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Olympus E-420 vs Sony RX100

Portability
77
Imaging
44
Features
36
Overall
40
Olympus E-420 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 front
Portability
91
Imaging
50
Features
68
Overall
57

Olympus E-420 vs Sony RX100 Key Specs

Olympus E-420
(Full Review)
  • 10MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 1600
  • No Video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 426g - 130 x 91 x 53mm
  • Announced June 2008
  • Superseded the Olympus E-410
Sony RX100
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - 1" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 25600
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 28-100mm (F1.8-4.9) lens
  • 240g - 102 x 58 x 36mm
  • Introduced August 2012
  • Successor is Sony RX100 II
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Olympus E-420 vs Sony RX100 Overview

Below is a comprehensive review of the Olympus E-420 versus Sony RX100, former being a Entry-Level DSLR while the other is a Large Sensor Compact by manufacturers Olympus and Sony. There is a noticeable difference between the resolutions of the E-420 (10MP) and RX100 (20MP) and the E-420 (Four Thirds) and RX100 (1") use different sensor sizes.

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The E-420 was launched 5 years earlier than the RX100 and that is quite a sizable difference as far as tech is concerned. Both cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-420 being a Compact SLR camera and the Sony RX100 being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before delving through a in-depth comparison, below is a concise highlight of how the E-420 scores vs the RX100 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-420 over the Sony RX100

 E-420 RX100 

Reasons to pick Sony RX100 over the Olympus E-420

 RX100 E-420 
IntroducedAugust 2012June 2008More recent by 50 months
Display dimension3"2.7"Larger display (+0.3")
Display resolution1229k230kCrisper display (+999k dot)

Common features in the Olympus E-420 and Sony RX100

 E-420 RX100 
Focus manually Dial precise focusing
Display typeFixed Fixed Fixed display
Selfie screen Neither features selfie screen
Touch friendly display Neither features Touch friendly display

Olympus E-420 vs Sony RX100 Physical Comparison

When you are going to lug around your camera regularly, you will want to factor in its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-420 enjoys exterior measurements of 130mm x 91mm x 53mm (5.1" x 3.6" x 2.1") with a weight of 426 grams (0.94 lbs) and the Sony RX100 has dimensions of 102mm x 58mm x 36mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.4") with a weight of 240 grams (0.53 lbs).

Compare the Olympus E-420 versus Sony RX100 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you are utilising at that time. Below is the front view overall size comparison of the E-420 versus the RX100.

Olympus E-420 vs Sony RX100 size comparison

Looking at size and weight, the portability score of the E-420 and RX100 is 77 and 91 respectively.

Olympus E-420 vs Sony RX100 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-420 vs Sony RX100 Sensor Comparison

In many cases, it's difficult to imagine the gap between sensor measurements simply by checking a spec sheet. The visual here will help give you a far better sense of the sensor sizing in the E-420 and RX100.

As you can see, each of the cameras have got different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-420 due to its larger sensor is going to make getting shallower DOF less difficult and the Sony RX100 will resolve greater detail utilizing its extra 10 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also enable you to crop photos much more aggressively. The older E-420 is going to be behind with regard to sensor technology.

Olympus E-420 vs Sony RX100 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-420 vs Sony RX100 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-420 vs Sony RX100 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-420 Portrait photography factors
Sony RX100 Portrait photography factors
56
focusing manually
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
exports RAW formats
MP count low (10 megapixels)
64
has manual focus
above average flash sync speed (1/2,000 seconds)
decent megapixels (20MP)
sensor size is good (1")
features face detection focus
delivers RAW files
external flash not possible
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-420 as a Street photography camera
Sony RX100 as a Street photography camera
64
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
exports RAW formats
lighter than competitors in class (426 grams)
screen is fixed
lack of image stabilization
79
built in image stabilization (Optical)
sensor size is good (1")
delivers RAW files
lighter than competition in class (240 grams)
great ISO range (25,600)
fixed screen
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Sports Comparison

