Olympus E-400 vs Olympus E-PL5

Let's look a little more closely at the Olympus E-400 versus Olympus E-PL5, one being a Entry-Level DSLR and the other is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and they are both designed by Olympus. There is a big difference between the sensor resolutions of the E-400 (10MP) and E-PL5 (16MP) but both cameras provide the identical sensor size (Four Thirds).

Photography Glossary

The E-400 was released 7 years earlier than the E-PL5 and that is quite a big gap as far as tech is concerned. Both cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-400 being a Compact SLR camera and the Olympus E-PL5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before we go into a in depth comparison, here is a brief highlight of how the E-400 matches up against the E-PL5 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Here is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus E-400 and Olympus PEN E-PL5. The complete galleries are provided at Olympus E-400 Gallery and Olympus E-PL5 Gallery.

In case you're looking to lug around your camera often, you will need to think about its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-400 features outside dimensions of 130mm x 91mm x 53mm (5.1" x 3.6" x 2.1") with a weight of 435 grams (0.96 lbs) whilst the Olympus E-PL5 has dimensions of 111mm x 64mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.5") with a weight of 325 grams (0.72 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus E-400 versus Olympus E-PL5 in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change dependant on the lens you are employing during that time. Here is a front view over all size comparison of the E-400 versus the E-PL5.

Using size and weight, the portability grade of the E-400 and E-PL5 is 77 and 88 respectively.

In many cases, it's difficult to imagine the difference between sensor measurements simply by going over specifications. The photograph here will give you a stronger sense of the sensor sizes in the E-400 and E-PL5.

Plainly, both cameras feature the identical sensor size but different resolution. You should expect to see the Olympus E-PL5 to offer more detail as a result of its extra 6 Megapixels. Greater resolution will make it easier to crop pics way more aggressively. The older E-400 is going to be behind in sensor tech.