Olympus FE-4000 vs Sony RX10

Below is a detailed assessment of the Olympus FE-4000 and Sony RX10, one being a Small Sensor Compact and the latter is a Large Sensor Superzoom by rivals Olympus and Sony. There is a big difference among the resolutions of the FE-4000 (12MP) and RX10 (20MP) and the FE-4000 (1/2.3") and RX10 (1") provide different sensor sizes.

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The FE-4000 was brought out 5 years earlier than the RX10 and that is a fairly big gap as far as camera tech is concerned. The two cameras feature different body design with the Olympus FE-4000 being a Compact camera and the Sony RX10 being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before going into a thorough comparison, here is a brief summary of how the FE-4000 scores vs the RX10 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Here is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus FE-4000 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10. The entire galleries are available at Olympus FE-4000 Gallery and Sony RX10 Gallery.

If you are going to lug around your camera regularly, you need to think about its weight and proportions. The Olympus FE-4000 features external dimensions of 95mm x 57mm x 22mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.9") along with a weight of 136 grams (0.30 lbs) while the Sony RX10 has measurements of 129mm x 88mm x 102mm (5.1" x 3.5" x 4.0") and a weight of 813 grams (1.79 lbs).

See the Olympus FE-4000 and Sony RX10 in the latest Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ based on the lens you have chosen during that time. Below is a front view sizing comparison of the FE-4000 vs the RX10.

Looking at size and weight, the portability grade of the FE-4000 and RX10 is 95 and 58 respectively.

In many cases, it is hard to imagine the contrast in sensor measurements purely by researching technical specs. The photograph below might offer you a much better sense of the sensor sizes in the FE-4000 and RX10.

As you have seen, both of these cameras feature different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The FE-4000 featuring a smaller sensor is going to make shooting shallow DOF more challenging and the Sony RX10 will provide you with extra detail having its extra 8MP. Higher resolution can also let you crop shots way more aggressively. The older FE-4000 will be behind with regard to sensor tech.