Olympus E-PL5 vs Sony DSC-W610: A Hands-On Comparison for the Discerning Photographer

Choosing the right camera today is a journey steeped in managing expectations and field-tested realities. With so many options spanning from entry-level compacts to more advanced mirrorless systems, how do you decide? In this detailed comparison, I dive deep into two cameras often conflated by casual shoppers - the Olympus PEN E-PL5, a mirrorless offering from 2012 aimed at photography enthusiasts stepping up their game; and the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W610, a straightforward point-and-shoot that appeals to casual users seeking simplicity and portability.

Having personally tested thousands of cameras across genres, I’m here to cut through marketing fluff and provide you with exactly what matters in day-to-day shooting. We’ll review their features, performance, and suitability across photographic disciplines and practical use, dissect sensor technology, autofocus, ergonomics, and more. Strap in, as this is a detailed journey.

First Impressions: A Tale of Two Designs

Start with form factor, and you’ll immediately notice how different these two cameras really are. The Olympus E-PL5 sports a rangefinder-style mirrorless body with a 3-inch tilting touchscreen, while the Sony DSC-W610 is a compact fixed-lens point-and-shoot with a smaller 2.7-inch fixed screen. Weight-wise, the Olympus tips the scales at 325 grams, and the Sony is feather-light at just 113 grams.

When holding the E-PL5, I felt the solidity typical of a Micro Four Thirds system, coupled with intuitive manual controls and a customizable interface. The W610, conversely, is designed with absolute simplicity in mind - minimal buttons, no viewfinder, no advanced dials. That approach appeals to those wanting quick snapshots without fuss, but enthusiasts will likely find it limiting.

If you value ergonomics and tactile control, the Olympus’s thoughtfully arranged dials and buttons (check the top view above) offer a more engaging shooting experience. The Sony’s layout is made for easy pocketability rather than professional controls.

Sensor Size and Image Quality: The Heart of the Matter

One of the most critical aspects affecting image quality is sensor size. The Olympus E-PL5 benefits from a 16-megapixel Micro Four Thirds CMOS sensor measuring 17.3 x 13 mm, whereas the Sony W610 uses a much smaller 1/2.3-inch CCD sensor (6.17 x 4.55 mm) with a 14-megapixel resolution.

The difference? Quite substantial. The larger Four Thirds sensor in the Olympus provides a much larger surface area (225 mm²) to gather light compared to the tiny 28 mm² chip in the Sony. This translates into:

• Better low-light performance: The E-PL5 has a native ISO range up to 25,600 and effective noise control up to ISO 800-1600 in practical scenarios. The Sony maxes out at ISO 3200 but with significantly noisier images above ISO 400.

• Superior dynamic range: The Olympus claims a dynamic range around 12.3 EV (as per DxOmark data), enabling richer shadows and more highlight detail even in high-contrast scenes.

• Improved color depth: 22.8 bits color depth on the E-PL5 vs untested but expectedly lower on the Sony’s sensor.

• Raw Shooting Support: A significant advantage of the Olympus is raw file support, allowing post-processing flexibility. The Sony lacks raw, producing JPEG-only images.

For enthusiasts and pros who want control over image quality and detail retention, the Olympus clearly wins. The Sony is better suited for snapshots where image quality is a secondary concern.

LCD Screen and User Interface: Touch Control Meets Simplicity

The Olympus’s 3-inch 460k-dot tilting touchscreen allows for composing shots from creative angles, focus point selection with a tap, and a selfie-friendly design. The touchscreen responsiveness is decent for its age and adds versatility not found on the Sony.

The Sony W610, meanwhile, sports a 2.7-inch fixed Clear Photo TFT LCD with 230k dots - no touch, no tilt, just basic framing capabilities. If you’re primarily shooting from eye level or relying on automatic settings, it can be enough, but it's less flexible for creative shooting positions.

This difference shines when manually focusing or selecting AF points - on the Olympus, you can quickly shift your point of focus with your fingertip, speeding up your workflow.

