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Olympus FE-4030 vs Olympus E-PL9

Portability
95
Imaging
37
Features
21
Overall
30
Olympus FE-4030 front
 
Olympus PEN E-PL9 front
Portability
85
Imaging
56
Features
78
Overall
64

Olympus FE-4030 vs Olympus E-PL9 Key Specs

Olympus FE-4030
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 64 - 1600
  • 640 x 480 video
  • 26-105mm (F2.6-5.9) lens
  • 146g - 93 x 56 x 22mm
  • Revealed January 2010
Olympus E-PL9
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 200 - 6400 (Push to 25600)
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 380g - 117 x 68 x 39mm
  • Released February 2018
  • Previous Model is Olympus E-PL8
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Olympus FE-4030 vs Olympus E-PL9 Overview

The following is a in depth comparison of the Olympus FE-4030 versus Olympus E-PL9, former is a Small Sensor Compact while the latter is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and both of them are sold by Olympus. The resolution of the FE-4030 (14MP) and the E-PL9 (16MP) is relatively close but the FE-4030 (1/2.3") and E-PL9 (Four Thirds) use totally different sensor dimensions.

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The FE-4030 was announced 9 years prior to the E-PL9 which is a fairly serious difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Both cameras come with different body type with the Olympus FE-4030 being a Compact camera and the Olympus E-PL9 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before going straight into a in depth comparison, below is a short overview of how the FE-4030 scores versus the E-PL9 for portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Photography Glossary
	
	

Reasons to pick Olympus FE-4030 over the Olympus E-PL9

 FE-4030 E-PL9 

Reasons to pick Olympus E-PL9 over the Olympus FE-4030

 E-PL9 FE-4030 
ReleasedFebruary 2018January 2010Newer by 98 months
Manually focus Dial exact focus
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen dimension3"2.7"Bigger screen (+0.3")
Screen resolution1040k230kSharper screen (+810k dot)
Touch screen Quickly navigate

Common features in the Olympus FE-4030 and Olympus E-PL9

 FE-4030 E-PL9 
Selfie screen Missing selfie screen

Olympus FE-4030 vs Olympus E-PL9 Physical Comparison

When you are aiming to travel with your camera often, you need to think about its weight and size. The Olympus FE-4030 has got outer measurements of 93mm x 56mm x 22mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.9") and a weight of 146 grams (0.32 lbs) while 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).

Check the Olympus FE-4030 versus Olympus E-PL9 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you select at the time. Here is the front view over all size comparison of the FE-4030 vs the E-PL9.

Olympus FE-4030 vs Olympus E-PL9 size comparison

Factoring in size and weight, the portability score of the FE-4030 and E-PL9 is 95 and 85 respectively.

Olympus FE-4030 vs Olympus E-PL9 top view buttons comparison

Olympus FE-4030 vs Olympus E-PL9 Sensor Comparison

Usually, its difficult to envision the gap in sensor dimensions just by viewing technical specs. The pic here will offer you a far better sense of the sensor sizing in the FE-4030 and E-PL9.

As you can tell, both of the cameras posses different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The FE-4030 having a smaller sensor will make getting shallower depth of field more difficult and the Olympus E-PL9 will render more detail with its extra 2 Megapixels. Higher resolution will let you crop shots somewhat more aggressively. The more aged FE-4030 will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor innovation.

Olympus FE-4030 vs Olympus E-PL9 sensor size comparison

Olympus FE-4030 vs Olympus E-PL9 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus FE-4030 vs Olympus E-PL9 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus FE-4030 as a Portrait photography camera
Olympus E-PL9 as a Portrait photography camera
28
megapixel count decent (14 megapixels)
focusing manually not possible
no manual control
external flash not possible
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
lack of RAW support
73
focusing manually
megapixel count decent (16 megapixels)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
supports face detection autofocus
supports RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Olympus FE-4030
Street photography with Olympus E-PL9
48
no articulating screen
lack of image stabilization
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
lack of RAW support
84
tilting screen
image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
supports RAW formats
has focus by touch
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Sports Comparison

