Olympus E-1 vs Sony A850

The following is a in-depth analysis of the Olympus E-1 vs Sony A850, former is a Pro DSLR while the other is a Advanced DSLR by manufacturers Olympus and Sony. There exists a sizable gap among the sensor resolutions of the E-1 (5MP) and A850 (25MP) and the E-1 (Four Thirds) and A850 (Full frame) enjoy totally different sensor dimensions.

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The E-1 was announced 7 years prior to the A850 which is a fairly significant difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-1 being a Large SLR camera and the Sony A850 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before we go straight into a thorough comparison, below is a quick highlight of how the E-1 matches up versus the A850 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Following is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus E-1 & Sony Alpha DSLR-A850. The whole galleries are provided at Olympus E-1 Gallery & Sony A850 Gallery.

When you are going to travel with your camera often, you'll have to think about its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-1 has outside dimensions of 141mm x 104mm x 81mm (5.6" x 4.1" x 3.2") and a weight of 735 grams (1.62 lbs) and the Sony A850 has dimensions of 156mm x 117mm x 82mm (6.1" x 4.6" x 3.2") with a weight of 895 grams (1.97 lbs).

See the Olympus E-1 vs Sony A850 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you are working with at that time. Below is the front view measurement comparison of the E-1 compared to the A850.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-1 and A850 is 59 and 54 respectively.

Normally, it's tough to see the gap in sensor dimensions simply by researching a spec sheet. The picture here should provide you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-1 and A850.

As you can see, the two cameras posses different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The E-1 having a smaller sensor will make achieving shallow DOF harder and the Sony A850 will render greater detail with its extra 20MP. Greater resolution will also let you crop images somewhat more aggressively. The more aged E-1 will be behind in sensor tech.