Olympus E-5 vs Sony RX100

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.

The following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus E-5 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100. The whole galleries are viewable at Olympus E-5 Gallery and Sony RX100 Gallery.

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.

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.

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

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.