Olympus E-PL6 vs Sony W530

Following is a extensive assessment of the Olympus E-PL6 and Sony W530, one is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the other is a Ultracompact by rivals Olympus and Sony. The resolution of the E-PL6 (16MP) and the W530 (14MP) is very comparable but the E-PL6 (Four Thirds) and W530 (1/2.3") feature different sensor measurements.

Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a Landslide

The E-PL6 was introduced 3 years after the W530 which is a fairly big gap as far as camera tech is concerned. Each of the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-PL6 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony W530 being a Ultracompact camera.

Before getting through a detailed comparison, below is a brief summary of how the E-PL6 grades versus the W530 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Here is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus PEN E-PL6 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W530. The whole galleries are viewable at Olympus E-PL6 Gallery and Sony W530 Gallery.

In case you're aiming to carry around your camera regularly, you'll have to factor in its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-PL6 has outside dimensions of 111mm x 64mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.5") with a weight of 325 grams (0.72 lbs) and the Sony W530 has proportions of 93mm x 53mm x 19mm (3.7" x 2.1" x 0.7") accompanied by a weight of 113 grams (0.25 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-PL6 and Sony W530 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change depending on the lens you are working with at that time. Here is the front view proportions comparison of the E-PL6 vs the W530.

Using size and weight, the portability score of the E-PL6 and W530 is 88 and 96 respectively.

In many cases, it is difficult to imagine the difference in sensor sizes only by seeing a spec sheet. The pic here may offer you a better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-PL6 and W530.

Clearly, both of those cameras posses different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The E-PL6 using its larger sensor is going to make shooting shallow depth of field less difficult and the Olympus E-PL6 will show greater detail using its extra 2MP. Greater resolution will make it easier to crop pics somewhat more aggressively. The more modern E-PL6 should have a benefit with regard to sensor technology.