Nikon S8000 vs Olympus E-PL5

Lets take a closer look at the Nikon S8000 versus Olympus E-PL5, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the other is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by manufacturers Nikon and Olympus. The image resolution of the S8000 (14MP) and the E-PL5 (16MP) is very close but the S8000 (1/2.3") and E-PL5 (Four Thirds) enjoy different sensor measurements.

Photography Glossary

The S8000 was unveiled 3 years before the E-PL5 and that is a fairly serious difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Both cameras offer different body type with the Nikon S8000 being a Compact camera and the Olympus E-PL5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before diving through a in depth comparison, below is a short highlight of how the S8000 matches up versus the E-PL5 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

The following is a sample of the gallery pics for Nikon Coolpix S8000 & Olympus PEN E-PL5. The full galleries are provided at Nikon S8000 Gallery & Olympus E-PL5 Gallery.

If you are going to lug around your camera often, you will need to factor in its weight and size. The Nikon S8000 offers external dimensions of 103mm x 57mm x 27mm (4.1" x 2.2" x 1.1") along with a weight of 183 grams (0.40 lbs) whilst the Olympus E-PL5 has specifications of 111mm x 64mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.5") and a weight of 325 grams (0.72 lbs).

Analyze the Nikon S8000 versus Olympus E-PL5 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you are working with during that time. Below is the front view dimensions comparison of the S8000 versus the E-PL5.

Using size and weight, the portability rating of the S8000 and E-PL5 is 93 and 88 respectively.

Generally, it is difficult to picture the gap in sensor measurements purely by looking through a spec sheet. The photograph below will give you a greater sense of the sensor dimensions in the S8000 and E-PL5.

As you can see, each of these cameras enjoy different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The S8000 using its smaller sensor is going to make getting shallow DOF harder and the Olympus E-PL5 will render greater detail having an extra 2MP. Greater resolution will also help you crop pics far more aggressively. The older S8000 will be disadvantaged in sensor innovation.