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Olympus E-1 vs Sony RX10 II

Portability
59
Imaging
38
Features
36
Overall
37
Olympus E-1 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 II front
Portability
58
Imaging
52
Features
77
Overall
62

Olympus E-1 vs Sony RX10 II Key Specs

Olympus E-1
(Full Review)
  • 5MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 1.8" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 3200
  • No Video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 735g - 141 x 104 x 81mm
  • Launched November 2003
  • Renewed by Olympus E-3
Sony RX10 II
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - 1" Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 125 - 12800 (Increase to 25600)
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • 24-200mm (F2.8) lens
  • 813g - 129 x 88 x 102mm
  • Introduced June 2015
  • Replaced the Sony RX10
  • Refreshed by Sony RX10 III
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Olympus E-1 vs Sony RX10 II Overview

Let's look more closely at the Olympus E-1 vs Sony RX10 II, one being a Pro DSLR and the latter is a Large Sensor Superzoom by rivals Olympus and Sony. There is a sizeable difference between the resolutions of the E-1 (5MP) and RX10 II (20MP) and the E-1 (Four Thirds) and RX10 II (1") posses totally different sensor dimensions.

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The E-1 was released 12 years earlier than the RX10 II and that is quite a large gap as far as tech is concerned. Both the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-1 being a Large SLR camera and the Sony RX10 II being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before we go into a complete comparison, here is a quick summation of how the E-1 matches up versus the RX10 II in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-1 over the Sony RX10 II

 E-1 RX10 II 

Reasons to pick Sony RX10 II over the Olympus E-1

 RX10 II E-1 
IntroducedJune 2015November 2003More recent by 140 months
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen dimensions3"1.8"Bigger screen (+1.2")
Screen resolution1229k134kClearer screen (+1095k dot)

Common features in the Olympus E-1 and Sony RX10 II

 E-1 RX10 II 
Focus manually Very precise focusing
Selfie screen Lack of selfie screen
Touch friendly screen Lack of Touch friendly screen

Olympus E-1 vs Sony RX10 II Physical Comparison

If you're intending to lug around your camera, you have to think about its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-1 provides external measurements of 141mm x 104mm x 81mm (5.6" x 4.1" x 3.2") and a weight of 735 grams (1.62 lbs) while the Sony RX10 II has proportions of 129mm x 88mm x 102mm (5.1" x 3.5" x 4.0") and a weight of 813 grams (1.79 lbs).

Look at the Olympus E-1 vs Sony RX10 II in the latest Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into consideration, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary dependant on the lens you use during that time. Underneath is a front view proportions comparison of the E-1 against the RX10 II.

Olympus E-1 vs Sony RX10 II size comparison

Looking at size and weight, the portability rating of the E-1 and RX10 II is 59 and 58 respectively.

Olympus E-1 vs Sony RX10 II top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-1 vs Sony RX10 II Sensor Comparison

Often, it can be hard to envision the gap between sensor measurements merely by reading a spec sheet. The visual below may offer you a better sense of the sensor sizing in the E-1 and RX10 II.

Clearly, the two cameras provide different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The E-1 because of its bigger sensor will make getting shallow DOF easier and the Sony RX10 II will offer more detail as a result of its extra 15 Megapixels. Higher resolution will enable you to crop pictures more aggressively. The older E-1 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor tech.

Olympus E-1 vs Sony RX10 II sensor size comparison

Olympus E-1 vs Sony RX10 II Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-1 vs Sony RX10 II Screen and Viewfinder comparison
Photography Glossary

Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-1 Portrait photography features
Sony RX10 II Portrait photography features
46
focusing manually
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW files
doesn't have liveview
resolution not great (5MP)
71
focusing manually
good megapixels (20 megapixels)
nice sensor size (1")
comes with face detection focusing
saves RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-1 Street photography advice
Sony RX10 II Street photography advice
57
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW files
environment proof
lighter than others in class (735g)
no moving screen
lack of image stabilization
72
screen tilts up and down
built in image stabilization (Optical)
nice sensor size (1")
saves RAW formats
environment proof
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-1 Sports photography highlights
Sony RX10 II Sports photography highlights
40
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
environment proof
has phase detect AF
doesn't have liveview
low fps (3.0 frames per second)
lack of image stabilization
resolution not great (5MP)
68
quiet shutter (1/32,000 seconds)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
good megapixels (20 megapixels)
nice sensor size (1")
comes with tracking autofocus
environment proof
lack of phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Olympus E-1
Travel photography with Sony RX10 II
47
lighter than others in class (735 grams)
environment proof
doesn't have Time Lapse recording
resolution not great (5 megapixels)
does not have selfie friendly display
56
environment proof
good megapixels (20MP)
flash built-in
decently wide (24mm)
missing Timelapse mode
doesn't offer selfie friendly display
sluggish maximum aperture (f2.8)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-1 as a Landscape photography camera
Sony RX10 II as a Landscape photography camera
46
focusing manually
switch lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW files
environment proof
tiny screen (1.8 inches)
doesn't have liveview
lack of image stabilization
resolution not great (5 megapixels)
doesn't have Time Lapse recording
62
focusing manually
decently wide (24mm)
screen size is good (3 inches)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
good megapixels (20MP)
nice sensor size (1")
saves RAW formats
environment proof
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
sluggish maximum aperture (f2.8)
missing Timelapse mode
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Olympus E-1
Vlogging with Sony RX10 II
9
no video recording
31
decently wide (24mm)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
comes with face detection focusing
video resolution high (3840 x 2160 pixels)
has external microphone socket
sluggish maximum aperture (f2.8)
doesn't offer selfie friendly display
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Olympus E-1 vs Sony RX10 II Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-1 and Sony RX10 II
 Olympus E-1Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 II
General Information
Manufacturer Olympus Sony
Model type Olympus E-1 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 II
Category Pro DSLR Large Sensor Superzoom
Launched 2003-11-29 2015-06-10
Physical type Large SLR SLR-like (bridge)
Sensor Information
Chip - Bionz X
Sensor type CCD BSI-CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds 1"
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 13.2 x 8.8mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 116.2mm²
Sensor resolution 5MP 20MP
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Highest resolution 2560 x 1920 5472 x 3648
Highest native ISO 3200 12800
Highest boosted ISO - 25600
Min native ISO 100 125
RAW format
Min boosted ISO - 64
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
AF touch
Continuous AF
AF single
AF tracking
AF selectice
Center weighted AF
AF multi area
Live view AF
Face detect focusing
Contract detect focusing
Phase detect focusing
Total focus points 3 25
Lens
Lens mount type Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 24-200mm (8.3x)
Highest aperture - f/2.8
Macro focusing range - 3cm
Amount of lenses 45 -
Focal length multiplier 2.1 2.7
Screen
Type of display Fixed Type Tilting
Display size 1.8" 3"
Display resolution 134 thousand dots 1,229 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch screen
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Optical (pentaprism) Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 2,359 thousand dots
Viewfinder coverage 100% 100%
Viewfinder magnification 0.48x 0.7x
Features
Slowest shutter speed 60 seconds 30 seconds
Maximum shutter speed 1/4000 seconds 1/2000 seconds
Maximum quiet shutter speed - 1/32000 seconds
Continuous shooting rate 3.0 frames/s 14.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual mode
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Set WB
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash distance no built-in flash 10.20 m
Flash options Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye Auto, fill-flash, slow sync, rear sync, off
External flash
AEB
White balance bracketing
Maximum flash synchronize 1/180 seconds -
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Supported video resolutions - 3840 x 2160 (30p, 25p, 24p), 1920 x 1080 (60p, 60i, 24p) ,1440 x 1080 (30p), 640 x 480 (30p)
Highest video resolution None 3840x2160
Video format - MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC S
Microphone port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 735g (1.62 lb) 813g (1.79 lb)
Physical dimensions 141 x 104 x 81mm (5.6" x 4.1" x 3.2") 129 x 88 x 102mm (5.1" x 3.5" x 4.0")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating not tested 70
DXO Color Depth rating not tested 23.0
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested 12.6
DXO Low light rating not tested 531
Other
Battery life - 400 photographs
Battery type - Battery Pack
Battery ID - NP-FW50
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec, continuous)
Time lapse feature
Storage type Compact Flash (Type I or II) SD/SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Duo/Pro Duo/Pro-HG Duo
Card slots Single Single
Retail cost $1,700 $998