Olympus E-PL1 vs Panasonic SZ5

Its time to look a little more closely at the Olympus E-PL1 vs Panasonic SZ5, one being a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the other is a Small Sensor Compact by competitors Olympus and Panasonic. The image resolution of the E-PL1 (12MP) and the SZ5 (14MP) is very well matched but the E-PL1 (Four Thirds) and SZ5 (1/2.3") have different sensor sizes.

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The E-PL1 was revealed 3 years prior to the SZ5 and that is quite a large gap as far as technology is concerned. Each of the cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-PL1 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic SZ5 being a Compact camera.

Before delving right into a complete comparison, here is a quick summation of how the E-PL1 matches up versus the SZ5 for portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

The following is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus PEN E-PL1 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ5. The full galleries are available at Olympus E-PL1 Gallery and Panasonic SZ5 Gallery.

For anybody who is aiming to carry your camera regularly, you're going to have to think about its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-PL1 features outside dimensions of 115mm x 72mm x 42mm (4.5" x 2.8" x 1.7") having a weight of 334 grams (0.74 lbs) while the Panasonic SZ5 has dimensions of 104mm x 58mm x 21mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 0.8") along with a weight of 136 grams (0.30 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus E-PL1 vs Panasonic SZ5 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ dependant on the lens you are utilizing at the time. The following is a front view dimension comparison of the E-PL1 versus the SZ5.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-PL1 and SZ5 is 86 and 95 respectively.

Quite often, it's hard to picture the difference between sensor sizing only by reading through a spec sheet. The graphic below may provide you a more clear sense of the sensor sizes in the E-PL1 and SZ5.

Clearly, both of these cameras feature different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The E-PL1 having a larger sensor is going to make shooting shallow DOF easier and the Panasonic SZ5 will resolve greater detail because of its extra 2 Megapixels. Greater resolution will allow you to crop photos way more aggressively. The older E-PL1 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor innovation.