Olympus FE-45 vs Olympus E-PL9

Lets look more closely at the Olympus FE-45 and Olympus E-PL9, one is a Small Sensor Compact and the latter is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and both are created by Olympus. There exists a sizeable gap between the image resolutions of the FE-45 (10MP) and E-PL9 (16MP) and the FE-45 (1/2.3") and E-PL9 (Four Thirds) provide different sensor sizing.

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The FE-45 was launched 10 years earlier than the E-PL9 which is quite a large gap as far as technology is concerned. Each of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus FE-45 being a Compact camera and the Olympus E-PL9 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before we go straight to a complete comparison, here is a quick highlight of how the FE-45 grades versus the E-PL9 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Here is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus FE-45 and Olympus PEN E-PL9. The complete galleries are viewable at Olympus FE-45 Gallery and Olympus E-PL9 Gallery.

For anyone who is intending to travel with your camera regularly, you have to factor in its weight and dimensions. The Olympus FE-45 has outside dimensions of 94mm x 62mm x 23mm (3.7" x 2.4" x 0.9") having a weight of 142 grams (0.31 lbs) whilst the Olympus E-PL9 has dimensions of 117mm x 68mm x 39mm (4.6" x 2.7" x 1.5") along with a weight of 380 grams (0.84 lbs).

Compare the Olympus FE-45 and Olympus E-PL9 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change dependant on the lens you are using at that moment. Following is a front view measurements comparison of the FE-45 against the E-PL9.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability score of the FE-45 and E-PL9 is 95 and 85 respectively.

More often than not, its hard to picture the difference between sensor dimensions simply by looking at technical specs. The picture here might provide you a more clear sense of the sensor dimensions in the FE-45 and E-PL9.

As you have seen, both the cameras have different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The FE-45 because of its tinier sensor is going to make achieving shallower DOF harder and the Olympus E-PL9 will give you greater detail utilizing its extra 6 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also enable you to crop photographs a bit more aggressively. The more aged FE-45 is going to be behind in sensor technology.