Autofocus Performance: Speed and Accuracy in the Field

When evaluating autofocus, the Olympus E-PL5 feels resolutely modern with a contrast-detection AF system boasting 35 focus points and face detection, including continuous autofocus and tracking modes. Its live view-based AF can lock on subjects quickly in good light and tracks motion well for an entry-level mirrorless system in 2012.

The Sony W610 uses a much simpler contrast-detection AF with single-point focus and slower lock times, lacking face or subject tracking. Continuous AF and burst shooting at 1 fps mean it’s ill-equipped for fast action.

For portrait or wildlife photographers needing reliable autofocus to nail sharp eyes and moving subjects, the Olympus has a clear edge here.

Shooting Modes and Exposure Control: Creative Flexibility Meets Point and Shoot Ease

The Olympus allows for full manual exposure, aperture priority, shutter priority, and program modes, plus exposure compensation and white balance bracketing. This suite lets photographers craft images deliberately, whether shooting long-exposure nightscapes or shallow depth-of-field portraits.

The Sony is all automatic - no manual exposure modes, no aperture or shutter priority. Although it offers some scene presets like portrait and landscape, you'll be limited to letting the camera decide.

If you want to experiment with settings and learn photography, the Olympus provides a much more fertile ground. The Sony is for quick snaps when you don’t want to fiddle with anything.

Burst Rates and Buffer Capacity: Capturing the Action

The Olympus E-PL5 impresses with an 8 fps burst rate, which held steady for a significant number of shots before slowing, great for sports or wildlife sequences (within its buffer limits). It also has autofocus tracking during bursts - a big plus.

The Sony W610’s burst rate is a meager 1 fps, effectively ruling it out for any kind of action photography.

Video Capabilities: Full HD vs VGA

Here, the Olympus again takes the lead, offering Full HD 1080p video at 30 fps with stereo sound via built-in microphones. Though it lacks advanced video features such as microphone inputs or 4K recording, it’s more than capable of casual HD video capture.

The Sony only shoots 640 x 480 VGA video at 30 fps, far below modern standards and limiting video quality severely.

Neither camera offers in-body image stabilization specialized for video, but Olympus’s sensor stabilization can help keep handheld footage a bit smoother.

Battery Life and Storage: How Long Can You Go?

The Olympus E-PL5 uses a BLS-5 lithium-ion battery, rated for ~360 shots per charge, typical for mirrorless cameras of the period. The Sony W610’s NP-BN battery yields around 250 shots, less but understandable given a smaller sensor and simpler electronics.

Both cameras use a single SD card slot, but the Sony adds compatibility with Memory Stick Duo cards, a legacy Sony format.

Lens Compatibility and Ecosystem

The Olympus E-PL5 has the huge advantage of the Micro Four Thirds lens mount, giving access to over 100 native lenses ranging from fast primes, macro, ultra-zoom supertelephotos, and specialized optics from Olympus and Panasonic, plus third-party manufacturers. This is a game changer for enthusiasts and pros wanting to tailor their setup precisely.

The Sony DSC-W610 has a fixed lens with a 26-105mm equivalent zoom range, decent for general-purpose shooting but with no upgrade path.

If photography versatility and growth are priorities, the Olympus system is clearly superior.

Build Quality and Weather Resistance

Neither camera offers advanced weather sealing - no waterproofing, dustproofing, or freeze resistance. However, the Olympus is solidly built with a metal chassis typical of the PEN series, feeling more robust in hand than the plastic-bodied Sony.

If you’re shooting outdoors frequently and may encounter challenging conditions, the Olympus will better withstand daily rigors, though it’s not weather sealed per se.

Specialized Photography Use Cases

Let’s zoom into specific genres and see how these cameras hold up.

Portrait Photography

The E-PL5’s larger sensor and ability to work with fast prime lenses yield delightful bokeh and pleasing skin tones. Face detection AF helps keep subjects crisp, and exposure controls assist in fine-tuning skin color rendering.

The Sony’s small sensor produces flatter images with less dynamism and limited background separation. Autofocus is less reliable on faces.

Landscape Photography

Landscape shooters benefit immensely from the Olympus’s resolution and dynamic range. Tilting LCD assists composing tricky angles, and the sensor preserves detail in shadows and highlights.

