Olympus E-PL8 vs Sony WX300

Its time to look much closer at the Olympus E-PL8 and Sony WX300, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom by companies Olympus and Sony. The sensor resolution of the E-PL8 (16MP) and the WX300 (18MP) is very well matched but the E-PL8 (Four Thirds) and WX300 (1/2.3") have different sensor measurements.

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The E-PL8 was released 3 years later than the WX300 and that is quite a serious difference as far as technology is concerned. Each of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-PL8 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony WX300 being a Compact camera.

Before getting into a in depth comparison, here is a brief summary of how the E-PL8 scores versus the WX300 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Below is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus PEN E-PL8 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX300. The complete galleries are viewable at Olympus E-PL8 Gallery & Sony WX300 Gallery.

For those who are planning to carry your camera regularly, you'll have to think about its weight and size. The Olympus E-PL8 features outer dimensions of 115mm x 67mm x 38mm (4.5" x 2.6" x 1.5") having a weight of 357 grams (0.79 lbs) and the Sony WX300 has specifications of 96mm x 55mm x 25mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 1.0") and a weight of 166 grams (0.37 lbs).

See the Olympus E-PL8 and Sony WX300 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you are working with at that moment. Following is a front view dimensions comparison of the E-PL8 versus the WX300.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-PL8 and WX300 is 86 and 94 respectively.

Quite often, it can be difficult to visualize the difference between sensor sizing simply by checking specs. The graphic below might give you a greater sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-PL8 and WX300.

As you can plainly see, both the cameras provide different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The E-PL8 due to its larger sensor is going to make achieving shallow depth of field easier and the Sony WX300 will give you greater detail as a result of its extra 2 Megapixels. Greater resolution will help you crop images more aggressively. The more recent E-PL8 should have an edge when it comes to sensor tech.