Olympus E-M10 vs Sony HX20V

Its time to look a bit more closely at the Olympus E-M10 and Sony HX20V, one being a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by competitors Olympus and Sony. The resolution of the E-M10 (16MP) and the HX20V (18MP) is relatively well matched but the E-M10 (Four Thirds) and HX20V (1/2.3") enjoy totally different sensor measurements.

Photography Glossary

The E-M10 was brought out 21 months later than the HX20V which makes the cameras a generation apart from each other. Both of these cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-M10 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Sony HX20V being a Compact camera.

Before getting straight into a in-depth comparison, below is a short summary of how the E-M10 matches up versus the HX20V in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

The following is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus OM-D E-M10 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V. The entire galleries are available at Olympus E-M10 Gallery and Sony HX20V Gallery.

For those who are aiming to carry your camera frequently, you'll need to think about its weight and volume. The Olympus E-M10 comes with physical dimensions of 119mm x 82mm x 46mm (4.7" x 3.2" x 1.8") with a weight of 396 grams (0.87 lbs) whilst the Sony HX20V has sizing of 107mm x 62mm x 35mm (4.2" x 2.4" x 1.4") accompanied by a weight of 254 grams (0.56 lbs).

See the Olympus E-M10 and Sony HX20V in the latest Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change based on the lens you are utilizing during that time. Following is the front view measurements comparison of the E-M10 vs the HX20V.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability rating of the E-M10 and HX20V is 82 and 90 respectively.

Usually, it is very difficult to see the difference between sensor sizing simply by checking specs. The graphic below will help provide you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-M10 and HX20V.

As you can plainly see, each of the cameras enjoy different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The E-M10 featuring a bigger sensor will make shooting shallow DOF easier and the Sony HX20V will give greater detail having its extra 2 Megapixels. Higher resolution will make it easier to crop shots far more aggressively. The newer E-M10 will have a benefit in sensor technology.