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Olympus E-5 vs Sony RX100

Portability
58
Imaging
48
Features
76
Overall
59
Olympus E-5 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 front
Portability
91
Imaging
50
Features
68
Overall
57

Olympus E-5 vs Sony RX100 Key Specs

Olympus E-5
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Fully Articulated Display
  • ISO 100 - 6400
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Max Shutter
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 800g - 143 x 117 x 75mm
  • Introduced February 2011
  • Old Model is Olympus E-3
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
  • Launched August 2012
  • Renewed by Sony RX100 II
Photography Glossary

Olympus E-5 vs Sony RX100 Overview

Below, we are analyzing the Olympus E-5 and Sony RX100, one being a Advanced DSLR and the other is a Large Sensor Compact by companies Olympus and Sony. There is a significant difference among the image resolutions of the E-5 (12MP) and RX100 (20MP) and the E-5 (Four Thirds) and RX100 (1") enjoy different sensor size.

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The E-5 was announced 19 months earlier than the RX100 making the cameras a generation apart from each other. Both of the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-5 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony RX100 being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before diving through a detailed comparison, below is a brief highlight of how the E-5 grades against the RX100 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-5 over the Sony RX100

 E-5 RX100 
Display typeFully ArticulatedFixed Fully Articulating display
Selfie screen Easy selfies

Reasons to pick Sony RX100 over the Olympus E-5

 RX100 E-5 
LaunchedAugust 2012February 2011More recent by 19 months
Display resolution1229k920kCrisper display (+309k dot)

Common features in the Olympus E-5 and Sony RX100

 E-5 RX100 
Manual focus Very accurate focus
Display dimension3"3"Identical display size
Touch display Neither contains Touch display

Olympus E-5 vs Sony RX100 Physical Comparison

If you are planning to lug around your camera often, you have to think about its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-5 has got outer measurements of 143mm x 117mm x 75mm (5.6" x 4.6" x 3.0") with a weight of 800 grams (1.76 lbs) whilst the Sony RX100 has measurements of 102mm x 58mm x 36mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.4") along with a weight of 240 grams (0.53 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-5 and Sony RX100 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change depending on the lens you are working with during that time. Here is the front view measurement comparison of the E-5 and the RX100.

Olympus E-5 vs Sony RX100 size comparison

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability score of the E-5 and RX100 is 58 and 91 respectively.

Olympus E-5 vs Sony RX100 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-5 vs Sony RX100 Sensor Comparison

Usually, it's difficult to visualize the difference in sensor measurements simply by looking through specifications. The photograph here might give you a clearer sense of the sensor measurements in the E-5 and RX100.

To sum up, both of those cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-5 using its larger sensor is going to make getting shallower DOF easier and the Sony RX100 will provide you with more detail with its extra 8 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also help you crop pics somewhat more aggressively. The older E-5 will be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor tech.

Olympus E-5 vs Sony RX100 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-5 vs Sony RX100 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-5 vs Sony RX100 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-5 as a Portrait photography camera
Sony RX100 as a Portrait photography camera
60
has manual focus
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
provides face detection focus
delivers RAW files
MP count low (12MP)
64
has manual focus
flash sync is higher than normal (1/2,000s)
good MP (20MP)
decent sensor size (1")
has face detect focusing
saves RAW files
cannot use external flash
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-5 Street photography details
Sony RX100 Street photography details
71
screen can move to multiple angles
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW files
environment proofing
79
has image stabilization (Optical)
decent sensor size (1")
saves RAW files
lighter than others (240g)
above average high ISO (25,600)
screen does not articulate
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-5 Sports photography advice
Sony RX100 Sports photography advice
59
high shutter speed (1/8,000 seconds)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
environment proofing
has phase detect auto focus
low fps (5.0 fps)
MP count low (12 megapixels)
65
has image stabilization (Optical)
good MP (20 megapixels)
decent sensor size (1")
has tracking focus
has no phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-5 Travel photography features
Sony RX100 Travel photography features
56
environment proofing
flash built-in
screen is selfie friendly
no Timelapse mode
MP count low (12 megapixels)
79
lighter than others (240g)
good MP (20MP)
flash built-in
quite wide (28mm)
fast max aperture (f1.8)
doesn't have a selfie friendly display
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-5 as a Landscape photography camera
Sony RX100 as a Landscape photography camera
65
has manual focus
swap lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
screen size is good (3 inches)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW files
environment proofing
2 card slots
MP count low (12MP)
no Timelapse mode
74
has manual focus
quite wide (28mm)
fast max aperture (f1.8)
screen size is good (3 inches)
has image stabilization (Optical)
good MP (20 megapixels)
decent sensor size (1")
above average high ISO (25,600)
saves RAW files
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-5 Vlogging info
Sony RX100 Vlogging info
64
screen is selfie friendly
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
provides face detection focus
has external microphone support
video quality not great (1280 x 720 resolution)
38
quite wide (28mm)
fast max aperture (f1.8)
has image stabilization (Optical)
has face detect focusing
high video quality (1920 x 1080 resolution)
lighter than others (240g)
doesn't have a selfie friendly display
lack of microphone socket
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Olympus E-5 vs Sony RX100 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-5 and Sony RX100
 Olympus E-5Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100
General Information
Make Olympus Sony
Model Olympus E-5 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100
Category Advanced DSLR Large Sensor Compact
Introduced 2011-02-03 2012-08-28
Physical type Mid-size SLR Large Sensor Compact
Sensor Information
Processor Chip TruePic V+ -
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds 1"
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 13.2 x 8.8mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 116.2mm²
Sensor resolution 12MP 20MP
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 and 16:9 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Full resolution 4032 x 3024 5472 x 3648
Max native ISO 6400 25600
Minimum native ISO 100 100
RAW format
Autofocusing
Manual focus
Touch focus
Continuous AF
Single AF
Tracking AF
Selective AF
Center weighted AF
AF multi area
AF live view
Face detect focusing
Contract detect focusing
Phase detect focusing
Number of focus points 11 25
Cross focus points 11 -
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 distance - 5cm
Total lenses 45 -
Crop factor 2.1 2.7
Screen
Type of display Fully Articulated Fixed Type
Display sizing 3 inch 3 inch
Display resolution 920 thousand dots 1,229 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch function
Display tech HyperCrystal transmissive LCD WhiteMagic TFT LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Optical (pentaprism) None
Viewfinder coverage 100% -
Viewfinder magnification 0.58x -
Features
Slowest shutter speed 60 secs 30 secs
Maximum shutter speed 1/8000 secs 1/2000 secs
Continuous shooting rate 5.0fps 10.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Set WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash range 18.00 m (at ISO 200) -
Flash settings Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, Fill-in Auto, On, Off, Slow Sync
External flash
AEB
White balance bracketing
Maximum flash synchronize 1/250 secs 1/2000 secs
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1440 x 1080 (30 fps), 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Max video resolution 1280x720 1920x1080
Video data 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
Environment sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 800g (1.76 pounds) 240g (0.53 pounds)
Dimensions 143 x 117 x 75mm (5.6" x 4.6" x 3.0") 102 x 58 x 36mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.4")
DXO scores
DXO All around score 56 66
DXO Color Depth score 21.6 22.6
DXO Dynamic range score 10.5 12.4
DXO Low light score 519 390
Other
Battery life 870 shots 330 shots
Form of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model BLM-5 NP-BX1
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec, Portrait 1/2)
Time lapse feature With downloadable app
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 One
Retail price $1,700 $448