Nikon D5500 Vs Olympus E-M1 vs Canon 70d

[jbrady3324]

I initially was going to purchase a mirrorless camera and I narrowed my choice down to the Olympus E-M1 given its ability capture action shots better than most mirrorless cameras. Before I pull the trigger I want to get some thoughts on the Nikon D5500 and how it compares

My main wants are

• Touch screen
• Capture action shots (dogs, kids, etc)
• Wifi

I am not considering the D7200 because of the lack of touch screen.

My budget is $1000 for body new or used

 

[mrbr]

I initially was going to purchase a mirrorless camera and I narrowed my choice down to the Olympus E-M1 given its ability capture action shots better than most mirrorless cameras. Before I pull the trigger I want to get some thoughts on the Nikon D5500 and how it compares

My main wants are

• Touch screen
• Capture action shots (dogs, kids, etc)
• Wifi

I am not considering the D7200 because of the lack of touch screen.

My budget is $1000 for body new or used

Hi,

Before deciding IMHO it is wise to make also a "lens-plan"for each SYSTEM and calculate the total costs.

For action shots the D5500 is IMO better than Canon and EM1. You also could go to the Olympus and Canon forum to ask for advice.

Good luck with your choice.

Greetings,
Marc

 

[User0406267055]

I initially was going to purchase a mirrorless camera and I narrowed my choice down to the Olympus E-M1 given its ability capture action shots better than most mirrorless cameras. Before I pull the trigger I want to get some thoughts on the Nikon D5500 and how it compares

My main wants are

• Touch screen
• Capture action shots (dogs, kids, etc)
• Wifi

I am not considering the D7200 because of the lack of touch screen.

My budget is $1000 for body new or used

I agree with the other poster: what's your lens situation? Is this a new purchase with no existing camera commitment? I've owned two mirrorless systems while maintaining a Nikon system for work. I recently picked up a D5500 and found it to be more responsive, better IQ, and more intuitive to use than others. Sure, this is partially because I know Nikon systems, but my only gripe would be that the WiFi can be twitchy. I use an LG G3 and an LG tablet, and the connection is much stronger on the newer tablet than the older phone.

Touchscreen is great - very natural. The action shots is a no brainer - even the best EVFs struggle to keep up with action, and an OVF is still a wise choice. YMMV. And the lens selection is arguably the best, though their DX lineup needs some good wide angle primes.

I've never used the Olympus, so take that into account.

 

[jbrady3324]

Thanks for the replies. For whatever reason, I thought the 70d had the edge over the Nikon D5500 in terms of action shots. Is the Nikon D5500 a better overall camera than the 70D?

 

[notpc]

In addition to your listed considerations, I would suggest going to a store where you can hold them and compare. These 3 are physically quite different. The Canon, especially is much bigger/heavier. The D5500, in my opinion, has one of the best grips of any camera.

see size comparisons here:

http://camerasize.com/compare/#580,482

http://camerasize.com/compare/#580,469

I initially was going to purchase a mirrorless camera and I narrowed my choice down to the Olympus E-M1 given its ability capture action shots better than most mirrorless cameras. Before I pull the trigger I want to get some thoughts on the Nikon D5500 and how it compares

My main wants are

• Touch screen
• Capture action shots (dogs, kids, etc)
• Wifi

I am not considering the D7200 because of the lack of touch screen.

My budget is $1000 for body new or used

 

[mrbr]

Thanks for the replies. For whatever reason, I thought the 70d had the edge over the Nikon D5500 in terms of action shots. Is the Nikon D5500 a better overall camera than the 70D?

Hi,

Autofocus of the canon 70D and nikon D5500 is reviewed here in detail, with an example of tracking a moving person :

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canon-eos-70d/12

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikon-d5500/7

According to this info the tracking AF capabilities of the nikon D5500 are IMO better then the canon 70D. Best is IMO to ask additional questions on the canon and nikon forums IMO and not only make a decision only based on these 2 examples.

The 70D and D5500 are very different camera's.

Your choice may aso depend on how and how much you want to use live view and movie mode IMO ( here the canon is better I think ). Also, the 70D is more like the nikon D7x00 sort of camerabody, bigger and with more direct control possibilities compared to the D5500.

If you did not do it yet , then a detailed study of the reviews maybe helpfull to make up your mind.

Greetings,
Marc

 

[OpticsEngineer]

I have an Olympus EM5II. For action shots of my dogs I find the black out time on the EVF after taking a shot quite annoying. I lose track of them. With any of my DSLRs that does not happen. But then for snapshots of my kids activities I find the EM5II more usable than my DSLRS due to the good LiveView AF and Face Dectection AF.

I have not read of the EM1 also has significant blackout time on the EVF, but I think it probably does. If your main interest is action shots, you should consider that.

 

[nebulla]

HI

I have been shooting for over 1 year now with a Nikon D7100 and a Olympus E-M1. The E-M1 is a great camera to have and if you decided to buy one you would not be disappointed. It is a solid made camera, dust and splash proof body.. gorgeous to look at and hold, and is as good as any of the other cameras that you are seeking as far as IQ goes. It has a very fast AF system, but the most outstanding feature for me is having both contrast and phase detection which means that with the Olympus adapter, I could use not only M43 lenses, but all of the other great 4/3 lenses that Olympus made without sacrificing any speed with the AF system. Having said all this, I would be remiss if I did not mention the ease and strain that this camera has taken off my body compared to the Nikon D7100.

On the other hand, all the replies that you have received so far is very true about the mirrowless cameras for action photography. They are good, but not up to the standard of my Nikon or Canon for shooting fast action, and hence the reason why I still have too camera system. I have read that the Nikon D5500 is a very nice camera, but not much better than the D5300 which you could probably save some money on, and the Canon is also a very capable camera as well. In the final analysis , I think that you the user should consider what type of photography interests you, and go with the camera that you think will do it for you. Either way, you can't go wrong ImHO.