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Olympus E-PL2 vs Sony RX100 III

Portability
85
Imaging
48
Features
47
Overall
47
Olympus PEN E-PL2 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 III front
Portability
89
Imaging
51
Features
77
Overall
61

Olympus E-PL2 vs Sony RX100 III Key Specs

Olympus E-PL2
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 6400
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 362g - 114 x 72 x 42mm
  • Launched February 2011
  • Previous Model is Olympus E-PL1s
  • Later Model is Olympus E-PL3
Sony RX100 III
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - 1" Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Display
  • ISO 125 - 12800
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 24-70mm (F1.8-2.8) lens
  • 290g - 102 x 58 x 41mm
  • Revealed May 2014
  • Earlier Model is Sony RX100 II
  • Successor is Sony RX100 IV
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Olympus E-PL2 vs Sony RX100 III Overview

Below is a extensive overview of the Olympus E-PL2 versus Sony RX100 III, one being a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the other is a Large Sensor Compact by rivals Olympus and Sony. There is a sizeable difference among the resolutions of the E-PL2 (12MP) and RX100 III (20MP) and the E-PL2 (Four Thirds) and RX100 III (1") possess different sensor size.

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The E-PL2 was announced 4 years before the RX100 III and that is a fairly large gap as far as camera tech is concerned. Both cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-PL2 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony RX100 III being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before getting in to a in depth comparison, below is a concise highlight of how the E-PL2 grades vs the RX100 III in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-PL2 over the Sony RX100 III

 E-PL2 RX100 III 

Reasons to pick Sony RX100 III over the Olympus E-PL2

 RX100 III E-PL2 
RevealedMay 2014February 2011More recent by 39 months
Display typeTiltingFixed Tilting display
Display resolution1229k460kClearer display (+769k dot)
Selfie screen Easy selfies

Common features in the Olympus E-PL2 and Sony RX100 III

 E-PL2 RX100 III 
Manually focus Very exact focus
Display dimension3"3"Identical display size
Touch friendly display Neither includes Touch friendly display

Olympus E-PL2 vs Sony RX100 III Physical Comparison

For those who are planning to lug around your camera regularly, you'll have to consider its weight and size. The Olympus E-PL2 features physical dimensions of 114mm x 72mm x 42mm (4.5" x 2.8" x 1.7") accompanied by a weight of 362 grams (0.80 lbs) and the Sony RX100 III has specifications of 102mm x 58mm x 41mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.6") along with a weight of 290 grams (0.64 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-PL2 versus Sony RX100 III in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Do not forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary depending on the lens you are employing at that time. Underneath is the front view over all size comparison of the E-PL2 versus the RX100 III.

Olympus E-PL2 vs Sony RX100 III size comparison

Considering size and weight, the portability rating of the E-PL2 and RX100 III is 85 and 89 respectively.

Olympus E-PL2 vs Sony RX100 III top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-PL2 vs Sony RX100 III Sensor Comparison

Usually, it can be tough to picture the contrast in sensor measurements simply by going through specs. The photograph below should offer you a greater sense of the sensor sizes in the E-PL2 and RX100 III.

As you can plainly see, both of those cameras have got different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The E-PL2 having a larger sensor is going to make shooting shallow DOF easier and the Sony RX100 III will show greater detail with its extra 8MP. Greater resolution will also allow you to crop images much more aggressively. The older E-PL2 will be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor innovation.

Olympus E-PL2 vs Sony RX100 III sensor size comparison

Olympus E-PL2 vs Sony RX100 III Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-PL2 vs Sony RX100 III Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-PL2 Portrait photography information
Sony RX100 III Portrait photography information
60
focusing manually
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
features face detect autofocus
exports RAW formats
sensor resolution low (12 megapixels)
64
you can focus manually
high flash sync (1/2,000s)
decent megapixels (20 megapixels)
nice sensor size (1")
has face detection focusing
exports RAW files
external flash not possible
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Olympus E-PL2
Street photography with Sony RX100 III
73
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
exports RAW formats
no articulating screen
85
screen tilts up and down
has image stabilization (Optical)
nice sensor size (1")
exports RAW files
lighter than competition in class (290 grams)
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Sports Comparison

