Olympus E-M5 II vs Sony WX500

Here, we will be looking at the Olympus E-M5 II and Sony WX500, one being a Advanced Mirrorless and the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by competitors Olympus and Sony. The sensor resolution of the E-M5 II (16MP) and the WX500 (18MP) is pretty comparable but the E-M5 II (Four Thirds) and WX500 (1/2.3") boast different sensor dimensions.

Photography Glossary

The E-M5 II was launched 2 months before the WX500 so they are both of a similar generation. Both of the cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-M5 II being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Sony WX500 being a Compact camera.

Before we go into a more detailed comparison, here is a quick highlight of how the E-M5 II grades vs the WX500 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

The following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus OM-D E-M5 II and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX500. The complete galleries are provided at Olympus E-M5 II Gallery and Sony WX500 Gallery.

For those who are planning to carry your camera often, you are going to need to factor in its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-M5 II has outside dimensions of 124mm x 85mm x 45mm (4.9" x 3.3" x 1.8") along with a weight of 469 grams (1.03 lbs) and the Sony WX500 has measurements of 102mm x 58mm x 36mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.4") having a weight of 236 grams (0.52 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-M5 II and Sony WX500 in the latest Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary based on the lens you have at that time. Here is a front view measurements comparison of the E-M5 II against the WX500.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-M5 II and WX500 is 80 and 91 respectively.

More often than not, it can be hard to imagine the gap in sensor sizing just by going through a spec sheet. The graphic here will give you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-M5 II and WX500.

As you can see, both of these cameras come with different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The E-M5 II because of its bigger sensor is going to make achieving shallow depth of field simpler and the Sony WX500 will show greater detail utilizing its extra 2 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also make it easier to crop shots a good deal more aggressively.