Sony’s limited resolution, inferior dynamic range, and slower shutter speeds restrict landscape potential.

Wildlife and Sports

The Olympus’s 8 fps burst, face/subject tracking, and autofocus accuracy make it capable of handling moderate action and wildlife. Add an appropriate telephoto lens, and you’re set for occasional wildlife shooting.

The Sony’s burst rate and focus system are too constrained for anything beyond static subjects.

Street Photography

This is a category where some might consider the compact Sony. Yes, it’s pocketable and light, but the Olympus PEN E-PL5 is still quite portable and offers much better image quality and flexibility.

Given the Olympus’s tilting screen and discreet rangefinder style, it often fits street candids better. Low-light AWB is also handled better on Olympus.

Macro Photography

Olympus shines with access to macro lenses and focus peaking for precision. The Sony’s fixed lens and AF offer limited close-up capability (4 cm minimum macro distance) with lower detail and no manual focus.

Night and Astrophotography

With ISO up to 25,600 and customizable exposure plus manual focus, Olympus can tackle the night sky or low-light scenes better.

Sony’s ISO ceiling and sensor noise levels limit its use to well-lit low-light scenes.

Wireless Features and Connectivity

The Olympus E-PL5 features Eye-Fi card connectivity, allowing wireless image transfer when paired with the special card - a novelty at its time. It has USB 2.0 and HDMI output for tethering or external viewing.

Sony W610 lacks wireless features, HDMI output, and supports only USB and various legacy memory card formats.

Price-to-Performance: What’s the Best Bang for Your Buck?

As of comparable selling prices at their launches, the Olympus E-PL5 was about $400, and the Sony W610 was $200. Considering the difference in capabilities, sensor technology, and overall performance, Olympus offers much more versatility for photo enthusiasts.

If budget is strict and you want simple snapshots, Sony suffices - but for anyone serious about image quality or growth in photography skills, Olympus is the better investment.

Olympus E PL5 front Olympus E PL5 screen back Sony W610 front Sony W610 screen back

My Testing Methodology: How These Conclusions Were Reached

I tested both cameras in diverse real-world conditions - daylight and low light, indoors and outdoors, controlled settings and spontaneous moments. For image quality, charts and standard DxOmark benchmarks inform sensor metrics. Autofocus speed and accuracy were measured under various light and movement scenarios.

Additionally, user interface fluidity and battery endurance were observed during extended field shoots. Comparing responsiveness, manual control accessibility, and image file versatility helped determine each model’s suitability to different skill levels and photography genres.

Performance Ratings and Overall Scores

Drawing on independent lab scores supplemented with firsthand testing, here’s a snapshot:

The Olympus E-PL5 consistently scores higher in image quality, autofocus, and versatility. The Sony lags but remains a competent compact for casual users.

A Closer Look: How Each Camera Excels Across Photography Styles

This graphic breaks down strengths and weaknesses per photography type:

You’ll note Olympus dominates technical and creative disciplines, while Sony retains a niche for entry casual use.

Final Thoughts: Which Camera Should You Choose?

If you’re:

• A photography enthusiast or professional who wants quality images, manual controls, and lens flexibility, the Olympus PEN E-PL5 is a clear winner. It balances size, performance, and modern features gracefully.
• Budget-conscious and seeking simple snapshots for travel or everyday moments, the Sony DSC-W610 suffices, especially if you disfavor complexity.
• Exploring portrait, landscape, or low-light photography, Olympus’s sensor and controls deliver superior results.
• Interested primarily in video or action shooting, Olympus again outperforms, thanks to 1080p capture and faster continuous shooting.

Each camera reflects its era and target audience distinctly. The Olympus E-PL5, while now a decade old, remains relevant for serious amateurs needing small system camera performance. The Sony W610 is a reliable, affordable point-and-shoot but understandably limited.

I hope this comprehensive comparison helps you make an informed choice tailored to your photographic ambitions. Feel free to ask if you have questions about detailed use-cases or need lens suggestions compatible with the Olympus system!

Happy shooting!