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Olympus E-P1 vs Olympus SZ-30MR

Portability
86
Imaging
47
Features
42
Overall
45
Olympus PEN E-P1 front
 
Olympus SZ-30MR front
Portability
89
Imaging
39
Features
39
Overall
39

Olympus E-P1 vs Olympus SZ-30MR Key Specs

Olympus E-P1
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 6400
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 355g - 121 x 70 x 36mm
  • Announced July 2009
  • Successor is Olympus E-P2
Olympus SZ-30MR
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 80 - 3200
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 25-600mm (F3.0-6.9) lens
  • 226g - 106 x 69 x 40mm
  • Announced March 2011
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Olympus E-P1 vs Olympus SZ-30MR Overview

Below is a detailed analysis of the Olympus E-P1 versus Olympus SZ-30MR, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom and they are both created by Olympus. There exists a sizable gap between the resolutions of the E-P1 (12MP) and SZ-30MR (16MP) and the E-P1 (Four Thirds) and SZ-30MR (1/2.3") provide different sensor sizing.

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The E-P1 was introduced 19 months prior to the SZ-30MR making them a generation apart from one another. Both of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-P1 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Olympus SZ-30MR being a Compact camera.

Before diving right into a thorough comparison, here is a concise view of how the E-P1 scores against the SZ-30MR for portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-P1 over the Olympus SZ-30MR

 E-P1 SZ-30MR 
Manual focus More accurate focus

Reasons to pick Olympus SZ-30MR over the Olympus E-P1

 SZ-30MR E-P1 
AnnouncedMarch 2011July 2009More recent by 19 months
Display resolution460k230kSharper display (+230k dot)

Common features in the Olympus E-P1 and Olympus SZ-30MR

 E-P1 SZ-30MR 
Display typeFixed Fixed Fixed display
Display dimensions3"3"Equal display measurement
Selfie screen Neither has selfie screen
Touch friendly display Missing Touch friendly display

Olympus E-P1 vs Olympus SZ-30MR Physical Comparison

For anybody who is looking to lug around your camera frequently, you will need to consider its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-P1 has external dimensions of 121mm x 70mm x 36mm (4.8" x 2.8" x 1.4") having a weight of 355 grams (0.78 lbs) and the Olympus SZ-30MR has dimensions of 106mm x 69mm x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6") along with a weight of 226 grams (0.50 lbs).

Examine the Olympus E-P1 versus Olympus SZ-30MR in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you are utilising at that moment. Following is a front view physical size comparison of the E-P1 and the SZ-30MR.

Olympus E-P1 vs Olympus SZ-30MR size comparison

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-P1 and SZ-30MR is 86 and 89 respectively.

Olympus E-P1 vs Olympus SZ-30MR top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-P1 vs Olympus SZ-30MR Sensor Comparison

Sometimes, it's difficult to visualize the contrast between sensor measurements only by reading through specs. The photograph below should provide you a stronger sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-P1 and SZ-30MR.

As you can plainly see, both of the cameras provide different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The E-P1 having a larger sensor is going to make getting bokeh simpler and the Olympus SZ-30MR will resolve greater detail using its extra 4MP. Greater resolution will also enable you to crop photos more aggressively. The older E-P1 is going to be behind when it comes to sensor technology.

