Olympus E-PL1 vs Sony A350

Here is a in-depth assessment of the Olympus E-PL1 vs Sony A350, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by competitors Olympus and Sony. The resolution of the E-PL1 (12MP) and the A350 (14MP) is very comparable but the E-PL1 (Four Thirds) and A350 (APS-C) enjoy totally different sensor sizing.

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The E-PL1 was revealed 24 months later than the A350 making the cameras a generation apart from one another. Each of these cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-PL1 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony A350 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before getting through a thorough comparison, below is a quick highlight of how the E-PL1 scores versus the A350 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Following is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus PEN E-PL1 & Sony Alpha DSLR-A350. The full galleries are viewable at Olympus E-PL1 Gallery & Sony A350 Gallery.

If you are planning to carry your camera regularly, you will need to factor its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-PL1 enjoys outside dimensions 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 Sony A350 has dimensions of 131mm x 99mm x 75mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0") with a weight of 674 grams (1.49 lbs).

Examine the Olympus E-PL1 vs Sony A350 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you select during that time. Underneath is the front view sizing comparison of the E-PL1 versus the A350.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-PL1 and A350 is 86 and 62 respectively.

More often than not, it can be hard to see the gap in sensor sizing only by seeing specs. The graphic below will give you a clearer sense of the sensor sizes in the E-PL1 and A350.

All in all, both of those cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The E-PL1 with its smaller sensor will make shooting shallower DOF harder and the Sony A350 will show greater detail because of its extra 2 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also let you crop images somewhat more aggressively. The more recent E-PL1 is going to have an advantage when it comes to sensor tech.