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Olympus E-5 vs Sony RX1

Portability
58
Imaging
48
Features
76
Overall
59
Olympus E-5 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1 front
Portability
79
Imaging
70
Features
57
Overall
64

Olympus E-5 vs Sony RX1 Key Specs

Olympus E-5
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Fully Articulated Screen
  • ISO 100 - 6400
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 800g - 143 x 117 x 75mm
  • Introduced February 2011
  • Succeeded the Olympus E-3
Sony RX1
(Full Review)
  • 24MP - Full frame Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 25600
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 35mm (F2.0-22.0) lens
  • 482g - 113 x 65 x 70mm
  • Revealed February 2013
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Olympus E-5 vs Sony RX1 Overview

Lets take a deeper look at the Olympus E-5 and Sony RX1, former is a Advanced DSLR while the other is a Large Sensor Compact by companies Olympus and Sony. There exists a large gap among the image resolutions of the E-5 (12MP) and RX1 (24MP) and the E-5 (Four Thirds) and RX1 (Full frame) come with totally different sensor sizing.

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The E-5 was launched 24 months prior to the RX1 making the cameras a generation away from one another. Each of the cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-5 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony RX1 being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before diving in to a detailed comparison, below is a short summation of how the E-5 grades versus the RX1 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-5 over the Sony RX1

 E-5 RX1 
Display typeFully ArticulatedFixed Fully Articulating display
Selfie screen Easy selfies

Reasons to pick Sony RX1 over the Olympus E-5

 RX1 E-5 
RevealedFebruary 2013February 2011More modern by 24 months
Display resolution1229k920kCrisper display (+309k dot)

Common features in the Olympus E-5 and Sony RX1

 E-5 RX1 
Manual focus More precise focusing
Display sizing3"3"Equivalent display measurement
Touch friendly display Neither offers Touch friendly display

Olympus E-5 vs Sony RX1 Physical Comparison

For anybody who is going to carry around your camera, you'll need to take into account its weight and size. The Olympus E-5 offers outer measurements of 143mm x 117mm x 75mm (5.6" x 4.6" x 3.0") along with a weight of 800 grams (1.76 lbs) and the Sony RX1 has specifications of 113mm x 65mm x 70mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 2.8") accompanied by a weight of 482 grams (1.06 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-5 and Sony RX1 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you have chosen during that time. Below is the front view dimensions comparison of the E-5 vs the RX1.

Olympus E-5 vs Sony RX1 size comparison

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-5 and RX1 is 58 and 79 respectively.

Olympus E-5 vs Sony RX1 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-5 vs Sony RX1 Sensor Comparison

Quite often, it's difficult to visualise the difference in sensor sizes simply by researching specs. The image below should offer you a greater sense of the sensor sizing in the E-5 and RX1.

As you can plainly see, both of these cameras enjoy different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The E-5 featuring a smaller sensor will make shooting bokeh harder and the Sony RX1 will render greater detail utilizing its extra 12MP. Greater resolution can also let you crop images far more aggressively. The more aged E-5 will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor technology.

