Olympus E-M10 vs Sony HX5

Its time to look more in depth at the Olympus E-M10 vs Sony HX5, former is a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by rivals Olympus and Sony. There is a sizable difference among the resolutions of the E-M10 (16MP) and HX5 (10MP) and the E-M10 (Four Thirds) and HX5 (1/2.4") boast different sensor measurements.

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The E-M10 was unveiled 3 years after the HX5 which is a fairly significant difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Both of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-M10 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Sony HX5 being a Compact camera.

Before diving straight to a full comparison, here is a brief summation of how the E-M10 scores against the HX5 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus OM-D E-M10 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX5. The full galleries are available at Olympus E-M10 Gallery & Sony HX5 Gallery.

When you are looking to travel with your camera frequently, you're going to have to factor its weight and volume. The Olympus E-M10 has got outer measurements of 119mm x 82mm x 46mm (4.7" x 3.2" x 1.8") having a weight of 396 grams (0.87 lbs) and the Sony HX5 has sizing of 102mm x 58mm x 29mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.1") having a weight of 200 grams (0.44 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-M10 vs Sony HX5 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you use at that time. Underneath is a front view over all size comparison of the E-M10 compared to the HX5.

Factoring in size and weight, the portability score of the E-M10 and HX5 is 82 and 92 respectively.

Generally, its hard to visualize the gap in sensor dimensions only by viewing a spec sheet. The picture here will provide you a greater sense of the sensor sizing in the E-M10 and HX5.

As you can see, the 2 cameras have different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The E-M10 using its bigger sensor is going to make achieving shallow DOF easier and the Olympus E-M10 will render greater detail having an extra 6 Megapixels. Higher resolution will allow you to crop shots a bit more aggressively. The newer E-M10 provides a benefit in sensor innovation.