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Olympus E-M5 vs Sony RX10 II

Portability
81
Imaging
52
Features
70
Overall
59
Olympus OM-D E-M5 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 II front
Portability
58
Imaging
52
Features
77
Overall
62

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony RX10 II 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
  • Introduced April 2012
  • Successor is Olympus E-M5 II
Sony RX10 II
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - 1" Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Display
  • ISO 125 - 12800 (Bump to 25600)
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • 24-200mm (F2.8) lens
  • 813g - 129 x 88 x 102mm
  • Introduced June 2015
  • Old Model is Sony RX10
  • Later Model is Sony RX10 III
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Olympus E-M5 vs Sony RX10 II Overview

Lets take a closer look at the Olympus E-M5 and Sony RX10 II, former is a Advanced Mirrorless while the other is a Large Sensor Superzoom by companies Olympus and Sony. The image resolution of the E-M5 (16MP) and the RX10 II (20MP) is very comparable but the E-M5 (Four Thirds) and RX10 II (1") offer different sensor measurements.

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The E-M5 was revealed 4 years prior to the RX10 II which is a fairly big difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Both cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-M5 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Sony RX10 II being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before diving right into a in depth comparison, here is a simple introduction of how the E-M5 scores against the RX10 II when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-M5 over the Sony RX10 II

 E-M5 RX10 II 
Touch display Easily navigate

Reasons to pick Sony RX10 II over the Olympus E-M5

 RX10 II E-M5 
IntroducedJune 2015April 2012More modern by 37 months
Display resolution1229k610kCrisper display (+619k dot)

Common features in the Olympus E-M5 and Sony RX10 II

 E-M5 RX10 II 
Focus manually Very exact focus
Display typeTiltingTiltingTilting display
Display dimensions3"3"Equal display measurements
Selfie screen Absent selfie screen

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony RX10 II Physical Comparison

If you're aiming to carry around your camera regularly, you should factor in its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-M5 enjoys 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) whilst the Sony RX10 II has measurements of 129mm x 88mm x 102mm (5.1" x 3.5" x 4.0") and a weight of 813 grams (1.79 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus E-M5 and Sony RX10 II in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you have attached at the time. Below is a front view scale comparison of the E-M5 vs the RX10 II.

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony RX10 II size comparison

Factoring in size and weight, the portability rating of the E-M5 and RX10 II is 81 and 58 respectively.

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony RX10 II top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony RX10 II Sensor Comparison

Usually, it is tough to visualize the difference in sensor sizes simply by seeing specifications. The picture underneath will help offer you a better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-M5 and RX10 II.

Plainly, the two cameras provide different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The E-M5 with its larger sensor is going to make getting shallow depth of field easier and the Sony RX10 II will produce more detail because of its extra 4MP. Greater resolution will also allow you to crop images more aggressively. The more aged E-M5 will be disadvantaged in sensor innovation.

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony RX10 II sensor size comparison

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony RX10 II Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony RX10 II Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Portrait photography with Olympus E-M5
Portrait photography with Sony RX10 II
71
manual focus
good MP (16 megapixels)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
provides face detect focus
saves RAW formats
71
focusing manually
MP count decent (20 megapixels)
good sensor size (1")
offers face detect focus
supports RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Olympus E-M5
Street photography with Sony RX10 II
82
screen tilts
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
supports focus via touch
environment sealing
very good ISO range (25,600)
72
screen tilts
image stabilization (Optical)
good sensor size (1")
supports RAW formats
environment proofing
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Sports photography information
Sony RX10 II Sports photography information
67
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
good MP (16 megapixels)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
provides tracking focus
environment sealing
doesn't have phase detect auto focus
68
silent mode (1/32,000 seconds)
image stabilization (Optical)
MP count decent (20 megapixels)
good sensor size (1")
offers tracking focus
environment proofing
no phase detect auto focus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-M5 as a Travel photography camera
Sony RX10 II as a Travel photography camera
66
environment sealing
supports focus via touch
good MP (16 megapixels)
does not have Time Lapse recording
display is not selfie friendly
56
environment proofing
MP count decent (20 megapixels)
built-in flash
reasonably wide (24mm)
no Time Lapse mode
screen is not selfie friendly
slow maximum aperture (f2.8)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Landscape photography highlights
Sony RX10 II Landscape photography highlights
73
manual focus
switch lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
screen size is good (3 inches)
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
good MP (16 megapixels)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
very good ISO range (25,600)
saves RAW formats
environment sealing
does not have Time Lapse recording
62
focusing manually
reasonably wide (24mm)
screen size is decent (3")
image stabilization (Optical)
MP count decent (20MP)
good sensor size (1")
supports RAW formats
environment proofing
can't change lenses (fixed lens mount)
slow maximum aperture (f2.8)
no Time Lapse mode
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-M5 as a Vlogging camera
Sony RX10 II as a Vlogging camera
34
touchscreen functionality
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
provides face detect focus
high quality video (1920 x 1080 resolution)
display is not selfie friendly
does not have mic port
31
reasonably wide (24mm)
image stabilization (Optical)
offers face detect focus
video resolution high (3840 x 2160 resolution)
does have mic socket
slow maximum aperture (f2.8)
screen is not selfie friendly
Photography Glossary

