Olympus E-PL2 vs Sony RX1R II

Its time to look more closely at the Olympus E-PL2 vs Sony RX1R II, one being a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the latter is a Large Sensor Compact by competitors Olympus and Sony. There is a crucial difference between the resolutions of the E-PL2 (12MP) and RX1R II (42MP) and the E-PL2 (Four Thirds) and RX1R II (Full frame) boast different sensor dimensions.

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The E-PL2 was introduced 5 years prior to the RX1R II and that is quite a serious gap as far as tech is concerned. Both the cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-PL2 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony RX1R II being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before getting into a full comparison, here is a quick summary of how the E-PL2 scores vs the RX1R II in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Below is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus PEN E-PL2 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1R II. The whole galleries are available at Olympus E-PL2 Gallery and Sony RX1R II Gallery.

In case you're intending to carry your camera often, you should factor its weight and size. The Olympus E-PL2 features outer dimensions of 114mm x 72mm x 42mm (4.5" x 2.8" x 1.7") having a weight of 362 grams (0.80 lbs) and the Sony RX1R II has specifications of 113mm x 65mm x 72mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 2.8") with a weight of 507 grams (1.12 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus E-PL2 vs Sony RX1R II in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ based on the lens you are working with at the time. Underneath is a front view physical size comparison of the E-PL2 versus the RX1R II.

Looking at size and weight, the portability score of the E-PL2 and RX1R II is 85 and 78 respectively.

Usually, it is very hard to visualize the gap between sensor sizing simply by reading through a spec sheet. The graphic here may give you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-PL2 and RX1R II.

As you can see, both cameras come with different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The E-PL2 having a tinier sensor is going to make getting shallower DOF trickier and the Sony RX1R II will give more detail using its extra 30 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also help you crop photographs a good deal more aggressively. The older E-PL2 is going to be behind when it comes to sensor innovation.