Olympus E-M5 vs Sony W830

Its time to look closer at the Olympus E-M5 vs Sony W830, former is a Advanced Mirrorless while the other is a Ultracompact by competitors Olympus and Sony. The image resolution of the E-M5 (16MP) and the W830 (20MP) is very close but the E-M5 (Four Thirds) and W830 (1/2.3") posses totally different sensor dimensions.

Photography Glossary

The E-M5 was launched 20 months before the W830 making them a generation away from each other. Each of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-M5 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Sony W830 being a Ultracompact camera.

Before delving straight to a thorough comparison, here is a short synopsis of how the E-M5 scores versus the W830 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

This is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus OM-D E-M5 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W830. The complete galleries are available at Olympus E-M5 Gallery & Sony W830 Gallery.

For anybody who is planning to travel with your camera often, you will have to factor its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-M5 comes with outer measurements of 122mm x 89mm x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") and a weight of 425 grams (0.94 lbs) while the Sony W830 has measurements of 93mm x 52mm x 23mm (3.7" x 2.0" x 0.9") having a weight of 122 grams (0.27 lbs).

Check the Olympus E-M5 vs Sony W830 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you are working with at that moment. Below is a front view measurement comparison of the E-M5 versus the W830.

Looking at size and weight, the portability score of the E-M5 and W830 is 81 and 96 respectively.

Usually, it is very hard to see the gap in sensor dimensions purely by looking through a spec sheet. The image below will provide you a far better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-M5 and W830.

As you can see, each of these cameras provide different resolutions and different sensor dimensions. The E-M5 due to its larger sensor will make achieving shallower DOF easier and the Sony W830 will provide you with extra detail utilizing its extra 4MP. Greater resolution will enable you to crop photos more aggressively. The more aged E-M5 will be behind with regard to sensor innovation.