Olympus E-PL1s vs Sony WX5

Lets take a more detailed look at the Olympus E-PL1s and Sony WX5, one is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the other is a Small Sensor Compact by competitors Olympus and Sony. The sensor resolution of the E-PL1s (12MP) and the WX5 (12MP) is very comparable but the E-PL1s (Four Thirds) and WX5 (1/2.3") offer totally different sensor sizing.

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The E-PL1s was unveiled 5 months after the WX5 and they are of a similar generation. Each of the cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-PL1s being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony WX5 being a Compact camera.

Before diving straight to a in depth comparison, here is a simple view of how the E-PL1s grades against the WX5 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Here is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus PEN E-PL1s and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX5. The full galleries are available at Olympus E-PL1s Gallery and Sony WX5 Gallery.

For anyone who is aiming to travel with your camera frequently, you have to take into account its weight and volume. The Olympus E-PL1s has outer 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 sizing of 92mm x 52mm x 22mm (3.6" x 2.0" x 0.9") accompanied by a weight of 146 grams (0.32 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus E-PL1s and Sony WX5 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ dependant on the lens you select at that moment. Following is a front view sizing comparison of the E-PL1s versus the WX5.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-PL1s and WX5 is 86 and 95 respectively.

Typically, it is difficult to envision the gap in sensor dimensions merely by seeing specs. The image below should provide you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-PL1s and WX5.

As you can plainly see, both of those cameras come with the identical megapixel count but not the same sensor dimensions. The E-PL1s provides the larger sensor which should make getting shallow depth of field easier.