Olympus E-PL1 vs Panasonic FH10

On this page, we are contrasting the Olympus E-PL1 vs Panasonic FH10, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Small Sensor Compact by competitors Olympus and Panasonic. There is a noticeable difference among the resolutions of the E-PL1 (12MP) and FH10 (16MP) and the E-PL1 (Four Thirds) and FH10 (1/2.3") have different sensor dimensions.

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The E-PL1 was brought out 3 years prior to the FH10 and that is a fairly sizable difference as far as camera tech is concerned. The two cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-PL1 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic FH10 being a Compact camera.

Before going into a thorough comparison, here is a quick summary of how the E-PL1 grades vs the FH10 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

The following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus PEN E-PL1 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH10. The entire galleries are provided at Olympus E-PL1 Gallery & Panasonic FH10 Gallery.

If you are looking to carry your camera regularly, you will have to take into account its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-PL1 has external measurements 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 Panasonic FH10 has proportions of 94mm x 54mm x 18mm (3.7" x 2.1" x 0.7") accompanied by a weight of 103 grams (0.23 lbs).

Check the Olympus E-PL1 vs Panasonic FH10 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you have chosen at that time. The following is a front view sizing comparison of the E-PL1 against the FH10.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability score of the E-PL1 and FH10 is 86 and 97 respectively.

Usually, its hard to imagine the difference in sensor sizing only by going through a spec sheet. The graphic here might give you a greater sense of the sensor sizing in the E-PL1 and FH10.

As you can see, each of the cameras have different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The E-PL1 due to its larger sensor is going to make shooting shallow depth of field simpler and the Panasonic FH10 will show more detail having its extra 4MP. Greater resolution will also make it easier to crop images a bit more aggressively. The older E-PL1 will be disadvantaged in sensor technology.