Olympus E-M5 vs Olympus SZ-15

Here, we will be contrasting the Olympus E-M5 vs Olympus SZ-15, former is a Advanced Mirrorless while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom and they are both built by Olympus. The sensor resolution of the E-M5 (16MP) and the SZ-15 (16MP) is pretty well matched but the E-M5 (Four Thirds) and SZ-15 (1/2.3") have different sensor measurements.

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The E-M5 was released 13 months prior to the SZ-15 which makes them a generation away from one another. The two cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-M5 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Olympus SZ-15 being a Compact camera.

Before diving right into a in-depth comparison, here is a simple synopsis of how the E-M5 scores against the SZ-15 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Here is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus OM-D E-M5 & Olympus SZ-15. The complete galleries are provided at Olympus E-M5 Gallery & Olympus SZ-15 Gallery.

When you are aiming to travel with your camera, you have to factor in its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-M5 has external measurements of 122mm x 89mm x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") having a weight of 425 grams (0.94 lbs) and the Olympus SZ-15 has dimensions of 108mm x 70mm x 40mm (4.3" x 2.8" x 1.6") and a weight of 250 grams (0.55 lbs).

Look at the Olympus E-M5 vs Olympus SZ-15 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you have chosen at that moment. Below is a front view dimensions comparison of the E-M5 compared to the SZ-15.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-M5 and SZ-15 is 81 and 88 respectively.

Normally, it's difficult to visualize the difference between sensor dimensions simply by looking at specs. The pic here might offer you a much better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-M5 and SZ-15.

As you can plainly see, both of these cameras feature the identical megapixels albeit different sensor dimensions. The E-M5 has the bigger sensor which should make achieving shallow DOF simpler. The more aged E-M5 is going to be behind with regard to sensor technology.