Olympus E-PL2 vs Sony RX1R

Let's examine more closely at the Olympus E-PL2 versus Sony RX1R, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Large Sensor Compact by rivals Olympus and Sony. There is a sizable difference between the image resolutions of the E-PL2 (12MP) and RX1R (24MP) and the E-PL2 (Four Thirds) and RX1R (Full frame) feature different sensor sizes.

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The E-PL2 was unveiled 3 years before the RX1R and that is quite a significant difference as far as tech is concerned. Both of the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-PL2 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony RX1R being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before we go through a complete comparison, below is a brief summary of how the E-PL2 scores against the RX1R with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus PEN E-PL2 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1R. The full galleries are available at Olympus E-PL2 Gallery & Sony RX1R Gallery.

If you are looking to lug around your camera frequently, you will need to consider its weight and size. The Olympus E-PL2 features outside 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) whilst the Sony RX1R has specifications of 113mm x 65mm x 70mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 2.8") with a weight of 482 grams (1.06 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-PL2 versus Sony RX1R in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you have at that moment. Here is the front view physical size comparison of the E-PL2 versus the RX1R.

Looking at size and weight, the portability grade of the E-PL2 and RX1R is 85 and 79 respectively.

Generally, its difficult to visualize the difference between sensor measurements only by reading through technical specs. The visual underneath will give you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-PL2 and RX1R.

As you can tell, both of those cameras have got different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-PL2 using its tinier sensor is going to make shooting bokeh harder and the Sony RX1R will resolve greater detail having an extra 12MP. Greater resolution can also enable you to crop photos much more aggressively. The older E-PL2 is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor technology.