Olympus FE-4000 vs Olympus E-M5

Following is a in-depth overview of the Olympus FE-4000 vs Olympus E-M5, former is a Small Sensor Compact while the latter is a Advanced Mirrorless and they are both manufactured by Olympus. There is a noticeable difference between the image resolutions of the FE-4000 (12MP) and E-M5 (16MP) and the FE-4000 (1/2.3") and E-M5 (Four Thirds) offer totally different sensor size.

Photography Glossary

The FE-4000 was manufactured 3 years prior to the E-M5 which is quite a sizable difference as far as tech is concerned. Each of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus FE-4000 being a Compact camera and the Olympus E-M5 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera.

Before delving into a complete comparison, here is a brief summary of how the FE-4000 matches up versus the E-M5 for portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

This is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus FE-4000 & Olympus OM-D E-M5. The entire galleries are provided at Olympus FE-4000 Gallery & Olympus E-M5 Gallery.

In case you're going to carry around your camera, you're going to have to factor in its weight and dimensions. The Olympus FE-4000 provides outer dimensions of 95mm x 57mm x 22mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.9") accompanied by a weight of 136 grams (0.30 lbs) whilst the Olympus E-M5 has dimensions of 122mm x 89mm x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") having a weight of 425 grams (0.94 lbs).

Examine the Olympus FE-4000 vs Olympus E-M5 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you use at the time. Here is a front view dimensions comparison of the FE-4000 versus the E-M5.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability grade of the FE-4000 and E-M5 is 95 and 81 respectively.

Oftentimes, it's hard to see the gap between sensor sizes purely by reading technical specs. The pic here might offer you a more clear sense of the sensor dimensions in the FE-4000 and E-M5.

As you can tell, both of those cameras have different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The FE-4000 featuring a tinier sensor will make getting bokeh trickier and the Olympus E-M5 will offer greater detail due to its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will let you crop pictures a bit more aggressively. The more aged FE-4000 is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor innovation.