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony RX10 II Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-M5 and Sony RX10 II
 Olympus OM-D E-M5Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 II
General Information
Brand Name Olympus Sony
Model type Olympus OM-D E-M5 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 II
Category Advanced Mirrorless Large Sensor Superzoom
Introduced 2012-04-30 2015-06-10
Physical type SLR-style mirrorless SLR-like (bridge)
Sensor Information
Processor TruePic VI Bionz X
Sensor type CMOS BSI-CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds 1"
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 13.2 x 8.8mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 116.2mm²
Sensor resolution 16 megapixels 20 megapixels
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Max resolution 4608 x 3456 5472 x 3648
Max native ISO 25600 12800
Max enhanced ISO - 25600
Minimum native ISO 200 125
RAW data
Minimum enhanced ISO 100 64
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Autofocus touch
Continuous autofocus
Single autofocus
Autofocus tracking
Autofocus selectice
Autofocus center weighted
Autofocus multi area
Live view autofocus
Face detection autofocus
Contract detection autofocus
Phase detection autofocus
Total focus points 35 25
Lens
Lens support Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 24-200mm (8.3x)
Largest aperture - f/2.8
Macro focusing range - 3cm
Available lenses 107 -
Focal length multiplier 2.1 2.7
Screen
Type of screen Tilting Tilting
Screen sizing 3" 3"
Screen resolution 610 thousand dots 1,229 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch screen
Screen technology Touch control in electrostatic capacitance type OLED monitor -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic Electronic
Viewfinder resolution 1,440 thousand dots 2,359 thousand dots
Viewfinder coverage 100% 100%
Viewfinder magnification 0.58x 0.7x
Features
Min shutter speed 60 secs 30 secs
Max shutter speed 1/4000 secs 1/2000 secs
Max silent shutter speed - 1/32000 secs
Continuous shutter rate 9.0 frames per second 14.0 frames per second
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Change white balance
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash distance no built-in flash 10.20 m
Flash options Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync (2), Manual (3 levels) Auto, fill-flash, slow sync, rear sync, off
Hot shoe
Auto exposure bracketing
WB bracketing
Max flash synchronize 1/250 secs -
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1280 x 720 (60, 30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 3840 x 2160 (30p, 25p, 24p), 1920 x 1080 (60p, 60i, 24p) ,1440 x 1080 (30p), 640 x 480 (30p)
Max video resolution 1920x1080 3840x2160
Video data format H.264, Motion JPEG MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC S
Mic port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless Eye-Fi Connected Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 425g (0.94 lb) 813g (1.79 lb)
Physical dimensions 122 x 89 x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") 129 x 88 x 102mm (5.1" x 3.5" x 4.0")
DXO scores
DXO Overall rating 71 70
DXO Color Depth rating 22.8 23.0
DXO Dynamic range rating 12.3 12.6
DXO Low light rating 826 531
Other
Battery life 360 shots 400 shots
Type of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID BLN-1 NP-FW50
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec, continuous)
Time lapse recording
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Duo/Pro Duo/Pro-HG Duo
Card slots 1 1
Launch cost $799 $998