera and lens combo costing double what it costs, which is why I still have it and didn't trade it in; and the Olympus, for it's sensor size, can go toe to toe with the bigger boys without giving up a bit of detail, something that isn't supposed to be possible.
Which do I prefer to use? I would say probably the Olympus - it has some nice features and it tends to naturally shoot what I'm seeing with my eyes. I'll include two sunrise pics as an example - both nice shots, but what it really looked like was a little closer to the Olympus shot.
This is the Sony with a 60mm Sigma Art lens on it (35mm equiv of 90mm - $400 new). 1/13 shutter speed, f 3.5 (aperture priority), ISO 200, spot metering, Vivid colour setting (the one I like on this camera). 6000 x 4000 image size at 350 pixels per inch. A tiny amount of level adjustment to bring the image up to speed.
This is the Olympus with my 30mm macro lens on it (35mm equiv. of 60mm - $400 new). 1/15 shutter speed, f 3.5 (aperture priority), ISO 200, spot metering, I-Enhance colour mode (the one I like on this camera). 4608 x 3072 image size, but (interestingly) also 350 pixels per inch. A tiny amount of level adjustment to bring the image up to speed.
If you can pick between these, you're a better person than I am. The Sony pic has a narrower depth of field, but that's because it has a longer focal length. Blown up to 400%, there is nothing to chose. The Olympus, to my eye, has more depth to it, but again that might be the different focal length of the lenses.
The 350 pixels per inch is intriguing, and perhaps explains the detail similarity between the two different sensors - yes, the APS-C has more real estate, but not more resolution. In any case, the pictures show a virtually identical amount of detail resolution, light gathering, and noise - although how a camera handles the statistical quantum fluctuations of photons (yes, digital camera noise is found down the rabbit hole of quantum physics:)) is often different depending on the manufacturer.
My conclusion? I would like all camera tests to do more of this - less impossible direct comparisons and more maximizing the output of a given camera and lens. Let's see them at their best.
Here are the sunrise shots - a lovely foggy sunrise at the cottage at
that :) Olympus above, Sony below. Again, there is nothing for me to choose one over the other, although the red that is more visible in the Olympus shot is closer to what was actually there, as opposed to the slightly more orange tone of the Sony.
P.S. Camera note; I was originally bothered that the Olympus didn't do something the Sony did - in manual mode, as I adjusted the aperture and shutter speed, the image in the viewfinder stayed the same. I would shoot the picture and it would come out a lot darker than it had appeared in the viewfinder for example. I had to look at the little graph in the bottom of the viewfinder to get it centered before I shot. On the Sony the viewfinder gets darker and lighter as I make adjustments so I know exactly what I'm shooting before I shoot it. Dang. It bothered me so much that I actually called Olympus technical support and was told, sorry, that's the way it is. Double dang. Almost a deal breaker in my book.
Then in shooting these comparison shots, I decided to use aperture priority instead of manual. And guess what? The Olympus, in aperture priority, switches - the dials change automatically, the rear one adjusting the aperture and the front one changing exposure (+ or -), and as you change exposure, the view screen gets darker and lighter! Go figure. So now I happily shoot the Olympus in aperture priority, getting a perfect visual in the viewfinder of what my shot will look like. Incredible that the tech support guy wouldn't have known or told me this.