Olympus E-5 vs Sony RX100 III

Lets look more in depth at the Olympus E-5 versus Sony RX100 III, one being a Advanced DSLR and the other is a Large Sensor Compact by brands Olympus and Sony. There exists a significant gap among the sensor resolutions of the E-5 (12MP) and RX100 III (20MP) and the E-5 (Four Thirds) and RX100 III (1") have different sensor measurements.

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The E-5 was brought out 4 years prior to the RX100 III and that is a fairly sizable gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-5 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony RX100 III being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before diving right into a detailed comparison, here is a simple view of how the E-5 scores versus the RX100 III with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Below is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus E-5 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 III. The entire galleries are available at Olympus E-5 Gallery and Sony RX100 III Gallery.

For anyone who is going to carry your camera frequently, you will need to consider its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-5 enjoys 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 III has measurements of 102mm x 58mm x 41mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.6") accompanied by a weight of 290 grams (0.64 lbs).

Compare the Olympus E-5 versus Sony RX100 III in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary based on the lens you are working with at that time. Below is a front view measurement comparison of the E-5 against the RX100 III.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-5 and RX100 III is 58 and 89 respectively.

Quite often, its tough to visualize the difference in sensor sizing merely by seeing a spec sheet. The photograph underneath will help give you a better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-5 and RX100 III.

As you can see, both cameras have different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The E-5 due to its larger sensor is going to make getting shallow DOF easier and the Sony RX100 III will produce greater detail having its extra 8MP. Greater resolution will also enable you to crop pics a bit more aggressively. The older E-5 will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor technology.