Olympus E-PL1 vs Sony WX5

Let's look closer at the Olympus E-PL1 versus Sony WX5, one is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by brands Olympus and Sony. The image resolution of the E-PL1 (12MP) and the WX5 (12MP) is pretty comparable but the E-PL1 (Four Thirds) and WX5 (1/2.3") posses different sensor dimensions.

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The E-PL1 was launched within a month of the WX5 and they are of a similar generation. The two cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-PL1 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony WX5 being a Compact camera.

Before getting right into a detailed comparison, here is a brief synopsis of how the E-PL1 scores against the WX5 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

This is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus PEN E-PL1 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX5. The complete galleries are provided at Olympus E-PL1 Gallery and Sony WX5 Gallery.

When you are aiming to travel with your camera often, you will have to factor its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-PL1 has got external dimensions of 115mm x 72mm x 42mm (4.5" x 2.8" x 1.7") accompanied by a weight of 334 grams (0.74 lbs) and the Sony WX5 has dimensions of 92mm x 52mm x 22mm (3.6" x 2.0" x 0.9") having a weight of 146 grams (0.32 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-PL1 versus Sony WX5 in the latest Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change dependant on the lens you are working with at that moment. Here is a front view size comparison of the E-PL1 versus the WX5.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability grade of the E-PL1 and WX5 is 86 and 95 respectively.

Often, its hard to visualize the difference in sensor dimensions merely by seeing specs. The picture below will help provide you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-PL1 and WX5.

As you can plainly see, each of these cameras come with the identical MP albeit different sensor dimensions. The E-PL1 comes with the bigger sensor which is going to make obtaining bokeh less difficult.