Olympus E-PL5 vs Sony W830

Following is a in-depth comparison of the Olympus E-PL5 vs Sony W830, former is a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Ultracompact by brands Olympus and Sony. The sensor resolution of the E-PL5 (16MP) and the W830 (20MP) is relatively similar but the E-PL5 (Four Thirds) and W830 (1/2.3") offer totally different sensor sizes.

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The E-PL5 was manufactured 15 months prior to the W830 which makes them a generation away from each other. The two cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-PL5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony W830 being a Ultracompact camera.

Before delving right into a complete comparison, here is a brief summary of how the E-PL5 scores vs the W830 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

This is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus PEN E-PL5 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W830. The entire galleries are viewable at Olympus E-PL5 Gallery & Sony W830 Gallery.

When you are looking to carry around your camera frequently, you are going to need to factor its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-PL5 provides outside dimensions of 111mm x 64mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.5") accompanied by a weight of 325 grams (0.72 lbs) whilst the Sony W830 has proportions of 93mm x 52mm x 23mm (3.7" x 2.0" x 0.9") and a weight of 122 grams (0.27 lbs).

See the Olympus E-PL5 vs Sony W830 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you select at the time. Following is a front view scale comparison of the E-PL5 versus the W830.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability grade of the E-PL5 and W830 is 88 and 96 respectively.

Generally, it is tough to visualise the gap between sensor sizes simply by reading a spec sheet. The pic here will help provide you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-PL5 and W830.

As you can see, both of those cameras feature different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The E-PL5 because of its bigger sensor will make shooting shallower DOF less difficult and the Sony W830 will offer extra detail due to its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will let you crop shots way more aggressively. The more aged E-PL5 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor tech.