Olympus E-5 vs Sony RX1 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-5 vs Sony RX1 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-5 vs Sony RX1 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-5 Portrait photography highlights
Sony RX1 Portrait photography highlights
60
manual focus
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
features face detection focusing
delivers RAW formats
low resolution (12 megapixels)
82
focusing manually
high flash sync speed (1/4,000s)
sensor resolution is decent (24MP)
large sensor size (Full frame)
offers face detect focusing
supports RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-5 as a Street photography camera
Sony RX1 as a Street photography camera
71
fully articulated screen
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW formats
environment sealing
66
large sensor size (Full frame)
supports RAW formats
above average high ISO (25,600)
no articulating screen
lack of image stabilization
more heavy than average (482 grams)
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-5 Sports photography features
Sony RX1 Sports photography features
59
maximum shutter speed is high (1/8,000s)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
environment sealing
sensor has phase detect AF
max frames per second low (5.0 frames per second)
low resolution (12MP)
53
sensor resolution is decent (24 megapixels)
large sensor size (Full frame)
offers tracking focus
focal length is fixed (35mm)
painfully slow continuous shooting (5.0 frames/s)
lack of image stabilization
terrible battery pack (270 per charge)
has no phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Olympus E-5
Travel photography with Sony RX1
56
environment sealing
flash built-in
selfie friendly screen
no Time Lapse mode
low resolution (12 megapixels)
62
sensor resolution is decent (24 megapixels)
has built in flash
fast maximum aperture (f2.0)
doesn't have Timelapse function
terrible battery pack (270 shots)
more heavy than average (482g)
does not posses selfie friendly screen
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Olympus E-5
Landscape photography with Sony RX1
65
manual focus
interchangeable lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
screen is a good size (3 inches)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW formats
environment sealing
two card slots
low resolution (12 megapixels)
no Time Lapse mode
65
focusing manually
fast maximum aperture (f2.0)
decent sized screen (3")
sensor resolution is decent (24MP)
large sensor size (Full frame)
above average high ISO (25,600)
supports RAW formats
can't switch lenses (fixed lens mount)
focal length is fixed (35mm)
lack of image stabilization
terrible battery pack (270 per charge)
doesn't have Timelapse function
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-5 Vlogging information
Sony RX1 Vlogging information
64
selfie friendly screen
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
features face detection focusing
includes external mic socket
video resolution low (1280 x 720 pxls)
34
fast maximum aperture (f2.0)
offers face detect focusing
high quality video (1920 x 1080 pixels)
does have microphone socket
does not posses selfie friendly screen
lack of image stabilization
more heavy than average (482 grams)
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Olympus E-5 vs Sony RX1 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-5 and Sony RX1
 Olympus E-5Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1
General Information
Brand Name Olympus Sony
Model type Olympus E-5 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1
Type Advanced DSLR Large Sensor Compact
Introduced 2011-02-03 2013-02-19
Physical type Mid-size SLR Large Sensor Compact
Sensor Information
Processor TruePic V+ -
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds Full frame
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 35.8 x 23.8mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 852.0mm²
Sensor resolution 12MP 24MP
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 and 16:9 3:2 and 16:9
Max resolution 4032 x 3024 6000 x 4000
Max native ISO 6400 25600
Lowest native ISO 100 100
RAW images
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
AF touch
Continuous AF
Single AF
AF tracking
AF selectice
AF center weighted
AF multi area
Live view AF
Face detection focusing
Contract detection focusing
Phase detection focusing
Total focus points 11 25
Cross type focus points 11 -
Lens
Lens support Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 35mm (1x)
Largest aperture - f/2.0-22.0
Available lenses 45 -
Focal length multiplier 2.1 1
Screen
Type of screen Fully Articulated Fixed Type
Screen diagonal 3 inches 3 inches
Screen resolution 920k dots 1,229k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch function
Screen tech HyperCrystal transmissive LCD Xtra FineTFT LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Optical (pentaprism) Electronic and Optical (optional)
Viewfinder coverage 100 percent -
Viewfinder magnification 0.58x -
Features
Min shutter speed 60 seconds 30 seconds
Max shutter speed 1/8000 seconds 1/4000 seconds
Continuous shutter rate 5.0 frames/s 5.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Set WB
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash distance 18.00 m (at ISO 200) 6.00 m
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, Fill-in Auto, On, Off, Slow Sync
Hot shoe
Auto exposure bracketing
White balance bracketing
Max flash synchronize 1/250 seconds 1/4000 seconds
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 1920 x 1080 (60, 50, 25, 24 fps), 1440 x 1080 (30, 25 fps), 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30, 25 fps)
Max video resolution 1280x720 1920x1080
Video format Motion JPEG MPEG-4, AVCHD
Microphone port
Headphone port
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 proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 800 grams (1.76 lb) 482 grams (1.06 lb)
Dimensions 143 x 117 x 75mm (5.6" x 4.6" x 3.0") 113 x 65 x 70mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 2.8")
DXO scores
DXO Overall rating 56 93
DXO Color Depth rating 21.6 25.1
DXO Dynamic range rating 10.5 14.3
DXO Low light rating 519 2534
Other
Battery life 870 photographs 270 photographs
Battery type Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID BLM-5 NP-BX1
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse shooting
Storage type Compact Flash (Type I or II)/SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Duo/Pro Duo/Pro-HG Duo
Card slots Two Single
Launch cost $1,700 $2,798