Sports photography with Olympus E-420
Sports photography with Sony RX100
38
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports phase detect autofocus
slow continuous shooting (4.0 frames per second)
lack of image stabilization
MP count low (10MP)
bad battery power (500 per charge)
65
built in image stabilization (Optical)
decent megapixels (20MP)
sensor size is good (1")
features tracking autofocus
lacks phase detect auto focus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-420 Travel photography information
Sony RX100 Travel photography information
52
lighter than competitors in class (426 grams)
flash built-in
no Time Lapse function
bad battery power (500 CIPA)
MP count low (10 megapixels)
doesn't offer selfie friendly display
79
lighter than competition in class (240g)
decent megapixels (20 megapixels)
built-in flash
pretty wide (28mm)
great maximum aperture (f1.8)
does not offer selfie friendly screen
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-420 Landscape photography information
Sony RX100 Landscape photography information
47
focusing manually
switch lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
exports RAW formats
screen is small (2.7 inch)
lack of image stabilization
MP count low (10MP)
bad battery power (500 shots)
no Time Lapse function
74
has manual focus
pretty wide (28mm)
great maximum aperture (f1.8)
nice screen size (3")
built in image stabilization (Optical)
decent megapixels (20 megapixels)
sensor size is good (1")
great ISO range (25,600)
delivers RAW files
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
Photography Glossary

Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-420 Vlogging highlights
Sony RX100 Vlogging highlights
9
lack of video recording
38
pretty wide (28mm)
great maximum aperture (f1.8)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
features face detection focus
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 pixels)
lighter than competition in class (240 grams)
does not offer selfie friendly screen
missing external mic support
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Olympus E-420 vs Sony RX100 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-420 and Sony RX100
 Olympus E-420Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100
General Information
Manufacturer Olympus Sony
Model Olympus E-420 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100
Type Entry-Level DSLR Large Sensor Compact
Announced 2008-06-23 2012-08-28
Physical type Compact SLR Large Sensor Compact
Sensor Information
Chip TruePic III -
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds 1"
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 13.2 x 8.8mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 116.2mm²
Sensor resolution 10 megapixels 20 megapixels
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Highest Possible resolution 3648 x 2736 5472 x 3648
Maximum native ISO 1600 25600
Min native ISO 100 100
RAW files
Autofocusing
Manual focus
Touch to focus
Autofocus continuous
Autofocus single
Autofocus tracking
Selective autofocus
Autofocus center weighted
Multi area autofocus
Autofocus live view
Face detection autofocus
Contract detection autofocus
Phase detection autofocus
Number of focus points 3 25
Lens
Lens mounting type Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens focal range - 28-100mm (3.6x)
Maximum aperture - f/1.8-4.9
Macro focus range - 5cm
Amount of lenses 45 -
Focal length multiplier 2.1 2.7
Screen
Screen type Fixed Type Fixed Type
Screen diagonal 2.7 inches 3 inches
Resolution of screen 230 thousand dots 1,229 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch display
Screen technology - WhiteMagic TFT LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Optical (pentamirror) None
Viewfinder coverage 95% -
Viewfinder magnification 0.46x -
Features
Minimum shutter speed 60s 30s
Fastest shutter speed 1/4000s 1/2000s
Continuous shutter rate 4.0 frames/s 10.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Set white balance
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash range 12.00 m (at ISO 100) -
Flash modes Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye Auto, On, Off, Slow Sync
External flash
AE bracketing
White balance bracketing
Fastest flash synchronize 1/180s 1/2000s
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Video resolutions - 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1440 x 1080 (30 fps), 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Maximum video resolution None 1920x1080
Video file format - MPEG-4, AVCHD
Mic support
Headphone support
Connectivity
Wireless None Eye-Fi Connected
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 426 grams (0.94 lbs) 240 grams (0.53 lbs)
Dimensions 130 x 91 x 53mm (5.1" x 3.6" x 2.1") 102 x 58 x 36mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.4")
DXO scores
DXO Overall score 56 66
DXO Color Depth score 21.5 22.6
DXO Dynamic range score 10.4 12.4
DXO Low light score 527 390
Other
Battery life 500 photographs 330 photographs
Style of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model - NP-BX1
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec, Portrait 1/2)
Time lapse shooting With downloadable app
Type of storage Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card SD/SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Duo/Pro Duo/Pro-HG Duo
Card slots 1 1
Launch pricing $999 $448