Olympus E-M1 vs Sony W290

On this page, we will be matching up the Olympus E-M1 and Sony W290, former being a Pro Mirrorless while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by brands Olympus and Sony. There is a substantial difference among the resolutions of the E-M1 (16MP) and W290 (12MP) and the E-M1 (Four Thirds) and W290 (1/2.3") have totally different sensor size.

President Biden pushes bill mandating TikTok sale or ban

The E-M1 was introduced 4 years later than the W290 and that is a fairly big difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Both the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-M1 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Sony W290 being a Compact camera.

Before delving right into a detailed comparison, here is a simple overview of how the E-M1 scores versus the W290 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus OM-D E-M1 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W290. The whole galleries are available at Olympus E-M1 Gallery & Sony W290 Gallery.

In case you're going to carry your camera regularly, you will need to think about its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-M1 features physical dimensions of 130mm x 94mm x 63mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.5") having a weight of 497 grams (1.10 lbs) and the Sony W290 has dimensions of 98mm x 57mm x 23mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 0.9") along with a weight of 167 grams (0.37 lbs).

Check the Olympus E-M1 and Sony W290 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you choose at the time. Below is a front view size comparison of the E-M1 and the W290.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability grade of the E-M1 and W290 is 71 and 94 respectively.

Often, it is very hard to visualise the gap in sensor sizing purely by seeing technical specs. The photograph underneath might give you a greater sense of the sensor sizes in the E-M1 and W290.

As you can tell, the 2 cameras provide different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The E-M1 with its bigger sensor will make getting shallower depth of field simpler and the Olympus E-M1 will show greater detail using its extra 4MP. Higher resolution will also enable you to crop photographs more aggressively. The more modern E-M1 will have an advantage when it comes to sensor innovation.