Olympus E-PL5 vs Olympus XZ-10

Following is a extensive review of the Olympus E-PL5 versus Olympus XZ-10, former is a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Small Sensor Compact and both are created by Olympus. There exists a considerable gap among the sensor resolutions of the E-PL5 (16MP) and XZ-10 (12MP) and the E-PL5 (Four Thirds) and XZ-10 (1/2.3") posses different sensor dimensions.

Photography Glossary

The E-PL5 was manufactured 4 months before the XZ-10 and they are of a similar age. Each of these cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-PL5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Olympus XZ-10 being a Compact camera.

Before diving right into a comprehensive comparison, here is a short overview of how the E-PL5 scores versus the XZ-10 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Below is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus PEN E-PL5 & Olympus Stylus XZ-10. The entire galleries are available at Olympus E-PL5 Gallery & Olympus XZ-10 Gallery.

For those who are going to carry around your camera often, you should take into account its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-PL5 enjoys physical measurements of 111mm x 64mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.5") along with a weight of 325 grams (0.72 lbs) whilst the Olympus XZ-10 has proportions of 102mm x 61mm x 34mm (4.0" x 2.4" x 1.3") and a weight of 221 grams (0.49 lbs).

Examine the Olympus E-PL5 versus Olympus XZ-10 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you use at that time. Below is a front view measurement comparison of the E-PL5 and the XZ-10.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-PL5 and XZ-10 is 88 and 91 respectively.

More often than not, it's hard to visualize the contrast in sensor sizes simply by viewing a spec sheet. The picture here will offer you a stronger sense of the sensor measurements in the E-PL5 and XZ-10.

Clearly, each of the cameras feature different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The E-PL5 due to its larger sensor is going to make shooting shallow DOF simpler and the Olympus E-PL5 will provide you with extra detail due to its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also make it easier to crop pics way more aggressively.