Olympus E-M10 vs Samsung NX300

Below is a extensive comparison of the Olympus E-M10 and Samsung NX300, both Entry-Level Mirrorless digital cameras by companies Olympus and Samsung. The image resolution of the E-M10 (16MP) and the NX300 (20MP) is fairly similar but the E-M10 (Four Thirds) and NX300 (APS-C) posses different sensor size.

Photography Glossary

The E-M10 was unveiled 4 months later than the NX300 so they are both of a similar age. The two cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-M10 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Samsung NX300 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before diving into a comprehensive comparison, here is a simple summary of how the E-M10 scores versus the NX300 for portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus OM-D E-M10 & Samsung NX300. The full galleries are available at Olympus E-M10 Gallery & Samsung NX300 Gallery.

For those who are planning to lug around your camera frequently, you'll have to factor its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-M10 has outside measurements of 119mm x 82mm x 46mm (4.7" x 3.2" x 1.8") with a weight of 396 grams (0.87 lbs) and the Samsung NX300 has measurements of 122mm x 64mm x 41mm (4.8" x 2.5" x 1.6") with a weight of 331 grams (0.73 lbs).

Compare the Olympus E-M10 and Samsung NX300 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you are working with at the time. Here is a front view over all size comparison of the E-M10 and the NX300.

Looking at size and weight, the portability score of the E-M10 and NX300 is 82 and 86 respectively.

Often, its difficult to imagine the gap between sensor measurements merely by reviewing a spec sheet. The visual underneath should provide you a more clear sense of the sensor measurements in the E-M10 and NX300.

As you can see, both cameras have different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The E-M10 using its tinier sensor is going to make achieving shallower DOF more challenging and the Samsung NX300 will deliver more detail having an extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution will allow you to crop pics a bit more aggressively.