Olympus E-M1 vs Sony W830

Let's look a little more closely at the Olympus E-M1 vs Sony W830, former is a Pro Mirrorless while the other is a Ultracompact by brands Olympus and Sony. The sensor resolution of the E-M1 (16MP) and the W830 (20MP) is very well matched but the E-M1 (Four Thirds) and W830 (1/2.3") boast totally different sensor dimensions.

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The E-M1 was unveiled 2 months before the W830 so they are of a similar age. Each of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-M1 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Sony W830 being a Ultracompact camera.

Before we go into a more detailed comparison, here is a concise summary of how the E-M1 grades against the W830 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

This is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus OM-D E-M1 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W830. The full galleries are available at Olympus E-M1 Gallery & Sony W830 Gallery.

For those who are looking to travel with your camera, you'll have to consider its weight and volume. The Olympus E-M1 offers outside dimensions of 130mm x 94mm x 63mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.5") with a weight of 497 grams (1.10 lbs) whilst the Sony W830 has sizing of 93mm x 52mm x 23mm (3.7" x 2.0" x 0.9") along with a weight of 122 grams (0.27 lbs).

Look at the Olympus E-M1 vs Sony W830 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you choose at that time. Below is a front view proportions comparison of the E-M1 versus the W830.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-M1 and W830 is 71 and 96 respectively.

Normally, it can be hard to visualise the gap between sensor dimensions purely by checking specifications. The pic below will give you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-M1 and W830.

To sum up, the 2 cameras provide different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The E-M1 using its larger sensor will make achieving shallow depth of field easier and the Sony W830 will give you greater detail having an extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also let you crop images more aggressively.