Olympus E-PL1 vs Sony RX100 V

The following is a in depth assessment of the Olympus E-PL1 and Sony RX100 V, former is a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Large Sensor Compact by companies Olympus and Sony. There is a noticeable difference among the image resolutions of the E-PL1 (12MP) and RX100 V (20MP) and the E-PL1 (Four Thirds) and RX100 V (1") come with totally different sensor sizes.

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The E-PL1 was introduced 7 years before the RX100 V which is a fairly sizable difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Both the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-PL1 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony RX100 V being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before delving through a thorough comparison, below is a short introduction of how the E-PL1 grades vs the RX100 V for portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

The following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus PEN E-PL1 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 V. The whole galleries are provided at Olympus E-PL1 Gallery & Sony RX100 V Gallery.

For anybody who is intending to travel with your camera frequently, you have to consider its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-PL1 features external dimensions of 115mm x 72mm x 42mm (4.5" x 2.8" x 1.7") and a weight of 334 grams (0.74 lbs) whilst the Sony RX100 V has proportions of 102mm x 58mm x 41mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.6") having a weight of 299 grams (0.66 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-PL1 and Sony RX100 V in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you are using at that moment. Following is the front view measurement comparison of the E-PL1 compared to the RX100 V.

Factoring in size and weight, the portability score of the E-PL1 and RX100 V is 86 and 89 respectively.

Generally, it is very hard to visualise the difference in sensor dimensions purely by viewing a spec sheet. The pic here might provide you a more clear sense of the sensor sizes in the E-PL1 and RX100 V.

Clearly, each of these cameras have got different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The E-PL1 having a larger sensor will make getting shallow DOF simpler and the Sony RX100 V will result in more detail using its extra 8MP. Greater resolution can also make it easier to crop pics much more aggressively. The more aged E-PL1 will be behind in sensor innovation.