Olympus E-PL1 vs Sony HX30V

Below is a thorough analysis of the Olympus E-PL1 and Sony HX30V, one being a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by competitors Olympus and Sony. There exists a huge gap between the resolutions of the E-PL1 (12MP) and HX30V (18MP) and the E-PL1 (Four Thirds) and HX30V (1/2.3") offer totally different sensor dimensions.

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The E-PL1 was manufactured 21 months prior to the HX30V which makes them a generation apart from one another. Each of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-PL1 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony HX30V being a Compact camera.

Before diving straight to a step-by-step comparison, here is a quick view of how the E-PL1 scores against the HX30V when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

The following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus PEN E-PL1 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX30V. The entire galleries are provided at Olympus E-PL1 Gallery and Sony HX30V Gallery.

If you are looking to lug around your camera regularly, you'll have 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") having a weight of 334 grams (0.74 lbs) whilst the Sony HX30V has proportions of 107mm x 62mm x 35mm (4.2" x 2.4" x 1.4") and a weight of 254 grams (0.56 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus E-PL1 and Sony HX30V in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ depending on the lens you are utilising at the time. The following is a front view scale comparison of the E-PL1 vs the HX30V.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-PL1 and HX30V is 86 and 90 respectively.

Quite often, it is very hard to envision the contrast between sensor measurements simply by going over technical specs. The graphic below might provide you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-PL1 and HX30V.

As you can tell, the two cameras provide different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-PL1 because of its bigger sensor will make getting shallow DOF less difficult and the Sony HX30V will offer more detail due to its extra 6MP. Higher resolution will let you crop pictures more aggressively. The older E-PL1 is going to be behind in sensor technology.