Olympus E-PL1 vs Sony A9

Lets look a little more in depth at the Olympus E-PL1 vs Sony A9, former is a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Pro Mirrorless by manufacturers Olympus and Sony. There exists a large gap among the image resolutions of the E-PL1 (12MP) and A9 (24MP) and the E-PL1 (Four Thirds) and A9 (Full frame) boast different sensor dimensions.

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The E-PL1 was revealed 8 years before the A9 which is a fairly serious difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of these cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-PL1 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony A9 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera.

Before diving straight to a complete comparison, here is a quick overview of how the E-PL1 grades against the A9 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Below is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus PEN E-PL1 & Sony Alpha A9. The full galleries are provided at Olympus E-PL1 Gallery & Sony A9 Gallery.

For those who are planning to travel with your camera often, you'll have to think about its weight and size. The Olympus E-PL1 offers external measurements of 115mm x 72mm x 42mm (4.5" x 2.8" x 1.7") accompanied by a weight of 334 grams (0.74 lbs) whilst the Sony A9 has specifications of 127mm x 96mm x 63mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 2.5") along with a weight of 673 grams (1.48 lbs).

See the Olympus E-PL1 vs Sony A9 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you are employing at that time. Following is a front view sizing comparison of the E-PL1 versus the A9.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-PL1 and A9 is 86 and 65 respectively.

Quite often, it is very difficult to picture the contrast in sensor dimensions just by viewing specifications. The pic here should provide you a stronger sense of the sensor measurements in the E-PL1 and A9.

Plainly, the two cameras feature different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The E-PL1 with its smaller sensor is going to make achieving shallow depth of field trickier and the Sony A9 will provide you with more detail because of its extra 12 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also make it easier to crop images way more aggressively. The more aged E-PL1 will be disadvantaged in sensor technology.