Olympus E-P1 vs Olympus SZ-10

Let's take a deeper look at the Olympus E-P1 vs Olympus SZ-10, one is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom and they are both offered by Olympus. The sensor resolution of the E-P1 (12MP) and the SZ-10 (14MP) is relatively comparable but the E-P1 (Four Thirds) and SZ-10 (1/2.3") come with totally different sensor sizes.

Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a Landslide

The E-P1 was unveiled 18 months before the SZ-10 which makes the cameras a generation away from one another. Both of the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-P1 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Olympus SZ-10 being a Compact camera.

Before delving straight into a full comparison, below is a brief overview of how the E-P1 grades vs the SZ-10 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Following is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus PEN E-P1 and Olympus SZ-10. The full galleries are viewable at Olympus E-P1 Gallery and Olympus SZ-10 Gallery.

If you are going to carry around your camera frequently, you will need to consider its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-P1 offers exterior dimensions of 121mm x 70mm x 36mm (4.8" x 2.8" x 1.4") having a weight of 355 grams (0.78 lbs) whilst the Olympus SZ-10 has dimensions of 106mm x 67mm x 38mm (4.2" x 2.6" x 1.5") having a weight of 215 grams (0.47 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-P1 vs Olympus SZ-10 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change depending on the lens you select at the time. Following is the front view physical size comparison of the E-P1 against the SZ-10.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-P1 and SZ-10 is 86 and 90 respectively.

Quite often, it can be hard to visualise the gap in sensor sizes simply by checking out technical specs. The picture underneath should give you a better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-P1 and SZ-10.

As you have seen, each of the cameras posses different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The E-P1 having a bigger sensor will make achieving shallower DOF simpler and the Olympus SZ-10 will show extra detail having an extra 2 Megapixels. Higher resolution will let you crop photographs somewhat more aggressively. The more aged E-P1 will be behind in sensor tech.