Olympus E-M5 vs Sony W290
81 Imaging
51 Features
70 Overall
58


94 Imaging
34 Features
28 Overall
31
Olympus E-M5 vs Sony W290 Key Specs
(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
- Revealed April 2012
- Updated by Olympus E-M5 II
(Full Review)
- 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
- 3" Fixed Screen
- ISO 80 - 3200
- Optical Image Stabilization
- 1280 x 720 video
- 28-140mm (F3.3-5.2) lens
- 167g - 98 x 57 x 23mm
- Released February 2009

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony W290 Overview
Its time to take a deeper look at the Olympus E-M5 vs Sony W290, former being a Advanced Mirrorless while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by manufacturers Olympus and Sony. There exists a sizable gap between the image resolutions of the E-M5 (16MP) and W290 (12MP) and the E-M5 (Four Thirds) and W290 (1/2.3") provide totally different sensor size.

The E-M5 was manufactured 3 years later than the W290 and that is quite a significant difference as far as technology is concerned. Both cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-M5 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Sony W290 being a Compact camera.
Before diving right into a in-depth comparison, here is a short highlight of how the E-M5 grades against the W290 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony W290 Gallery
Below is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus OM-D E-M5 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W290. The entire galleries are provided at Olympus E-M5 Gallery & Sony W290 Gallery.
Reasons to pick Olympus E-M5 over the Sony W290
E-M5 | W290 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Released | April 2012 | ![]() | February 2009 | Fresher by 39 months |
Screen type | Tilting | ![]() | Fixed | Tilting screen |
Screen resolution | 610k | ![]() | 230k | Clearer screen (+380k dot) |
Touch friendly screen | ![]() | Quickly navigate |
Reasons to pick Sony W290 over the Olympus E-M5
W290 | E-M5 |
---|
Common features in the Olympus E-M5 and Sony W290
E-M5 | W290 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Manually focus | ![]() | Very exact focusing | ||
Screen dimensions | 3" | ![]() | 3" | Equal screen size |
Selfie screen | ![]() | Neither features selfie screen |
Olympus E-M5 vs Sony W290 Physical Comparison
For anyone who is planning to carry your camera frequently, you'll have to take into account its weight and volume. The Olympus E-M5 enjoys physical measurements of 122mm x 89mm x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") having a weight of 425 grams (0.94 lbs) while the Sony W290 has sizing of 98mm x 57mm x 23mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 0.9") along with a weight of 167 grams (0.37 lbs).
See the Olympus E-M5 vs Sony W290 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.
Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you have attached during that time. Following is a front view dimension comparison of the E-M5 and the W290.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-M5 and W290 is 81 and 94 respectively.

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony W290 Sensor Comparison
Normally, it's tough to envision the contrast between sensor sizing just by going over specs. The visual below should offer you a clearer sense of the sensor measurements in the E-M5 and W290.
As you can plainly see, the two cameras provide different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The E-M5 because of its bigger sensor will make shooting shallower depth of field easier and the Olympus E-M5 will offer you more detail due to its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will let you crop pictures more aggressively. The fresher E-M5 is going to have a benefit in sensor tech.

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony W290 Screen and ViewFinder


Photography Type Scores
Portrait Comparison

Street Comparison

Sports Comparison

Travel Comparison

Landscape Comparison

Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony W290 Specifications
Olympus OM-D E-M5 | Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W290 | |
---|---|---|
General Information | ||
Company | Olympus | Sony |
Model type | Olympus OM-D E-M5 | Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W290 |
Class | Advanced Mirrorless | Small Sensor Compact |
Revealed | 2012-04-30 | 2009-02-17 |
Body design | SLR-style mirrorless | Compact |
Sensor Information | ||
Processor Chip | TruePic VI | - |
Sensor type | CMOS | CCD |
Sensor size | Four Thirds | 1/2.3" |
Sensor measurements | 17.3 x 13mm | 6.17 x 4.55mm |
Sensor surface area | 224.9mm² | 28.1mm² |
Sensor resolution | 16 megapixel | 12 megapixel |
Anti alias filter | ||
Aspect ratio | 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 | 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 |
Peak resolution | 4608 x 3456 | 4000 x 3000 |
Highest native ISO | 25600 | 3200 |
Min native ISO | 200 | 80 |
RAW support | ||
Min enhanced ISO | 100 | - |
Autofocusing | ||
Focus manually | ||
Autofocus touch | ||
Autofocus continuous | ||
Single autofocus | ||
Autofocus tracking | ||
Autofocus selectice | ||
Center weighted autofocus | ||
Multi area autofocus | ||
Live view autofocus | ||
Face detection focus | ||
Contract detection focus | ||
Phase detection focus | ||
Total focus points | 35 | 9 |
Lens | ||
Lens mount type | Micro Four Thirds | fixed lens |
Lens zoom range | - | 28-140mm (5.0x) |
Max aperture | - | f/3.3-5.2 |
Macro focusing distance | - | 10cm |
Total lenses | 107 | - |
Focal length multiplier | 2.1 | 5.8 |
Screen | ||
Screen type | Tilting | Fixed Type |
Screen size | 3" | 3" |
Resolution of screen | 610k dot | 230k dot |
Selfie friendly | ||
Liveview | ||
Touch operation | ||
Screen tech | Touch control in electrostatic capacitance type OLED monitor | - |
Viewfinder Information | ||
Viewfinder | Electronic | None |
Viewfinder resolution | 1,440k dot | - |
Viewfinder coverage | 100 percent | - |
Viewfinder magnification | 0.58x | - |
Features | ||
Minimum shutter speed | 60 secs | 2 secs |
Fastest shutter speed | 1/4000 secs | 1/1600 secs |
Continuous shutter speed | 9.0 frames per second | 2.0 frames per second |
Shutter priority | ||
Aperture priority | ||
Manual exposure | ||
Exposure compensation | Yes | - |
Change white balance | ||
Image stabilization | ||
Integrated flash | ||
Flash distance | no built-in flash | 3.90 m |
Flash settings | Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync (2), Manual (3 levels) | Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye reduction, Slow Sync |
External flash | ||
AE bracketing | ||
White balance bracketing | ||
Fastest flash sync | 1/250 secs | - |
Exposure | ||
Multisegment exposure | ||
Average exposure | ||
Spot exposure | ||
Partial exposure | ||
AF area exposure | ||
Center weighted exposure | ||
Video features | ||
Video resolutions | 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1280 x 720 (60, 30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) | 1280 x 720 (30 fps) 640 x 480 (30 fps) |
Highest video resolution | 1920x1080 | 1280x720 |
Video format | H.264, Motion JPEG | MPEG-4 |
Microphone input | ||
Headphone input | ||
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) | 167g (0.37 lbs) |
Physical dimensions | 122 x 89 x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") | 98 x 57 x 23mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 0.9") |
DXO scores | ||
DXO Overall 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 | - |
Battery format | Battery Pack | - |
Battery ID | BLN-1 | - |
Self timer | Yes (2 or 12 sec) | Yes (2 or 10 sec) |
Time lapse recording | ||
Type of storage | SD/SDHC/SDXC | Memory Stick Duo / Pro Duo, Internal |
Storage slots | Single | Single |
Launch cost | $799 | $230 |