Olympus E-P1 vs Sony H20

Below is a extended analysis of the Olympus E-P1 and Sony H20, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Small Sensor Compact by manufacturers Olympus and Sony. The image resolution of the E-P1 (12MP) and the H20 (10MP) is very close but the E-P1 (Four Thirds) and H20 (1/2.3") come with totally different sensor size.

Photography Glossary

The E-P1 was announced 3 months later than the H20 and they are both of a similar age. Both the cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-P1 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony H20 being a Compact camera.

Before delving in to a complete comparison, below is a quick summary of how the E-P1 grades vs the H20 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Below is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus PEN E-P1 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H20. The whole galleries are available at Olympus E-P1 Gallery & Sony H20 Gallery.

If you're going to lug around your camera often, you are going to need to consider its weight and size. The Olympus E-P1 enjoys external dimensions of 121mm x 70mm x 36mm (4.8" x 2.8" x 1.4") along with a weight of 355 grams (0.78 lbs) while the Sony H20 has specifications of 107mm x 69mm x 47mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.9") having a weight of 250 grams (0.55 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-P1 and Sony H20 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you are utilizing at the time. The following is the front view measurement comparison of the E-P1 versus the H20.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-P1 and H20 is 86 and 87 respectively.

Sometimes, it's hard to envision the contrast in sensor measurements just by looking through specs. The photograph below might give you a stronger sense of the sensor sizes in the E-P1 and H20.

As you can plainly see, both of those cameras enjoy different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-P1 with its larger sensor will make getting shallow depth of field less difficult and the Olympus E-P1 will provide you with extra detail with its extra 2 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also make it easier to crop photos far more aggressively.