Olympus E-PL1 vs Panasonic G85

Its time to take a more detailed look at the Olympus E-PL1 vs Panasonic G85, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Advanced Mirrorless by rivals Olympus and Panasonic. There is a noticeable difference between the resolutions of the E-PL1 (12MP) and G85 (16MP) but both cameras posses the same sensor size (Four Thirds).

Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a Landslide

The E-PL1 was released 7 years earlier than the G85 and that is quite a sizable difference as far as tech is concerned. Each of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-PL1 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic G85 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera.

Before going into a complete comparison, here is a concise summation of how the E-PL1 scores vs the G85 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Here is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus PEN E-PL1 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-G85. The complete galleries are provided at Olympus E-PL1 Gallery & Panasonic G85 Gallery.

In case you're aiming to lug around your camera often, you will need to think about its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-PL1 has got physical dimensions of 115mm x 72mm x 42mm (4.5" x 2.8" x 1.7") and a weight of 334 grams (0.74 lbs) whilst the Panasonic G85 has proportions of 128mm x 89mm x 74mm (5.0" x 3.5" x 2.9") along with a weight of 505 grams (1.11 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-PL1 vs Panasonic G85 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you have at that time. Following is a front view dimension comparison of the E-PL1 against the G85.

Using size and weight, the portability rating of the E-PL1 and G85 is 86 and 69 respectively.

Generally, its hard to imagine the gap between sensor measurements just by reviewing specs. The graphic here will offer you a stronger sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-PL1 and G85.

All in all, both of those cameras have the same sensor dimensions albeit different MP. You can count on the Panasonic G85 to offer more detail as a result of its extra 4MP. Higher resolution will enable you to crop pictures a bit more aggressively. The older E-PL1 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor innovation.