Olympus E-1 vs Sony S980

Let's examine more closely at the Olympus E-1 and Sony S980, former being a Pro DSLR while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by rivals Olympus and Sony. There exists a substantial gap between the image resolutions of the E-1 (5MP) and S980 (12MP) and the E-1 (Four Thirds) and S980 (1/2.3") possess different sensor measurements.

Photography Glossary

The E-1 was introduced 6 years earlier than the S980 and that is quite a big difference as far as technology is concerned. Each of the cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-1 being a Large SLR camera and the Sony S980 being a Compact camera.

Before diving in to a step-by-step comparison, below is a simple introduction of how the E-1 matches up vs the S980 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

The following is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus E-1 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S980. The whole galleries are provided at Olympus E-1 Gallery & Sony S980 Gallery.

For those who are going to carry your camera regularly, you'll have to factor in its weight and volume. The Olympus E-1 comes with exterior dimensions of 141mm x 104mm x 81mm (5.6" x 4.1" x 3.2") with a weight of 735 grams (1.62 lbs) whilst the Sony S980 has sizing of 93mm x 56mm x 24mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.9") and a weight of 167 grams (0.37 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-1 and Sony S980 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you are working with at that time. Below is the front view over all size comparison of the E-1 against the S980.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-1 and S980 is 59 and 94 respectively.

Quite often, its tough to visualize the difference between sensor sizing simply by reading through a spec sheet. The visual here will provide you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-1 and S980.

As you can see, both the cameras offer different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The E-1 with its bigger sensor is going to make shooting shallow depth of field less difficult and the Sony S980 will give you greater detail using its extra 7MP. Higher resolution will also enable you to crop shots a little more aggressively. The older E-1 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor innovation.