Olympus E-PL1 vs Sigma Quattro

Its time to look more in depth at the Olympus E-PL1 and Sigma Quattro, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Advanced Mirrorless by companies Olympus and Sigma. There exists a large gap among the resolutions of the E-PL1 (12MP) and Quattro (29MP) and the E-PL1 (Four Thirds) and Quattro (APS-C) posses totally different sensor sizes.

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The E-PL1 was revealed 6 years earlier than the Quattro and that is a fairly serious difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both the cameras have the same body design (Rangefinder-style mirrorless).

Before getting right into a complete comparison, here is a quick highlight of how the E-PL1 scores versus the Quattro in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus PEN E-PL1 & Sigma sd Quattro. The full galleries are available at Olympus E-PL1 Gallery & Sigma Quattro Gallery.

If you are looking to carry your camera regularly, you'll need to think about its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-PL1 has outside measurements of 115mm x 72mm x 42mm (4.5" x 2.8" x 1.7") along with a weight of 334 grams (0.74 lbs) and the Sigma Quattro has dimensions of 147mm x 95mm x 91mm (5.8" x 3.7" x 3.6") accompanied by a weight of 625 grams (1.38 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus E-PL1 and Sigma Quattro in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you are working with at that moment. Here is a front view dimension comparison of the E-PL1 against the Quattro.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-PL1 and Quattro is 86 and 63 respectively.

More often than not, its tough to envision the gap in sensor sizing purely by seeing technical specs. The photograph below will help give you a stronger sense of the sensor sizing in the E-PL1 and Quattro.

As you can tell, the two cameras provide different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The E-PL1 using its smaller sensor will make achieving shallow DOF trickier and the Sigma Quattro will show more detail because of its extra 17 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also allow you to crop pics more aggressively. The older E-PL1 will be behind in sensor innovation.