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Olympus E-300 vs Olympus E-M5

Portability
67
Imaging
41
Features
31
Overall
37
Olympus E-300 front
 
Olympus OM-D E-M5 front
Portability
81
Imaging
52
Features
70
Overall
59

Olympus E-300 vs Olympus E-M5 Key Specs

Olympus E-300
(Full Review)
  • 8MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 1.8" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 400 (Push to 1600)
  • No Video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 624g - 147 x 85 x 64mm
  • Announced January 2005
  • Other Name is EVOLT E-300
  • Refreshed by Olympus E-330
Olympus E-M5
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 200 - 25600
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 425g - 122 x 89 x 43mm
  • Launched April 2012
  • Successor is Olympus E-M5 II
Photography Glossary

Olympus E-300 vs Olympus E-M5 Overview

Here is a extensive overview of the Olympus E-300 versus Olympus E-M5, former being a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Advanced Mirrorless and both of them are built by Olympus. There is a large difference among the image resolutions of the E-300 (8MP) and E-M5 (16MP) but they use the exact same sensor dimensions (Four Thirds).

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The E-300 was launched 8 years before the E-M5 and that is a fairly serious difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Both of these cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-300 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Olympus E-M5 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera.

Before delving through a in-depth comparison, below is a brief summation of how the E-300 scores versus the E-M5 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-300 over the Olympus E-M5

 E-300 E-M5 

Reasons to pick Olympus E-M5 over the Olympus E-300

 E-M5 E-300 
LaunchedApril 2012January 2005Fresher by 88 months
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen dimension3"1.8"Bigger screen (+1.2")
Screen resolution610k134kSharper screen (+476k dot)
Touch screen Quickly navigate

Common features in the Olympus E-300 and Olympus E-M5

 E-300 E-M5 
Focus manually More exact focusing
Selfie screen Lacking selfie screen

Olympus E-300 vs Olympus E-M5 Physical Comparison

For anyone who is planning to carry your camera, you have to consider its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-300 provides outside dimensions of 147mm x 85mm x 64mm (5.8" x 3.3" x 2.5") with a weight of 624 grams (1.38 lbs) while the Olympus E-M5 has dimensions of 122mm x 89mm x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") having a weight of 425 grams (0.94 lbs).

Look at the Olympus E-300 versus Olympus E-M5 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Don't forget, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you are utilizing during that time. Here is the front view dimensions comparison of the E-300 vs the E-M5.

Olympus E-300 vs Olympus E-M5 size comparison

Factoring in size and weight, the portability score of the E-300 and E-M5 is 67 and 81 respectively.

Olympus E-300 vs Olympus E-M5 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-300 vs Olympus E-M5 Sensor Comparison

Often, it can be tough to picture the difference in sensor sizing merely by viewing specifications. The photograph here may give you a greater sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-300 and E-M5.

To sum up, both cameras posses the exact same sensor measurements albeit different megapixels. You can count on the Olympus E-M5 to render more detail utilizing its extra 8MP. Higher resolution can also make it easier to crop pictures somewhat more aggressively. The older E-300 will be behind with regard to sensor technology.

