Olympus E-1 vs Sony W690

Below, we are looking at the Olympus E-1 vs Sony W690, one is a Pro DSLR and the other is a Small Sensor Compact by competitors Olympus and Sony. There is a crucial difference between the sensor resolutions of the E-1 (5MP) and W690 (16MP) and the E-1 (Four Thirds) and W690 (1/2.3") use different sensor sizes.

Photography Glossary

The E-1 was revealed 9 years earlier than the W690 which is quite a serious gap as far as tech is concerned. Each of the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-1 being a Large SLR camera and the Sony W690 being a Compact camera.

Before getting through a more detailed comparison, below is a brief synopsis of how the E-1 grades versus the W690 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Below is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus E-1 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W690. The full galleries are provided at Olympus E-1 Gallery and Sony W690 Gallery.

If you're going to carry around your camera frequently, you should factor in 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") with a weight of 735 grams (1.62 lbs) while the Sony W690 has proportions of 94mm x 56mm x 22mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.9") having a weight of 142 grams (0.31 lbs).

Compare the Olympus E-1 vs Sony W690 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change based on the lens you are utilizing at that time. Following is the front view dimension comparison of the E-1 against the W690.

Looking at size and weight, the portability grade of the E-1 and W690 is 59 and 95 respectively.

Often, it is very tough to imagine the difference between sensor sizes simply by looking at a spec sheet. The picture here should offer you a far better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-1 and W690.

As you can see, both of those cameras have got different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The E-1 with its larger sensor is going to make getting shallow depth of field simpler and the Sony W690 will resolve greater detail because of its extra 11 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also allow you to crop images much more aggressively. The more aged E-1 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor technology.