Olympus E-P2 vs Olympus VR-330

Its time to look a little more in depth at the Olympus E-P2 vs Olympus VR-330, one is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom and both of them are built by Olympus. The image resolution of the E-P2 (12MP) and the VR-330 (14MP) is very comparable but the E-P2 (Four Thirds) and VR-330 (1/2.3") have totally different sensor sizes.

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The E-P2 was released 9 months earlier than the VR-330 so they are of a similar generation. Both cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-P2 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Olympus VR-330 being a Compact camera.

Before getting into a full comparison, here is a short summary of how the E-P2 matches up versus the VR-330 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Below is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus PEN E-P2 and Olympus VR-330. The complete galleries are viewable at Olympus E-P2 Gallery and Olympus VR-330 Gallery.

If you're going to carry around your camera frequently, you have to factor its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-P2 offers external dimensions of 121mm x 70mm x 36mm (4.8" x 2.8" x 1.4") accompanied by a weight of 355 grams (0.78 lbs) and the Olympus VR-330 has measurements of 101mm x 58mm x 29mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.1") having a weight of 158 grams (0.35 lbs).

Check the Olympus E-P2 vs Olympus VR-330 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ depending on the lens you use at the time. Following is a front view scale comparison of the E-P2 vs the VR-330.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability rating of the E-P2 and VR-330 is 86 and 94 respectively.

Oftentimes, it is hard to envision the difference in sensor sizes just by going through a spec sheet. The picture below should provide you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-P2 and VR-330.

As you can see, both cameras have different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The E-P2 because of its larger sensor will make achieving shallow DOF less difficult and the Olympus VR-330 will show more detail as a result of its extra 2 Megapixels. Greater resolution will help you crop images a bit more aggressively. The more aged E-P2 will be behind in sensor innovation.