Olympus FE-4030 Sports photography features
Olympus E-PL9 Sports photography features
35
megapixel count decent (14 megapixels)
includes tracking focus
lack of shutter priority mode
lack of image stabilization
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
lack of phase detect autofocus
69
silent shutter (1/16,000 seconds)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
megapixel count decent (16 megapixels)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
supports tracking autofocus
lacks phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus FE-4030 Travel photography features
Olympus E-PL9 Travel photography features
65
megapixel count decent (14 megapixels)
has built in flash
pretty wide (26mm)
does not have Time Lapse function
doesn't feature selfie friendly screen
sluggish max aperture (f2.6)
77
connects via bluetooth
has focus by touch
megapixel count decent (16MP)
built-in flash
screen is not selfie friendly
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus FE-4030 as a Landscape photography camera
Olympus E-PL9 as a Landscape photography camera
33
pretty wide (26mm)
megapixel count decent (14MP)
focusing manually not possible
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
sluggish max aperture (f2.6)
tiny screen (2.7")
no manual control
lack of image stabilization
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
lack of RAW support
does not have Time Lapse function
80
focusing manually
swap lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
screen size is good (3 inch)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
megapixel count decent (16MP)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
supports RAW formats
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus FE-4030 Vlogging factors
Olympus E-PL9 Vlogging factors
26
pretty wide (26mm)
sluggish max aperture (f2.6)
doesn't feature selfie friendly screen
lack of image stabilization
low video resolution (640 x 480 pxls)
does not have mic jack
35
touchscreen
image stabilization (Sensor based)
supports face detection autofocus
video resolution high (3840 x 2160 pxls)
screen is not selfie friendly
doesn't have external mic jack
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Olympus FE-4030 vs Olympus E-PL9 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus FE-4030 and Olympus E-PL9
 Olympus FE-4030Olympus PEN E-PL9
General Information
Brand Name Olympus Olympus
Model type Olympus FE-4030 Olympus PEN E-PL9
Category Small Sensor Compact Entry-Level Mirrorless
Revealed 2010-01-07 2018-02-08
Body design Compact Rangefinder-style mirrorless
Sensor Information
Powered by TruePic III TruePic VIII
Sensor type CCD CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" Four Thirds
Sensor dimensions 6.08 x 4.56mm 17.3 x 13mm
Sensor area 27.7mm² 224.9mm²
Sensor resolution 14 megapixel 16 megapixel
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 and 16:9 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Highest Possible resolution 4288 x 3216 4608 x 3456
Maximum native ISO 1600 6400
Maximum enhanced ISO - 25600
Minimum native ISO 64 200
RAW files
Minimum enhanced ISO - 100
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
Touch to focus
Continuous autofocus
Single autofocus
Autofocus tracking
Selective autofocus
Autofocus center weighted
Autofocus multi area
Autofocus live view
Face detection autofocus
Contract detection autofocus
Phase detection autofocus
Total focus points - 121
Lens
Lens mount type fixed lens Micro Four Thirds
Lens zoom range 26-105mm (4.0x) -
Highest aperture f/2.6-5.9 -
Macro focusing range 4cm -
Number of lenses - 107
Focal length multiplier 5.9 2.1
Screen
Range of screen Fixed Type Tilting
Screen size 2.7 inch 3 inch
Resolution of screen 230 thousand dot 1,040 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch functionality
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type None Electronic (optional)
Features
Min shutter speed 4 secs 60 secs
Max shutter speed 1/2000 secs 1/4000 secs
Max silent shutter speed - 1/16000 secs
Continuous shutter speed - 8.6 frames per second
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation - Yes
Change white balance
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash distance 5.80 m 7.60 m (at ISO 200)
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Fill-in Auto, manual, redeye reduction, slow sync w/redeye reduction, slow sync , slow sync 2nd-curtain, fill-in, off
External flash
AEB
WB bracketing
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps) 3840 x 2160 @ 30p / 102 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM
Maximum video resolution 640x480 3840x2160
Video file format Motion JPEG MPEG-4, H.264
Mic input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 146 grams (0.32 pounds) 380 grams (0.84 pounds)
Dimensions 93 x 56 x 22mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.9") 117 x 68 x 39mm (4.6" x 2.7" x 1.5")
DXO scores
DXO Overall rating not tested not tested
DXO Color Depth rating not tested not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested not tested
DXO Low light rating not tested not tested
Other
Battery life - 350 photos
Battery format - Battery Pack
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 seconds) Yes (2 or 12 secs, custom)
Time lapse recording
Storage media SD/SDHC, Internal SD/SDHC/SDXC card (UHS-I supported)
Storage slots Single Single
Launch cost $130 $599