Olympus E-PL1 vs Olympus SZ-16 iHS

Here is a detailed comparison of the Olympus E-PL1 and Olympus SZ-16 iHS, one being a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom and they are both sold by Olympus. There exists a huge gap among the sensor resolutions of the E-PL1 (12MP) and SZ-16 iHS (16MP) and the E-PL1 (Four Thirds) and SZ-16 iHS (1/2.3") posses different sensor size.

Photography Glossary

The E-PL1 was unveiled 3 years prior to the SZ-16 iHS and that is a fairly significant gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of the cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-PL1 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Olympus SZ-16 iHS being a Compact camera.

Before getting straight to a in depth comparison, here is a concise overview of how the E-PL1 matches up vs the SZ-16 iHS with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Following is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus PEN E-PL1 and Olympus SZ-16 iHS. The full galleries are viewable at Olympus E-PL1 Gallery and Olympus SZ-16 iHS Gallery.

For anybody who is intending to carry your camera often, you will have to take into account its weight and volume. The Olympus E-PL1 enjoys external dimensions of 115mm x 72mm x 42mm (4.5" x 2.8" x 1.7") having a weight of 334 grams (0.74 lbs) and the Olympus SZ-16 iHS has sizing of 108mm x 70mm x 40mm (4.3" x 2.8" x 1.6") having a weight of 226 grams (0.50 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-PL1 and Olympus SZ-16 iHS in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary depending on the lens you have attached at that moment. The following is a front view over all size comparison of the E-PL1 compared to the SZ-16 iHS.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-PL1 and SZ-16 iHS is 86 and 89 respectively.

Quite often, its difficult to imagine the contrast in sensor sizing simply by researching technical specs. The photograph here might provide you a greater sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-PL1 and SZ-16 iHS.

As you can tell, both of those cameras feature different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The E-PL1 having a bigger sensor is going to make getting shallow DOF simpler and the Olympus SZ-16 iHS will render more detail having an extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also make it easier to crop shots way more aggressively. The older E-PL1 will be disadvantaged in sensor technology.