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Olympus E-M5 vs Sony W290

Portability
81
Imaging
51
Features
70
Overall
58
Olympus OM-D E-M5 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W290 front
Portability
94
Imaging
34
Features
28
Overall
31

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony W290 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
  • Revealed April 2012
  • Updated by Olympus E-M5 II
Sony W290
(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
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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.

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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.

Photography Glossary
	
	

Reasons to pick Olympus E-M5 over the Sony W290

 E-M5 W290 
ReleasedApril 2012February 2009Fresher by 39 months
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen resolution610k230kClearer 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 dimensions3"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. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

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.

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony W290 size comparison

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 top view buttons comparison

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 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony W290 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony W290 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Portrait photography details
Sony W290 Portrait photography details
70
has manual focus
sensor resolution is decent (16 megapixels)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
includes face detect focusing
delivers RAW formats
27
focusing manually
manual exposure not available
no external flash support
low MP (12 megapixels)
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
no RAW format
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-M5 as a Street photography camera
Sony W290 as a Street photography camera
82
has a tilting screen
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW formats
has touch focus
weather sealing
very good ISO range (25,600)
56
image stabilization (Optical)
screen is fixed
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
no RAW format
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Sports photography features
Sony W290 Sports photography features
67
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor resolution is decent (16 megapixels)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
includes tracking focus
weather sealing
has no phase detect AF
25
image stabilization (Optical)
painfully slow continuous shooting (2.0 fps)
lack of shutter priority mode
low MP (12MP)
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
no phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Olympus E-M5
Travel photography with Sony W290
66
weather sealing
has touch focus
sensor resolution is decent (16MP)
missing Time Lapse mode
screen is not selfie friendly
57
flash built-in
reasonably wide (28mm)
lack of Timelapse function
low MP (12MP)
does not contain selfie friendly screen
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.3)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Landscape photography info
Sony W290 Landscape photography info
73
has manual focus
swap lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
pretty good screen size (3 inches)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor resolution is decent (16MP)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
very good ISO range (25,600)
delivers RAW formats
weather sealing
missing Time Lapse mode
41
focusing manually
reasonably wide (28mm)
screen size is decent (3 inch)
image stabilization (Optical)
can't swap lenses (fixed lens mount)
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.3)
manual exposure not available
low MP (12 megapixels)
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
no RAW format
lack of Timelapse function
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Vlogging features
Sony W290 Vlogging features
34
built-in touchscreen
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
includes face detect focusing
high res video (1920 x 1080 pixels)
screen is not selfie friendly
missing mic port
28
reasonably wide (28mm)
image stabilization (Optical)
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.3)
does not contain selfie friendly screen
video quality not great (1280 x 720 resolution)
lack of microphone jack
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Olympus E-M5 vs Sony W290 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-M5 and Sony W290
 Olympus OM-D E-M5Sony 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