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Olympus E-M5 vs Olympus VR-320

Portability
81
Imaging
52
Features
70
Overall
59
Olympus OM-D E-M5 front
 
Olympus VR-320 front
Portability
94
Imaging
37
Features
35
Overall
36

Olympus E-M5 vs Olympus VR-320 Key Specs

Olympus E-M5
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 200 - 25600
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 425g - 122 x 89 x 43mm
  • Announced April 2012
  • Successor is Olympus E-M5 II
Olympus VR-320
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 80 - 1600
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 24-300mm (F3.0-5.9) lens
  • 158g - 101 x 58 x 29mm
  • Introduced July 2011
  • Newer Model is Olympus VR-330
Photography Glossary

Olympus E-M5 vs Olympus VR-320 Overview

The following is a extended analysis of the Olympus E-M5 and Olympus VR-320, one is a Advanced Mirrorless and the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom and both are designed by Olympus. The sensor resolution of the E-M5 (16MP) and the VR-320 (14MP) is very similar but the E-M5 (Four Thirds) and VR-320 (1/2.3") come with totally different sensor size.

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The E-M5 was announced 10 months after the VR-320 so they are of a similar generation. Both of these cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-M5 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Olympus VR-320 being a Compact camera.

Before getting straight into a in depth comparison, below is a quick summary of how the E-M5 grades vs the VR-320 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-M5 over the Olympus VR-320

 E-M5 VR-320 
IntroducedApril 2012July 2011Newer by 10 months
Manual focus Very precise focus
Display typeTiltingFixed Tilting display
Display resolution610k230kClearer display (+380k dot)
Touch display Easily navigate

Reasons to pick Olympus VR-320 over the Olympus E-M5

 VR-320 E-M5 

Common features in the Olympus E-M5 and Olympus VR-320

 E-M5 VR-320 
Display sizing3"3"Equivalent display size
Selfie screen Lacking selfie screen

Olympus E-M5 vs Olympus VR-320 Physical Comparison

If you are aiming to travel with your camera often, you'll need to factor its weight and size. The Olympus E-M5 offers outer dimensions of 122mm x 89mm x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") accompanied by a weight of 425 grams (0.94 lbs) and the Olympus VR-320 has specifications of 101mm x 58mm x 29mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.1") along with a weight of 158 grams (0.35 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus E-M5 and Olympus VR-320 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Don't forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change based on the lens you are using at that moment. Below is the front view proportions comparison of the E-M5 vs the VR-320.

Olympus E-M5 vs Olympus VR-320 size comparison

Taking into account size and weight, the portability grade of the E-M5 and VR-320 is 81 and 94 respectively.

Olympus E-M5 vs Olympus VR-320 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-M5 vs Olympus VR-320 Sensor Comparison

Oftentimes, it is tough to see the gap between sensor dimensions purely by reviewing technical specs. The image below will help give you a better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-M5 and VR-320.

As you have seen, the 2 cameras enjoy different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The E-M5 having a larger sensor will make shooting shallow DOF simpler and the Olympus E-M5 will offer you greater detail with its extra 2 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also allow you to crop photos far more aggressively. The fresher E-M5 will have a benefit with regard to sensor innovation.

