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Olympus E-PL5 vs Sony RX10 III

Portability
88
Imaging
52
Features
72
Overall
60
Olympus PEN E-PL5 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 III front
Portability
53
Imaging
52
Features
77
Overall
62

Olympus E-PL5 vs Sony RX10 III Key Specs

Olympus E-PL5
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 200 - 25600
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 325g - 111 x 64 x 38mm
  • Revealed September 2012
Sony RX10 III
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - 1" Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 125 - 12800 (Push to 25600)
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • 24-600mm (F2.4-4.0) lens
  • 1051g - 133 x 94 x 127mm
  • Launched March 2016
  • Old Model is Sony RX10 II
  • Refreshed by Sony RX10 IV
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Olympus E-PL5 vs Sony RX10 III Overview

Below, we will be looking at the Olympus E-PL5 vs Sony RX10 III, one is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the latter is a Large Sensor Superzoom by competitors Olympus and Sony. The image resolution of the E-PL5 (16MP) and the RX10 III (20MP) is pretty similar but the E-PL5 (Four Thirds) and RX10 III (1") use totally different sensor sizes.

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The E-PL5 was released 4 years prior to the RX10 III which is quite a sizable gap as far as technology is concerned. Each of the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-PL5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony RX10 III being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before getting through a complete comparison, below is a simple view of how the E-PL5 matches up vs the RX10 III in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Photography Glossary
	
	

Reasons to pick Olympus E-PL5 over the Sony RX10 III

 E-PL5 RX10 III 
Selfie screen Easy selfies
Touch friendly screen Quickly navigate

Reasons to pick Sony RX10 III over the Olympus E-PL5

 RX10 III E-PL5 
LaunchedMarch 2016September 2012More modern by 42 months
Screen resolution1229k460kSharper screen (+769k dot)

Common features in the Olympus E-PL5 and Sony RX10 III

 E-PL5 RX10 III 
Manual focus Dial exact focusing
Screen typeTiltingTiltingTilting screen
Screen dimension3"3"Identical screen dimensions

Olympus E-PL5 vs Sony RX10 III Physical Comparison

For those who are going to carry around your camera, you are going to need to factor its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-PL5 offers outside dimensions of 111mm x 64mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.5") and a weight of 325 grams (0.72 lbs) whilst the Sony RX10 III has proportions of 133mm x 94mm x 127mm (5.2" x 3.7" x 5.0") with a weight of 1051 grams (2.32 lbs).

Check the Olympus E-PL5 vs Sony RX10 III in the latest Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Always remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary dependant on the lens you are utilising at the time. Below is the front view over all size comparison of the E-PL5 compared to the RX10 III.

Olympus E-PL5 vs Sony RX10 III size comparison

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-PL5 and RX10 III is 88 and 53 respectively.

Olympus E-PL5 vs Sony RX10 III top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-PL5 vs Sony RX10 III Sensor Comparison

Quite often, its difficult to envision the gap between sensor sizes merely by reviewing specs. The image underneath will help offer you a better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-PL5 and RX10 III.

All in all, each of the cameras have got different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The E-PL5 because of its bigger sensor will make achieving shallower depth of field simpler and the Sony RX10 III will offer greater detail as a result of its extra 4MP. Higher resolution will make it easier to crop photographs much more aggressively. The more aged E-PL5 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor innovation.

