Olympus E-PL5 vs Sony H300

On this page, we are looking at the Olympus E-PL5 versus Sony H300, former is a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom by companies Olympus and Sony. The sensor resolution of the E-PL5 (16MP) and the H300 (20MP) is fairly well matched but the E-PL5 (Four Thirds) and H300 (1/2.3") provide different sensor sizes.

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The E-PL5 was unveiled 17 months prior to the H300 making them a generation away from one another. Each of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-PL5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony H300 being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before getting right into a more detailed comparison, here is a short highlight of how the E-PL5 grades versus the H300 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

This is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus PEN E-PL5 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H300. The full galleries are available at Olympus E-PL5 Gallery & Sony H300 Gallery.

For anyone who is aiming to travel with your camera regularly, you will need to factor in its weight and volume. The Olympus E-PL5 enjoys external 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) and the Sony H300 has sizing of 130mm x 95mm x 122mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 4.8") with a weight of 590 grams (1.30 lbs).

Examine the Olympus E-PL5 versus Sony H300 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you use at that time. The following is a front view physical size comparison of the E-PL5 versus the H300.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-PL5 and H300 is 88 and 63 respectively.

Normally, it's hard to picture the gap between sensor dimensions only by checking technical specs. The pic here may give you a stronger sense of the sensor measurements in the E-PL5 and H300.

As you can tell, each of these cameras provide different resolutions and different sensor dimensions. The E-PL5 using its larger sensor is going to make shooting shallower DOF easier and the Sony H300 will resolve extra detail having an extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also enable you to crop images more aggressively. The more aged E-PL5 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor innovation.