Olympus E-300 vs Olympus E-M5 II

Let's take a deeper look at the Olympus E-300 and Olympus E-M5 II, former is a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Advanced Mirrorless and both of them are sold by Olympus. There exists a sizable gap between the sensor resolutions of the E-300 (8MP) and E-M5 II (16MP) but they enjoy the same exact sensor measurements (Four Thirds).

Photography Glossary

The E-300 was brought out 11 years prior to the E-M5 II which is quite a significant difference as far as technology is concerned. Both cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-300 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Olympus E-M5 II being a SLR-style mirrorless camera.

Before getting through a full comparison, below is a simple synopsis of how the E-300 grades vs the E-M5 II for portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus E-300 & Olympus OM-D E-M5 II. The entire galleries are viewable at Olympus E-300 Gallery & Olympus E-M5 II Gallery.

For those who are intending to carry around your camera, you have to take into account its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-300 provides external dimensions of 147mm x 85mm x 64mm (5.8" x 3.3" x 2.5") having a weight of 624 grams (1.38 lbs) and the Olympus E-M5 II has dimensions of 124mm x 85mm x 45mm (4.9" x 3.3" x 1.8") along with a weight of 469 grams (1.03 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-300 and Olympus E-M5 II in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you have at that moment. Here is the front view overall size comparison of the E-300 versus the E-M5 II.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-300 and E-M5 II is 67 and 80 respectively.

Quite often, it is hard to visualize the gap between sensor sizes merely by checking specs. The picture underneath will help give you a more clear sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-300 and E-M5 II.

As you can plainly see, the two cameras enjoy the same exact sensor sizing albeit different MP. You can expect the Olympus E-M5 II to give you extra detail having its extra 8 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also make it easier to crop pictures far more aggressively. The more aged E-300 is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor innovation.