Olympus FE-45 vs Olympus E-PL1s

Its time to look more closely at the Olympus FE-45 versus Olympus E-PL1s, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the latter is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and they are both sold by Olympus. The image resolution of the FE-45 (10MP) and the E-PL1s (12MP) is pretty similar but the FE-45 (1/2.3") and E-PL1s (Four Thirds) provide different sensor dimensions.

Photography Glossary

The FE-45 was released 22 months before the E-PL1s which makes them a generation apart from each other. Each of the cameras feature different body design with the Olympus FE-45 being a Compact camera and the Olympus E-PL1s being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before going right into a step-by-step comparison, here is a simple introduction of how the FE-45 scores versus the E-PL1s when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

This is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus FE-45 & Olympus PEN E-PL1s. The complete galleries are available at Olympus FE-45 Gallery & Olympus E-PL1s Gallery.

When you are aiming to carry your camera, you will need to take into account its weight and volume. The Olympus FE-45 has physical measurements of 94mm x 62mm x 23mm (3.7" x 2.4" x 0.9") accompanied by a weight of 142 grams (0.31 lbs) whilst the Olympus E-PL1s has sizing of 115mm x 72mm x 42mm (4.5" x 2.8" x 1.7") along with a weight of 334 grams (0.74 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus FE-45 versus Olympus E-PL1s in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you select at the time. Below is a front view proportions comparison of the FE-45 versus the E-PL1s.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability score of the FE-45 and E-PL1s is 95 and 86 respectively.

Usually, it's hard to imagine the difference between sensor sizing purely by reviewing a spec sheet. The photograph underneath might offer you a far better sense of the sensor sizing in the FE-45 and E-PL1s.

As you can see, both of the cameras feature different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The FE-45 featuring a tinier sensor is going to make achieving shallow depth of field harder and the Olympus E-PL1s will offer greater detail as a result of its extra 2MP. Higher resolution will allow you to crop pictures way more aggressively. The older FE-45 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor tech.