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Olympus E-PM2 vs Sony RX1

Portability
89
Imaging
52
Features
63
Overall
56
Olympus PEN E-PM2 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1 front
Portability
79
Imaging
69
Features
57
Overall
64

Olympus E-PM2 vs Sony RX1 Key Specs

Olympus E-PM2
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 200 - 25600
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 269g - 110 x 64 x 34mm
  • Introduced May 2013
  • Earlier Model is Olympus E-PM1
Sony RX1
(Full Review)
  • 24MP - Full frame Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 25600
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 35mm (F2.0-22.0) lens
  • 482g - 113 x 65 x 70mm
  • Launched February 2013
Photography Glossary

Olympus E-PM2 vs Sony RX1 Overview

Lets look a little more closely at the Olympus E-PM2 and Sony RX1, one being a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the other is a Large Sensor Compact by manufacturers Olympus and Sony. There exists a crucial gap between the sensor resolutions of the E-PM2 (16MP) and RX1 (24MP) and the E-PM2 (Four Thirds) and RX1 (Full frame) boast different sensor dimensions.

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The E-PM2 was announced 4 months later than the RX1 so they are both of a similar generation. Both of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-PM2 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony RX1 being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before diving into a thorough comparison, here is a short introduction of how the E-PM2 scores against the RX1 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-PM2 over the Sony RX1

 E-PM2 RX1 
Touch display Easily navigate

Reasons to pick Sony RX1 over the Olympus E-PM2

 RX1 E-PM2 
Display resolution1229k460kCrisper display (+769k dot)

Common features in the Olympus E-PM2 and Sony RX1

 E-PM2 RX1 
LaunchedMay 2013February 2013Similar generation
Manually focus Dial accurate focus
Display typeFixed Fixed Fixed display
Display dimensions3"3"Equal display sizing
Selfie screen Missing selfie screen

Olympus E-PM2 vs Sony RX1 Physical Comparison

When you are intending to carry your camera frequently, you are going to need to take into account its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-PM2 has got outside measurements of 110mm x 64mm x 34mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.3") and a weight of 269 grams (0.59 lbs) whilst the Sony RX1 has measurements of 113mm x 65mm x 70mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 2.8") having a weight of 482 grams (1.06 lbs).

See the Olympus E-PM2 and Sony RX1 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into account, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ based on the lens you choose at that time. Underneath is a front view physical size comparison of the E-PM2 compared to the RX1.

Olympus E-PM2 vs Sony RX1 size comparison

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-PM2 and RX1 is 89 and 79 respectively.

Olympus E-PM2 vs Sony RX1 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-PM2 vs Sony RX1 Sensor Comparison

Sometimes, it is very hard to imagine the difference between sensor sizing simply by reading through technical specs. The graphic underneath might provide you a much better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-PM2 and RX1.

As you can tell, each of the cameras have different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The E-PM2 with its tinier sensor is going to make shooting shallower depth of field tougher and the Sony RX1 will give greater detail with its extra 8 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also allow you to crop pics a bit more aggressively.

Olympus E-PM2 vs Sony RX1 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-PM2 vs Sony RX1 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-PM2 vs Sony RX1 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-PM2 Portrait photography factors
Sony RX1 Portrait photography factors
71
you can focus manually
decent MP (16MP)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
offers face detect autofocus
saves RAW files
81
manual focus
flash sync speed is above average (1/4,000 seconds)
decent megapixels (24 megapixels)
sensor size is great (Full frame)
offers face detection focusing
exports RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-PM2 Street photography information
Sony RX1 Street photography information
79
image stabilization (Sensor based)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW files
provides touch to focus
great ISO range (25,600)
screen does not articulate
66
sensor size is great (Full frame)
exports RAW formats
above average ISO range (25,600)
no moving screen
lack of image stabilization
more heavy than others in class (482g)
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Sports Comparison

