Olympus E-M5 vs Ricoh GR Digital IV

Lets take a deeper look at the Olympus E-M5 versus Ricoh GR Digital IV, former is a Advanced Mirrorless while the other is a Small Sensor Compact by manufacturers Olympus and Ricoh. There is a large difference among the image resolutions of the E-M5 (16MP) and GR Digital IV (10MP) and the E-M5 (Four Thirds) and GR Digital IV (1/1.7") posses different sensor sizing.

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The E-M5 was launched 8 months after the GR Digital IV which means that they are of a similar age. Each of these cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-M5 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Ricoh GR Digital IV being a Compact camera.

Before we go right into a in-depth comparison, here is a quick summary of how the E-M5 grades versus the GR Digital IV in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Here is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus OM-D E-M5 & Ricoh GR Digital IV. The complete galleries are available at Olympus E-M5 Gallery & Ricoh GR Digital IV Gallery.

If you're aiming to carry around your camera often, you will need to think about its weight and size. The Olympus E-M5 features external dimensions of 122mm x 89mm x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") along with a weight of 425 grams (0.94 lbs) and the Ricoh GR Digital IV has specifications of 109mm x 59mm x 33mm (4.3" x 2.3" x 1.3") accompanied by a weight of 190 grams (0.42 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-M5 versus Ricoh GR Digital IV in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you have attached at that time. The following is a front view measurements comparison of the E-M5 and the GR Digital IV.

Factoring in size and weight, the portability rating of the E-M5 and GR Digital IV is 81 and 92 respectively.

Oftentimes, its difficult to imagine the difference in sensor sizes only by seeing technical specs. The pic below should offer you a clearer sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-M5 and GR Digital IV.

As you can tell, the two cameras come with different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The E-M5 featuring a larger sensor is going to make getting shallow depth of field easier and the Olympus E-M5 will show more detail utilizing its extra 6MP. Greater resolution will allow you to crop images a good deal more aggressively. The newer E-M5 should have an edge when it comes to sensor innovation.