Olympus E-PL1s vs Sony RX100 V

On this page, we will be reviewing the Olympus E-PL1s and Sony RX100 V, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Large Sensor Compact by rivals Olympus and Sony. There is a sizable difference among the sensor resolutions of the E-PL1s (12MP) and RX100 V (20MP) and the E-PL1s (Four Thirds) and RX100 V (1") have different sensor sizes.

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The E-PL1s was announced 6 years earlier than the RX100 V and that is a fairly significant difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Each of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-PL1s being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony RX100 V being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before getting into a comprehensive comparison, here is a short synopsis of how the E-PL1s matches up versus the RX100 V when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Here is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus PEN E-PL1s & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 V. The whole galleries are viewable at Olympus E-PL1s Gallery & Sony RX100 V Gallery.

If you are looking to lug around your camera frequently, you'll need to factor in its weight and size. The Olympus E-PL1s has got outer measurements of 115mm x 72mm x 42mm (4.5" x 2.8" x 1.7") with a weight of 334 grams (0.74 lbs) and the Sony RX100 V has specifications of 102mm x 58mm x 41mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.6") and a weight of 299 grams (0.66 lbs).

Compare the Olympus E-PL1s and Sony RX100 V in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you have at that moment. Underneath is a front view scale comparison of the E-PL1s vs the RX100 V.

Using size and weight, the portability score of the E-PL1s and RX100 V is 86 and 89 respectively.

Generally, its hard to visualize the contrast in sensor measurements merely by looking through technical specs. The graphic underneath will give you a much better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-PL1s and RX100 V.

As you can tell, each of the cameras have different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The E-PL1s having a bigger sensor is going to make shooting shallow depth of field less difficult and the Sony RX100 V will provide you with greater detail with its extra 8 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also allow you to crop photographs a bit more aggressively. The older E-PL1s will be behind when it comes to sensor technology.