Sports photography with Olympus E-PM2
Sports photography with Sony RX1
66
image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent MP (16MP)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
offers tracking focus
lacks phase detect autofocus
53
decent megapixels (24 megapixels)
sensor size is great (Full frame)
offers tracking autofocus
focal length is fixed (35mm)
max frames per second very slow (5.0 frames per second)
lack of image stabilization
bad battery power (270 CIPA)
lacks phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-PM2 Travel photography highlights
Sony RX1 Travel photography highlights
66
provides touch to focus
decent MP (16 megapixels)
missing Timelapse function
doesn't posses selfie friendly screen
62
decent megapixels (24MP)
built-in flash
fast max aperture (f2.0)
lack of Timelapse mode
bad battery power (270 CIPA)
more heavy than others in class (482g)
screen is not selfie friendly
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-PM2 Landscape photography info
Sony RX1 Landscape photography info
74
you can focus manually
change lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
decent sized screen (3 inch)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent MP (16 megapixels)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
great ISO range (25,600)
saves RAW files
missing Timelapse function
64
manual focus
fast max aperture (f2.0)
screen size is decent (3 inch)
decent megapixels (24MP)
sensor size is great (Full frame)
above average ISO range (25,600)
exports RAW formats
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
focal length is fixed (35mm)
lack of image stabilization
bad battery power (270 per charge)
lack of Timelapse mode
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Olympus E-PM2
Vlogging with Sony RX1
36
touchscreen enabled
image stabilization (Sensor based)
offers face detect autofocus
great video quality (1920 x 1080 pxls)
doesn't posses selfie friendly screen
missing microphone support
34
fast max aperture (f2.0)
offers face detection focusing
high quality video (1920 x 1080 pxls)
comes with external microphone socket
screen is not selfie friendly
lack of image stabilization
more heavy than others in class (482 grams)
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Olympus E-PM2 vs Sony RX1 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-PM2 and Sony RX1
 Olympus PEN E-PM2Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1
General Information
Brand Name Olympus Sony
Model type Olympus PEN E-PM2 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1
Type Entry-Level Mirrorless Large Sensor Compact
Introduced 2013-05-21 2013-02-19
Physical type Rangefinder-style mirrorless Large Sensor Compact
Sensor Information
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds Full frame
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 35.8 x 23.8mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 852.0mm²
Sensor resolution 16MP 24MP
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 3:2 and 16:9
Maximum resolution 4608 x 3456 6000 x 4000
Maximum native ISO 25600 25600
Min native ISO 200 100
RAW support
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Autofocus touch
Autofocus continuous
Autofocus single
Tracking autofocus
Autofocus selectice
Center weighted autofocus
Multi area autofocus
Live view autofocus
Face detection focus
Contract detection focus
Phase detection focus
Total focus points 35 25
Lens
Lens mount type Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 35mm (1x)
Maximum aperture - f/2.0-22.0
Number of lenses 107 -
Crop factor 2.1 1
Screen
Type of screen Fixed Type Fixed Type
Screen diagonal 3 inches 3 inches
Resolution of screen 460 thousand dots 1,229 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch display
Screen tech - Xtra FineTFT LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic (optional) Electronic and Optical (optional)
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60 seconds 30 seconds
Highest shutter speed 1/4000 seconds 1/4000 seconds
Continuous shooting rate 8.0 frames per sec 5.0 frames per sec
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Set white balance
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash distance 7.00 m (bundled FL-LM1) 6.00 m
Flash options Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync, Manual (3 levels) Auto, On, Off, Slow Sync
Hot shoe
AEB
WB bracketing
Highest flash synchronize 1/250 seconds 1/4000 seconds
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (30 fps), 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 1920 x 1080 (60, 50, 25, 24 fps), 1440 x 1080 (30, 25 fps), 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30, 25 fps)
Maximum video resolution 1920x1080 1920x1080
Video format MPEG-4, H.264, Motion JPEG MPEG-4, AVCHD
Microphone port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless Eye-Fi Connected Eye-Fi Connected
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 269 gr (0.59 pounds) 482 gr (1.06 pounds)
Physical dimensions 110 x 64 x 34mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.3") 113 x 65 x 70mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 2.8")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating 72 93
DXO Color Depth rating 22.7 25.1
DXO Dynamic range rating 12.2 14.3
DXO Low light rating 932 2534
Other
Battery life 360 photographs 270 photographs
Battery type Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID BLS-5 NP-BX1
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse feature
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Duo/Pro Duo/Pro-HG Duo
Card slots Single Single
Price at launch $448 $2,798