Sports photography with Olympus E-PL2
Sports photography with Sony RX100 III
45
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
features tracking focus
low frames per second (3.0 frames/s)
sensor resolution low (12 megapixels)
low battery power (280 per charge)
doesn't have phase detect autofocus
65
has image stabilization (Optical)
decent megapixels (20 megapixels)
nice sensor size (1")
has tracking autofocus
no phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-PL2 Travel photography factors
Sony RX100 III Travel photography factors
51
built-in flash
missing Time Lapse mode
low battery power (280 shots)
sensor resolution low (12 megapixels)
doesn't have selfie friendly screen
85
lighter than competition in class (290 grams)
decent megapixels (20MP)
built-in flash
screen is selfie friendly
reasonably wide (24mm)
good maximum aperture (f1.8)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-PL2 Landscape photography features
Sony RX100 III Landscape photography features
61
focusing manually
swap lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
screen size is good (3 inch)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
exports RAW formats
sensor resolution low (12 megapixels)
low battery power (280 CIPA)
missing Time Lapse mode
73
you can focus manually
reasonably wide (24mm)
good maximum aperture (f1.8)
decent sized screen (3 inches)
has image stabilization (Optical)
decent megapixels (20MP)
nice sensor size (1")
exports RAW files
cannot switch lenses (fixed lens mount)
Photography Glossary

Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-PL2 as a Vlogging camera
Sony RX100 III as a Vlogging camera
29
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
features face detect autofocus
doesn't have selfie friendly screen
low video resolution (1280 x 720 resolution)
missing mic port
80
reasonably wide (24mm)
good maximum aperture (f1.8)
screen is selfie friendly
has image stabilization (Optical)
has face detection focusing
video res high (1920 x 1080 pxls)
lighter than competition in class (290g)
lack of external mic jack
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Olympus E-PL2 vs Sony RX100 III Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-PL2 and Sony RX100 III
 Olympus PEN E-PL2Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 III
General Information
Company Olympus Sony
Model Olympus PEN E-PL2 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 III
Type Entry-Level Mirrorless Large Sensor Compact
Launched 2011-02-11 2014-05-15
Body design Rangefinder-style mirrorless Large Sensor Compact
Sensor Information
Chip Truepic V Bionz X
Sensor type CMOS BSI-CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds 1"
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 13.2 x 8.8mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 116.2mm²
Sensor resolution 12 megapixels 20 megapixels
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Highest resolution 4032 x 3024 5472 x 3648
Highest native ISO 6400 12800
Min native ISO 100 125
RAW data
Autofocusing
Manual focus
Touch to focus
Autofocus continuous
Single autofocus
Tracking autofocus
Selective autofocus
Autofocus center weighted
Multi area autofocus
Autofocus live view
Face detection focus
Contract detection focus
Phase detection focus
Number of focus points 11 25
Lens
Lens mount Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens focal range - 24-70mm (2.9x)
Highest aperture - f/1.8-2.8
Macro focus range - 5cm
Amount of lenses 107 -
Focal length multiplier 2.1 2.7
Screen
Screen type Fixed Type Tilting
Screen size 3 inch 3 inch
Screen resolution 460 thousand dot 1,229 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch functionality
Screen technology HyperCrystal LCD AR(Anti-Reflective) coating -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic (optional) Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 1,440 thousand dot
Viewfinder coverage - 100%
Viewfinder magnification - 0.59x
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60s 30s
Highest shutter speed 1/4000s 1/2000s
Continuous shooting speed 3.0 frames/s 10.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Set white balance
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash range 10.00 m -
Flash options Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync, Manual (3 levels) -
External flash
AE bracketing
WB bracketing
Highest flash sync 1/160s 1/2000s
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 1920 x 1080 (60p/60i/24p), 1280 x 720 (60p/30p/24p/120p), 1440 x 1080 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Highest video resolution 1280x720 1920x1080
Video file format Motion JPEG MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC S
Mic input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 362 gr (0.80 pounds) 290 gr (0.64 pounds)
Dimensions 114 x 72 x 42mm (4.5" x 2.8" x 1.7") 102 x 58 x 41mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.6")
DXO scores
DXO All around score 55 67
DXO Color Depth score 21.4 22.4
DXO Dynamic range score 10.2 12.3
DXO Low light score 573 495
Other
Battery life 280 photos 320 photos
Battery format Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model BLS-5 NP-BX1
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec, self-portrait, continuous)
Time lapse feature With downloadable app
Type of storage SD/SDHC SD/ SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo
Storage slots Single Single
Launch cost $0 $748