Olympus E-300 vs Olympus E-PL5

Its time to take a more detailed look at the Olympus E-300 vs Olympus E-PL5, former being a Advanced DSLR while the other is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and they are both built by Olympus. There exists a sizable gap between the sensor resolutions of the E-300 (8MP) and E-PL5 (16MP) but they possess the same exact sensor sizing (Four Thirds).

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The E-300 was manufactured 8 years earlier than the E-PL5 and that is quite a significant difference as far as technology is concerned. Both cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-300 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Olympus E-PL5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before going straight into a full comparison, below is a brief summary of how the E-300 matches up against the E-PL5 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

The following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus E-300 & Olympus PEN E-PL5. The entire galleries are viewable at Olympus E-300 Gallery & Olympus E-PL5 Gallery.

When you are looking to carry your camera often, you will have to factor in its weight and size. The Olympus E-300 comes with outer dimensions of 147mm x 85mm x 64mm (5.8" x 3.3" x 2.5") along with a weight of 624 grams (1.38 lbs) whilst the Olympus E-PL5 has specifications of 111mm x 64mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.5") along with a weight of 325 grams (0.72 lbs).

See the Olympus E-300 vs Olympus E-PL5 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you use during that time. Following is the front view overall size comparison of the E-300 against the E-PL5.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-300 and E-PL5 is 67 and 88 respectively.

Typically, it can be difficult to picture the contrast between sensor sizing only by reading through technical specs. The graphic here might give you a much better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-300 and E-PL5.

As you can tell, both of the cameras enjoy the same exact sensor sizing but different MP. You can anticipate the Olympus E-PL5 to give you more detail due to its extra 8 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also make it easier to crop photos far more aggressively. The older E-300 is going to be behind with regard to sensor innovation.