Olympus E-PL5 vs Sony TX7

On this page, we are reviewing the Olympus E-PL5 and Sony TX7, former is a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Ultracompact by manufacturers Olympus and Sony. There exists a substantial gap between the image resolutions of the E-PL5 (16MP) and TX7 (10MP) and the E-PL5 (Four Thirds) and TX7 (1/2.4") boast different sensor measurements.

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The E-PL5 was brought out 2 years after the TX7 which is quite a big difference as far as technology is concerned. Each of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-PL5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony TX7 being a Ultracompact camera.

Before delving straight to a detailed comparison, here is a quick introduction of how the E-PL5 matches up versus the TX7 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

The following is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus PEN E-PL5 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX7. The entire galleries are available at Olympus E-PL5 Gallery & Sony TX7 Gallery.

In case you're going to carry around your camera regularly, you have to consider its weight and volume. The Olympus E-PL5 enjoys outer dimensions of 111mm x 64mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.5") having a weight of 325 grams (0.72 lbs) whilst the Sony TX7 has sizing of 98mm x 60mm x 18mm (3.9" x 2.4" x 0.7") and a weight of 149 grams (0.33 lbs).

See the Olympus E-PL5 and Sony TX7 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you use at that time. Underneath is a front view over all size comparison of the E-PL5 compared to the TX7.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-PL5 and TX7 is 88 and 95 respectively.

Typically, it is tough to visualize the gap between sensor sizes simply by reading through technical specs. The pic below will provide you a stronger sense of the sensor sizes in the E-PL5 and TX7.

As you can tell, both cameras provide different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The E-PL5 featuring a larger sensor is going to make getting shallower depth of field simpler and the Olympus E-PL5 will give you greater detail having its extra 6 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also enable you to crop images more aggressively. The newer E-PL5 should have an advantage in sensor innovation.