Olympus FE-4030 vs Olympus E-PL9

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.

Here is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus FE-4030 & Olympus PEN E-PL9. The whole galleries are provided at Olympus FE-4030 Gallery & Olympus E-PL9 Gallery.

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.

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.

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

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.