Olympus E-PL5 vs Sony RX10 III sensor size comparison

Olympus E-PL5 vs Sony RX10 III Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-PL5 vs Sony RX10 III Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-PL5 Portrait photography highlights
Sony RX10 III Portrait photography highlights
71
has manual focus
decent sensor resolution (16 megapixels)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
provides face detection focus
exports RAW formats
71
has manual focus
megapixel count decent (20MP)
sensor size is nice (1")
supports face detect autofocus
supports RAW files
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Olympus E-PL5
Street photography with Sony RX10 III
85
screen tilts
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
exports RAW formats
features focus via touch
great high ISO (25,600)
64
tilting screen
has image stabilization (Optical)
sensor size is nice (1")
supports RAW files
environment proofing
more heavy than competition in class (1,051g)
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-PL5 Sports photography info
Sony RX10 III Sports photography info
66
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor resolution (16 megapixels)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
provides tracking autofocus
no phase detect auto focus
70
incredible zoom range (24-600mm 25.0 x zoom)
silent shooting (1/32,000s)
has image stabilization (Optical)
megapixel count decent (20MP)
sensor size is nice (1")
supports tracking focus
environment proofing
good battery pack (420 per charge)
doesn't have phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-PL5 Travel photography advice
Sony RX10 III Travel photography advice
75
features focus via touch
decent sensor resolution (16MP)
selfie friendly screen
missing Timelapse recording
55
good battery pack (420 shots)
environment proofing
megapixel count decent (20MP)
has built in flash
reasonably wide (24mm)
long zoom (600mm)
doesn't have Timelapse function
more heavy than competition in class (1,051 grams)
screen isn't selfie friendly
somewhat slow max aperture (f2.4)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-PL5 as a Landscape photography camera
Sony RX10 III as a Landscape photography camera
74
has manual focus
swap lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
screen size is good (3 inches)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor resolution (16MP)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
great high ISO (25,600)
exports RAW formats
missing Timelapse recording
63
has manual focus
reasonably wide (24mm)
screen size is good (3")
has image stabilization (Optical)
megapixel count decent (20MP)
sensor size is nice (1")
supports RAW files
environment proofing
good battery pack (420 shots)
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow max aperture (f2.4)
doesn't have Timelapse function
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-PL5 as a Vlogging camera
Sony RX10 III as a Vlogging camera
78
selfie friendly screen
touchscreen capability
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
provides face detection focus
video res high (1920 x 1080 pixels)
missing external microphone support
28
reasonably wide (24mm)
has image stabilization (Optical)
supports face detect autofocus
video resolution high (3840 x 2160 pxls)
includes microphone socket
somewhat slow max aperture (f2.4)
screen isn't selfie friendly
more heavy than competition in class (1,051 grams)
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Olympus E-PL5 vs Sony RX10 III Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-PL5 and Sony RX10 III
 Olympus PEN E-PL5Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 III
General Information
Make Olympus Sony
Model Olympus PEN E-PL5 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 III
Class Entry-Level Mirrorless Large Sensor Superzoom
Revealed 2012-09-17 2016-03-29
Physical type Rangefinder-style mirrorless SLR-like (bridge)
Sensor Information
Processor Chip - Bionz X
Sensor type CMOS BSI-CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds 1"
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 13.2 x 8.8mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 116.2mm²
Sensor resolution 16MP 20MP
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Max resolution 4608 x 3456 5472 x 3648
Max native ISO 25600 12800
Max enhanced ISO - 25600
Minimum native ISO 200 125
RAW support
Minimum enhanced ISO - 64
Autofocusing
Manual focus
Touch to focus
AF continuous
Single AF
AF tracking
Selective AF
Center weighted AF
Multi area AF
AF live view
Face detection AF
Contract detection AF
Phase detection AF
Number of focus points 35 25
Lens
Lens mounting type Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens focal range - 24-600mm (25.0x)
Maximum aperture - f/2.4-4.0
Macro focus range - 3cm
Total lenses 107 -
Focal length multiplier 2.1 2.7
Screen
Screen type Tilting Tilting
Screen diagonal 3 inch 3 inch
Screen resolution 460k dots 1,229k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch operation
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic (optional) Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 2,359k dots
Viewfinder coverage - 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification - 0.7x
Features
Min shutter speed 60 seconds 30 seconds
Max shutter speed 1/4000 seconds 1/2000 seconds
Max silent shutter speed - 1/32000 seconds
Continuous shutter rate 8.0 frames per sec 14.0 frames per sec
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Change WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash range 7.00 m (bundled FL-LM1) 10.80 m (at Auto ISO)
Flash settings Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync, Manual (3 levels) Auto, fill-flash, slow sync, rear sync, off
External flash
AE bracketing
WB bracketing
Max flash synchronize 1/250 seconds -
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (30 fps), 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 3840 x 2160 (30p, 25p, 24p), 1920 x 1080 (60p, 60i, 24p) ,1440 x 1080 (30p), 640 x 480 (30p)
Max video resolution 1920x1080 3840x2160
Video file format MPEG-4, H.264, Motion JPEG MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC S
Microphone port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless Eye-Fi Connected Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 325g (0.72 lb) 1051g (2.32 lb)
Dimensions 111 x 64 x 38mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.5") 133 x 94 x 127mm (5.2" x 3.7" x 5.0")
DXO scores
DXO Overall score 72 70
DXO Color Depth score 22.8 23.1
DXO Dynamic range score 12.3 12.6
DXO Low light score 889 472
Other
Battery life 360 shots 420 shots
Form of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model BLS-5 NP-FW50
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec, continuous)
Time lapse feature
Storage type SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Duo/Pro Duo/Pro-HG Duo
Card slots Single Single
Launch price $400 $1,398