Olympus E-PL8 vs Sony RX10

Below, we are matching up the Olympus E-PL8 and Sony RX10, one being a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the other is a Large Sensor Superzoom by competitors Olympus and Sony. The sensor resolution of the E-PL8 (16MP) and the RX10 (20MP) is fairly well matched but the E-PL8 (Four Thirds) and RX10 (1") use totally different sensor dimensions.

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The E-PL8 was released 2 years later than the RX10 and that is quite a big gap as far as technology is concerned. Each of these cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-PL8 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony RX10 being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before going through a detailed comparison, below is a short summation of how the E-PL8 scores against the RX10 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

The following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus PEN E-PL8 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10. The complete galleries are viewable at Olympus E-PL8 Gallery and Sony RX10 Gallery.

For those who are going to lug around your camera often, you'll have to factor its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-PL8 has exterior measurements of 115mm x 67mm x 38mm (4.5" x 2.6" x 1.5") having a weight of 357 grams (0.79 lbs) whilst the Sony RX10 has measurements of 129mm x 88mm x 102mm (5.1" x 3.5" x 4.0") and a weight of 813 grams (1.79 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-PL8 and Sony RX10 in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary depending on the lens you are employing at that moment. Following is the front view measurements comparison of the E-PL8 against the RX10.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-PL8 and RX10 is 86 and 58 respectively.

Typically, it's tough to envision the contrast between sensor measurements merely by looking at specs. The visual underneath will provide you a better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-PL8 and RX10.

As you can plainly see, each of the cameras posses different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The E-PL8 due to its larger sensor will make achieving bokeh simpler and the Sony RX10 will give you more detail as a result of its extra 4MP. Greater resolution can also allow you to crop photos somewhat more aggressively. The more modern E-PL8 will have an edge in sensor technology.