Back by popular demand: Nex-7 vs OMD

When you view an image, either printed or on the screen, you have to magnify the image from the sensor.   Say you make a 20x30 inch print and the sensor is 24x36 mm (135 format full frame), you have to magnify the image from the sensor 21 times on an edge.  Take an APS-C sensor which is 23.7x15.6 mm and you have to magnify 32 times on an edge, and take m4/3, it is about 44 times on the long edge.

Again, those magnifications are just along one edge.  In terms of area to cover that 20x30 inch print it would take 448 24x36 sensors, 1043 APS-C sensor, or 1940 m4/3 sensors.

Since you have to enlarge the m4/3 signal more your image will be noisier and less sharp given everything else being equal.  Since the OM-D has similar sensor technology to the NEX 7, it should be fair to compare this way.

When looking at a site like DxOMark, and two sensors test near the same score, my preference would generally be for the larger sensor as it will generally produce nicer images.  You have to look at specific measurements you are interested in though.

Eric

--
I never saw an ugly thing in my life: for let the form of an object
be what it may - light, shade, and perspective will always make it
beautiful. - John Constable (quote)
See my Blog at: http://www.erphotoreview.com/ (bi-weekly)
Flickr Photostream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/28177041@N03/ (updated daily)