Olympus E-M5 vs Sony S950

Lets look more in depth at the Olympus E-M5 and Sony S950, one being a Advanced Mirrorless and the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by competitors Olympus and Sony. There exists a huge gap among the image resolutions of the E-M5 (16MP) and S950 (10MP) and the E-M5 (Four Thirds) and S950 (1/2.3") posses totally different sensor size.

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The E-M5 was released 3 years later than the S950 and that is a fairly significant gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of the cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-M5 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Sony S950 being a Compact camera.

Before going right into a detailed comparison, here is a simple highlight of how the E-M5 grades against the S950 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus OM-D E-M5 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S950. The complete galleries are provided at Olympus E-M5 Gallery and Sony S950 Gallery.

In case you're planning to lug around your camera often, you'll need to consider its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-M5 enjoys physical measurements of 122mm x 89mm x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") with a weight of 425 grams (0.94 lbs) and the Sony S950 has proportions of 93mm x 56mm x 24mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.9") with a weight of 167 grams (0.37 lbs).

See the Olympus E-M5 and Sony S950 in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change depending on the lens you are using during that time. The following is a front view scale comparison of the E-M5 compared to the S950.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-M5 and S950 is 81 and 94 respectively.

Normally, its tough to see the gap in sensor measurements merely by looking through a spec sheet. The graphic here should provide you a much better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-M5 and S950.

As you can see, both of the cameras feature different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-M5 featuring a bigger sensor will make shooting bokeh easier and the Olympus E-M5 will result in more detail as a result of its extra 6MP. Higher resolution will also enable you to crop pictures way more aggressively. The more recent E-M5 is going to have a benefit when it comes to sensor innovation.