Olympus FE-4030 vs Olympus E-PL1

The following is a extended assessment of the Olympus FE-4030 and Olympus E-PL1, former is a Small Sensor Compact while the latter is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and both are manufactured by Olympus. The resolution of the FE-4030 (14MP) and the E-PL1 (12MP) is pretty well matched but the FE-4030 (1/2.3") and E-PL1 (Four Thirds) enjoy totally different sensor size.

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The FE-4030 was announced 4 months before the E-PL1 so they are of a similar age. Each of the cameras offer different body type with the Olympus FE-4030 being a Compact camera and the Olympus E-PL1 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before going through a thorough comparison, below is a quick highlight of how the FE-4030 matches up versus the E-PL1 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Here is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus FE-4030 & Olympus PEN E-PL1. The whole galleries are available at Olympus FE-4030 Gallery & Olympus E-PL1 Gallery.

For those who are aiming to travel with your camera, you will want to take into account its weight and measurements. The Olympus FE-4030 has physical dimensions of 93mm x 56mm x 22mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.9") with a weight of 146 grams (0.32 lbs) whilst the Olympus E-PL1 has proportions of 115mm x 72mm x 42mm (4.5" x 2.8" x 1.7") with a weight of 334 grams (0.74 lbs).

See the Olympus FE-4030 and Olympus E-PL1 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you have at that time. Here is the front view dimension comparison of the FE-4030 compared to the E-PL1.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the FE-4030 and E-PL1 is 95 and 86 respectively.

Quite often, its tough to visualise the difference between sensor dimensions merely by looking at specifications. The pic here should give you a clearer sense of the sensor dimensions in the FE-4030 and E-PL1.

Plainly, both of those cameras enjoy different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The FE-4030 having a tinier sensor will make shooting shallow DOF more challenging and the Olympus FE-4030 will resolve greater detail with its extra 2MP. Higher resolution will also make it easier to crop shots far more aggressively.