Canon R100 vs Olympus E-PL9

On this page, we are reviewing the Canon R100 versus Olympus E-PL9, both Entry-Level Mirrorless cameras by companies Canon and Olympus. There is a large difference among the sensor resolutions of the R100 (24MP) and E-PL9 (16MP) and the R100 (APS-C) and E-PL9 (Four Thirds) offer different sensor size.

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The R100 was unveiled 5 years later than the E-PL9 and that is a fairly serious difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Each of the cameras have different body design with the Canon R100 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Olympus E-PL9 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before delving into a complete comparison, here is a quick highlight of how the R100 matches up against the E-PL9 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Here is a sample of the gallery pictures for Canon EOS R100 & Olympus PEN E-PL9. The full galleries are viewable at Canon R100 Gallery & Olympus E-PL9 Gallery.

When you are going to lug around your camera often, you will have to think about its weight and size. The Canon R100 offers external dimensions of 116mm x 86mm x 69mm (4.6" x 3.4" x 2.7") accompanied by a weight of 356 grams (0.78 lbs) and the Olympus E-PL9 has specifications of 117mm x 68mm x 39mm (4.6" x 2.7" x 1.5") accompanied by a weight of 380 grams (0.84 lbs).

Compare the Canon R100 versus Olympus E-PL9 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you select at that time. The following is a front view dimension comparison of the R100 against the E-PL9.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability score of the R100 and E-PL9 is 76 and 85 respectively.

Oftentimes, its hard to visualize the gap in sensor measurements only by viewing technical specs. The visual here will provide you a much better sense of the sensor sizes in the R100 and E-PL9.

As you can tell, both of the cameras have different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The R100 with its larger sensor is going to make achieving shallow DOF less difficult and the Canon R100 will result in more detail having an extra 8 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also enable you to crop photos a bit more aggressively. The fresher R100 should have a benefit when it comes to sensor tech.