Olympus E-M5 vs Olympus VR-320 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-M5 vs Olympus VR-320 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-M5 vs Olympus VR-320 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Portrait photography advice
Olympus VR-320 Portrait photography advice
71
manual focus
megapixel count decent (16MP)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
includes face detection focusing
saves RAW formats
33
decent MP (14MP)
offers face detect focusing
manual focus not available
no manual exposure
cannot use external flash
small sensor size (1/2.3")
lack of RAW files
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Street photography factors
Olympus VR-320 Street photography factors
82
screen tilts up and down
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
supports touch to focus
weather sealing
great ISO range (25,600)
62
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
lighter than competitors in class (158g)
screen does not articulate
small sensor size (1/2.3")
lack of RAW files
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Sports photography details
Olympus VR-320 Sports photography details
67
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
megapixel count decent (16 megapixels)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
includes tracking autofocus
weather sealing
has no phase detect AF
47
great zoom range (24-300mm 12.5 x zoom)
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
decent MP (14MP)
offers tracking focus
no shutter priority
small sensor size (1/2.3")
lack of phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Travel photography features
Olympus VR-320 Travel photography features
66
weather sealing
supports touch to focus
megapixel count decent (16MP)
lack of Time Lapse recording
screen is not selfie friendly
70
lighter than competitors in class (158 grams)
decent MP (14MP)
built-in flash
really wide (24mm)
very long reach (300mm)
missing Time Lapse mode
screen is not selfie friendly
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Landscape photography factors
Olympus VR-320 Landscape photography factors
73
manual focus
swap lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
decent sized screen (3 inch)
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
megapixel count decent (16 megapixels)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
great ISO range (25,600)
saves RAW formats
weather sealing
lack of Time Lapse recording
42
really wide (24mm)
screen size is good (3 inches)
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
decent MP (14 megapixels)
manual focus not available
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
no manual exposure
small sensor size (1/2.3")
lack of RAW files
missing Time Lapse mode
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Olympus E-M5
Vlogging with Olympus VR-320
34
screen is touchscreen
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
includes face detection focusing
high quality video (1920 x 1080 resolution)
screen is not selfie friendly
lack of external mic support
32
really wide (24mm)
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
offers face detect focusing
lighter than competitors in class (158g)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
screen is not selfie friendly
low quality video (1280 x 720 resolution)
missing mic port
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Olympus E-M5 vs Olympus VR-320 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-M5 and Olympus VR-320
 Olympus OM-D E-M5Olympus VR-320
General Information
Company Olympus Olympus
Model type Olympus OM-D E-M5 Olympus VR-320
Class Advanced Mirrorless Small Sensor Superzoom
Announced 2012-04-30 2011-07-19
Body design SLR-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor Information
Processor TruePic VI TruePic III
Sensor type CMOS CCD
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 16MP 14MP
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 4:3
Highest resolution 4608 x 3456 4288 x 3216
Highest native ISO 25600 1600
Minimum native ISO 200 80
RAW data
Minimum boosted ISO 100 -
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
AF touch
Continuous AF
Single AF
AF tracking
Selective AF
Center weighted AF
AF multi area
AF live view
Face detection AF
Contract detection AF
Phase detection AF
Total focus points 35 -
Lens
Lens mount type Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 24-300mm (12.5x)
Maximal aperture - f/3.0-5.9
Macro focusing distance - 1cm
Available lenses 107 -
Focal length multiplier 2.1 5.8
Screen
Range of screen Tilting Fixed Type
Screen sizing 3 inch 3 inch
Resolution of screen 610 thousand dot 230 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch friendly
Screen technology Touch control in electrostatic capacitance type OLED monitor TFT Color LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic None
Viewfinder resolution 1,440 thousand dot -
Viewfinder coverage 100% -
Viewfinder magnification 0.58x -
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60 seconds 4 seconds
Highest shutter speed 1/4000 seconds 1/2000 seconds
Continuous shooting speed 9.0 frames/s -
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes -
Set WB
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash distance no built-in flash 4.70 m
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync (2), Manual (3 levels) Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in
Hot shoe
AE bracketing
White balance bracketing
Highest flash sync 1/250 seconds -
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1280 x 720 (60, 30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 1280 x 720 (30, 15fps), 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 240 (30, 15fps)
Highest video resolution 1920x1080 1280x720
Video file format H.264, Motion JPEG Motion JPEG
Mic jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless Eye-Fi Connected None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 425g (0.94 lbs) 158g (0.35 lbs)
Dimensions 122 x 89 x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") 101 x 58 x 29mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.1")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating 71 not tested
DXO Color Depth rating 22.8 not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating 12.3 not tested
DXO Low light rating 826 not tested
Other
Battery life 360 pictures -
Form of battery Battery Pack -
Battery ID BLN-1 LI-42B
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 12 sec)
Time lapse shooting
Storage media SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC
Storage slots 1 1
Launch cost $799 $179