Olympus E-300 vs Olympus E-M5 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-300 vs Olympus E-M5 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-300 vs Olympus E-M5 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-300 Portrait photography details
Olympus E-M5 Portrait photography details
48
you can focus manually
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
no liveview feature
low MP (8MP)
71
has manual focus
megapixel count good (16MP)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
has face detection focusing
saves RAW files
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-300 Street photography factors
Olympus E-M5 Street photography factors
51
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
fixed screen
does not have image stabilization
maximum ISO low (400)
82
tilting screen
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
saves RAW files
features focus by touch
weather sealing
great ISO range (25,600)
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-300 Sports photography highlights
Olympus E-M5 Sports photography highlights
37
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
sensor has phase detect auto focus
no liveview feature
max frames per second low (3.0 frames/s)
does not have image stabilization
low MP (8 megapixels)
67
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
megapixel count good (16MP)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
has tracking autofocus
weather sealing
does not have phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Olympus E-300
Travel photography with Olympus E-M5
45
built-in flash
does not have Timelapse recording
low MP (8MP)
doesn't posses selfie friendly screen
66
weather sealing
features focus by touch
megapixel count good (16 megapixels)
lack of Time Lapse recording
doesn't have a selfie friendly display
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-300 Landscape photography details
Olympus E-M5 Landscape photography details
43
you can focus manually
change lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
screen is somewhat small (1.8")
no liveview feature
does not have image stabilization
low MP (8MP)
maximum ISO low (400)
does not have Timelapse recording
73
has manual focus
switch lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
pretty good screen size (3")
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
megapixel count good (16MP)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
great ISO range (25,600)
saves RAW files
weather sealing
lack of Time Lapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-300 as a Vlogging camera
Olympus E-M5 as a Vlogging camera
9
no video recording
34
touch screen
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
has face detection focusing
high video quality (1920 x 1080 pxls)
doesn't have a selfie friendly display
lack of external mic support
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Olympus E-300 vs Olympus E-M5 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-300 and Olympus E-M5
 Olympus E-300Olympus OM-D E-M5
General Information
Manufacturer Olympus Olympus
Model Olympus E-300 Olympus OM-D E-M5
Otherwise known as EVOLT E-300 -
Type Advanced DSLR Advanced Mirrorless
Announced 2005-01-10 2012-04-30
Physical type Mid-size SLR SLR-style mirrorless
Sensor Information
Powered by - TruePic VI
Sensor type CCD CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds Four Thirds
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 17.3 x 13mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 224.9mm²
Sensor resolution 8 megapixels 16 megapixels
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Highest resolution 3264 x 2448 4608 x 3456
Highest native ISO 400 25600
Highest boosted ISO 1600 -
Minimum native ISO 100 200
RAW format
Minimum boosted ISO - 100
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch to focus
Autofocus continuous
Autofocus single
Autofocus tracking
Selective autofocus
Autofocus center weighted
Multi area autofocus
Autofocus live view
Face detect autofocus
Contract detect autofocus
Phase detect autofocus
Number of focus points 3 35
Lens
Lens mount Micro Four Thirds Micro Four Thirds
Number of lenses 45 107
Crop factor 2.1 2.1
Screen
Type of display Fixed Type Tilting
Display diagonal 1.8 inches 3 inches
Resolution of display 134 thousand dots 610 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch friendly
Display technology - Touch control in electrostatic capacitance type OLED monitor
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Optical (pentamirror) Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 1,440 thousand dots
Viewfinder coverage - 100%
Viewfinder magnification - 0.58x
Features
Slowest shutter speed 60s 60s
Maximum shutter speed 1/4000s 1/4000s
Continuous shooting rate 3.0fps 9.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Set white balance
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash range - no built-in flash
Flash settings Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync (2), Manual (3 levels)
External flash
Auto exposure bracketing
White balance bracketing
Maximum flash synchronize 1/180s 1/250s
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Supported video resolutions - 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1280 x 720 (60, 30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Highest video resolution None 1920x1080
Video data format - H.264, Motion JPEG
Mic support
Headphone support
Connectivity
Wireless None Eye-Fi Connected
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 1.0 (1.5 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 624 gr (1.38 lb) 425 gr (0.94 lb)
Dimensions 147 x 85 x 64mm (5.8" x 3.3" x 2.5") 122 x 89 x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7")
DXO scores
DXO All around score not tested 71
DXO Color Depth score not tested 22.8
DXO Dynamic range score not tested 12.3
DXO Low light score not tested 826
Other
Battery life - 360 shots
Style of battery - Battery Pack
Battery model - BLN-1
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 12 sec)
Time lapse recording
Storage type Compact Flash (Type I or II) SD/SDHC/SDXC
Card slots Single Single
Price at launch $800 $799