Olympus E-P2 vs Sony A77

Its time to look more closely at the Olympus E-P2 versus Sony A77, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Advanced DSLR by competitors Olympus and Sony. There is a noticeable difference among the sensor resolutions of the E-P2 (12MP) and A77 (24MP) and the E-P2 (Four Thirds) and A77 (APS-C) boast different sensor dimensions.

Photography Glossary

The E-P2 was unveiled 18 months before the A77 which makes them a generation apart from each other. Both the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-P2 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony A77 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before going straight to a in depth comparison, here is a short introduction of how the E-P2 matches up versus the A77 for portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

The following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus PEN E-P2 & Sony SLT-A77. The full galleries are available at Olympus E-P2 Gallery & Sony A77 Gallery.

For anyone who is planning to carry your camera frequently, you are going to need to think about its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-P2 features outer measurements of 121mm x 70mm x 36mm (4.8" x 2.8" x 1.4") accompanied by a weight of 355 grams (0.78 lbs) whilst the Sony A77 has measurements of 143mm x 104mm x 81mm (5.6" x 4.1" x 3.2") and a weight of 732 grams (1.61 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-P2 versus Sony A77 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you use at the time. Underneath is a front view overall size comparison of the E-P2 and the A77.

Looking at size and weight, the portability score of the E-P2 and A77 is 86 and 59 respectively.

Oftentimes, it is hard to imagine the gap in sensor sizing merely by looking through specifications. The visual underneath might provide you a far better sense of the sensor sizing in the E-P2 and A77.

To sum up, both cameras have different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The E-P2 having a smaller sensor is going to make shooting shallower DOF trickier and the Sony A77 will render more detail having an extra 12 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also let you crop shots a bit more aggressively. The older E-P2 will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor tech.