I have the Olympus OM-D E-M1 + Olympus M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 75-300mm f/4.8-6.7 II Lens.
So an
MFT camera and a
300 mm lens at max.
I also have the Nikon D800E + Nikkor AF-S 80-400 mm f/4.5-5.6 II lens.
So a
FF camera and a
400 mm lens at max.
Comparing the two systems I always wondered which one would give me better resolution and therefore more detail?
So, I finally decided to figure it out.
Looking up
DxOMark by DxO Labs - DxOMark for the pixel pitch of some of my cameras I find
that E-M1, E-M5, and NEX-7 form one group of pretty similar values.
Another such group is formed by NEX-5N, D800E, and A7R.
One now can work out how the D800E+400 mm lens compares to the E-M1+300 mm lens as follows:
Ratio R of D800E/E-M1 = (400/300) * (3.74/4.85) = 1.33 * 0.77 = 1.03
So it appears the D800E system has about a 3% resolution advantage over the E-M1 setup.
For all practical purposes that difference seems insignificant.
Other considerations seem therefore more important to which system one prefers for a given task.
A little sanity check seems in order whether our computational result fits well with an actual photographic comparison.
A friend and I visited Bandelier National Monument recently and were lucky enough to witness about a dozen Turkey Vultures flying to their roost just yards away from the Visitor Center.
First shown are complete images taken with the E-M1 and D800E at 12.5% of their original pixel size.
Next shown are 1900x1267 pixel areas at 50% of their original size.
Again first the E-M1 and then the D800E crop.
I think the images demonstrate that the same bird was photographed with the two camera systems at about the same time and distance. Both lenses were shot wide open with an ISO of 3200.
My conclusion:
• The E-M1 system has a lower bulk and weight advantage.
• The D800E system produced a less noisy image.
• Using it was also easier to frame the fairly low but fast flying birds.
Finally here are two shots of roosting Turkey Vultures my friend took with the E-M1 system.