Olympus E-M1 II vs Olympus XZ-1

On this page, we are analyzing the Olympus E-M1 II versus Olympus XZ-1, former being a Pro Mirrorless while the other is a Small Sensor Compact and they are both manufactured by Olympus. There exists a large gap among the image resolutions of the E-M1 II (20MP) and XZ-1 (10MP) and the E-M1 II (Four Thirds) and XZ-1 (1/1.63") provide different sensor sizing.

Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a Landslide

The E-M1 II was announced 5 years later than the XZ-1 and that is a fairly serious difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-M1 II being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Olympus XZ-1 being a Compact camera.

Before going right into a in-depth comparison, here is a simple view of how the E-M1 II matches up vs the XZ-1 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II & Olympus XZ-1. The whole galleries are provided at Olympus E-M1 II Gallery & Olympus XZ-1 Gallery.

If you're going to lug around your camera frequently, you have to consider its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-M1 II comes with exterior dimensions of 134mm x 91mm x 67mm (5.3" x 3.6" x 2.6") having a weight of 574 grams (1.27 lbs) whilst the Olympus XZ-1 has proportions of 111mm x 65mm x 42mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.7") accompanied by a weight of 275 grams (0.61 lbs).

Check the Olympus E-M1 II versus Olympus XZ-1 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you are using at that time. Below is a front view sizing comparison of the E-M1 II and the XZ-1.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-M1 II and XZ-1 is 68 and 88 respectively.

Quite often, it is tough to visualize the gap in sensor measurements just by going through technical specs. The visual here will help provide you a stronger sense of the sensor sizes in the E-M1 II and XZ-1.

As you have seen, each of the cameras provide different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-M1 II with its larger sensor is going to make achieving shallower DOF simpler and the Olympus E-M1 II will produce extra detail with its extra 10MP. Greater resolution will also allow you to crop pics more aggressively. The more modern E-M1 II provides an edge when it comes to sensor technology.