Olympus E-P1 vs Olympus SZ-30MR sensor size comparison

Olympus E-P1 vs Olympus SZ-30MR Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-P1 vs Olympus SZ-30MR Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-P1 Portrait photography factors
Olympus SZ-30MR Portrait photography factors
60
manual focus
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
features face detection autofocus
supports RAW formats
resolution not great (12MP)
34
decent megapixels (16 megapixels)
comes with face detect autofocus
lack of manual focus
no manual mode
no external flash support
very small sensor (1/2.3")
lack of RAW files
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-P1 as a Street photography camera
Olympus SZ-30MR as a Street photography camera
74
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports RAW formats
screen does not articulate
60
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
lighter than others (226g)
no moving screen
very small sensor (1/2.3")
lack of RAW files
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-P1 Sports photography advice
Olympus SZ-30MR Sports photography advice
40
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
very slow continuous shooting (3.0 fps)
resolution not great (12 megapixels)
terrible battery pack (300 shots)
lack of phase detect autofocus
41
amazing zoom range (25-600mm 24.0 x zoom)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
decent megapixels (16 megapixels)
comes with tracking focus
max frames per second very slow (2.0 fps)
lack of shutter priority mode
very small sensor (1/2.3")
terrible battery pack (220 shots)
lack of phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-P1 Travel photography information
Olympus SZ-30MR Travel photography information
43
missing Timelapse mode
terrible battery pack (300 shots)
resolution not great (12MP)
display is not selfie friendly
65
lighter than others (226 grams)
decent megapixels (16 megapixels)
flash built-in
rather wide (25mm)
great reach (600mm)
lack of Timelapse recording
terrible battery pack (220 shots)
does not offer selfie friendly screen
sluggish max aperture (f3.0)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-P1 as a Landscape photography camera
Olympus SZ-30MR as a Landscape photography camera
60
manual focus
interchangeable lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
screen is a good size (3")
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports RAW formats
resolution not great (12MP)
terrible battery pack (300 CIPA)
missing Timelapse mode
41
rather wide (25mm)
pretty good screen size (3")
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
decent megapixels (16MP)
lack of manual focus
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
sluggish max aperture (f3.0)
no manual mode
very small sensor (1/2.3")
lack of RAW files
terrible battery pack (220 CIPA)
lack of Timelapse recording
Photography Glossary

Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-P1 Vlogging details
Olympus SZ-30MR Vlogging details
29
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
features face detection autofocus
display is not selfie friendly
low quality video (1280 x 720 pixels)
missing external microphone port
34
rather wide (25mm)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
comes with face detect autofocus
video res high (1920 x 1080 pxls)
lighter than others (226g)
sluggish max aperture (f3.0)
does not offer selfie friendly screen
lack of microphone socket
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Olympus E-P1 vs Olympus SZ-30MR Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-P1 and Olympus SZ-30MR
 Olympus PEN E-P1Olympus SZ-30MR
General Information
Brand Name Olympus Olympus
Model type Olympus PEN E-P1 Olympus SZ-30MR
Class Entry-Level Mirrorless Small Sensor Superzoom
Announced 2009-07-29 2011-03-02
Physical type Rangefinder-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor Information
Processor TruePic V TruePic III+
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 12MP 16MP
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 4:3 and 16:9
Peak resolution 4032 x 3024 4608 x 3456
Highest native ISO 6400 3200
Lowest native ISO 100 80
RAW images
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch focus
AF continuous
Single AF
Tracking AF
AF selectice
AF center weighted
Multi area AF
Live view AF
Face detection AF
Contract detection AF
Phase detection AF
Total focus points 11 -
Cross type focus points - -
Lens
Lens mount type Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 25-600mm (24.0x)
Maximum aperture - f/3.0-6.9
Macro focusing range - 1cm
Available lenses 107 -
Crop factor 2.1 5.8
Screen
Type of screen Fixed Type Fixed Type
Screen sizing 3" 3"
Screen resolution 230k dots 460k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch operation
Screen tech HyperCrystal LCD with AR(Anti-Reflective) coating TFT Hypercrystal III Color LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder None None
Features
Min shutter speed 60 seconds 4 seconds
Max shutter speed 1/4000 seconds 1/1700 seconds
Continuous shutter rate 3.0 frames/s 2.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes -
Change WB
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash distance no built-in flash 4.00 m
Flash options Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync, Manual (3 levels) Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in
Hot shoe
AEB
WB bracketing
Max flash synchronize 1/180 seconds -
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 1920 x 1080 (30 fps)1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 180 (30fps)
Highest video resolution 1280x720 1920x1080
Video format Motion JPEG MPEG-4
Microphone port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless None Eye-Fi Connected
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 355 grams (0.78 lbs) 226 grams (0.50 lbs)
Physical dimensions 121 x 70 x 36mm (4.8" x 2.8" x 1.4") 106 x 69 x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6")
DXO scores
DXO Overall rating 55 not tested
DXO Color Depth rating 21.4 not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating 10.4 not tested
DXO Low light rating 536 not tested
Other
Battery life 300 images 220 images
Type of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID BLS-1 LI-50B
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 12 sec)
Time lapse shooting
Type of storage SD/SDHC card SD/SDHC/SDXC
Card slots One One
Price at release $182 $279