Olympus E-PL8 vs Sony RX10 III

In this write-up, we will be looking at the Olympus E-PL8 versus Sony RX10 III, former is a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Large Sensor Superzoom by brands Olympus and Sony. The sensor resolution of the E-PL8 (16MP) and the RX10 III (20MP) is pretty similar but the E-PL8 (Four Thirds) and RX10 III (1") come with totally different sensor sizes.

Photography Glossary

The E-PL8 was brought out 6 months after the RX10 III which means that they are of a similar age. Both cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-PL8 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony RX10 III being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before going in to a in depth comparison, below is a brief highlight of how the E-PL8 scores against the RX10 III in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

This is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus PEN E-PL8 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 III. The entire galleries are provided at Olympus E-PL8 Gallery & Sony RX10 III Gallery.

For anybody who is aiming to carry around your camera frequently, you'll need to factor in its weight and size. The Olympus E-PL8 features external measurements of 115mm x 67mm x 38mm (4.5" x 2.6" x 1.5") accompanied by a weight of 357 grams (0.79 lbs) and the Sony RX10 III has specifications of 133mm x 94mm x 127mm (5.2" x 3.7" x 5.0") with a weight of 1051 grams (2.32 lbs).

Compare the Olympus E-PL8 versus Sony RX10 III in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you are employing at that time. Following is the front view scale comparison of the E-PL8 and the RX10 III.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability rating of the E-PL8 and RX10 III is 86 and 53 respectively.

In many cases, its difficult to envision the gap between sensor sizes simply by going over technical specs. The image underneath may provide you a much better sense of the sensor sizing in the E-PL8 and RX10 III.

As you have seen, both the cameras enjoy different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The E-PL8 due to its bigger sensor will make shooting shallow DOF easier and the Sony RX10 III will offer you greater detail having its extra 4MP. Higher resolution will help you crop shots far more aggressively.