Olympus E-P1 vs Sony QX100

Its time to take a closer look at the Olympus E-P1 versus Sony QX100, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Lens-style by brands Olympus and Sony. There exists a noticeable gap among the sensor resolutions of the E-P1 (12MP) and QX100 (20MP) and the E-P1 (Four Thirds) and QX100 (1") offer totally different sensor measurements.

Photography Glossary

The E-P1 was unveiled 5 years prior to the QX100 and that is a fairly sizable difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-P1 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony QX100 being a Lens-style camera.

Before getting into a complete comparison, here is a quick summation of how the E-P1 scores vs the QX100 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus PEN E-P1 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-QX100. The full galleries are provided at Olympus E-P1 Gallery & Sony QX100 Gallery.

If you're looking to carry your camera, you need to factor its weight and size. The Olympus E-P1 has outside measurements of 121mm x 70mm x 36mm (4.8" x 2.8" x 1.4") and a weight of 355 grams (0.78 lbs) while the Sony QX100 has specifications of 63mm x 63mm x 56mm (2.5" x 2.5" x 2.2") along with a weight of 179 grams (0.39 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-P1 versus Sony QX100 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you have at that time. Below is a front view physical size comparison of the E-P1 vs the QX100.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-P1 and QX100 is 86 and 92 respectively.

Quite often, it can be hard to envision the contrast in sensor sizing merely by looking through specifications. The graphic underneath will offer you a better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-P1 and QX100.

To sum up, each of these cameras provide different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The E-P1 with its bigger sensor will make achieving bokeh easier and the Sony QX100 will render extra detail having an extra 8 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also allow you to crop photographs more aggressively. The older E-P1 will be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor tech.