Olympus E-PL1s vs Olympus SZ-30MR

The following is a in-depth overview of the Olympus E-PL1s vs Olympus SZ-30MR, former is a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom and both are designed by Olympus. There exists a large gap among the sensor resolutions of the E-PL1s (12MP) and SZ-30MR (16MP) and the E-PL1s (Four Thirds) and SZ-30MR (1/2.3") boast totally different sensor size.

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The E-PL1s was released 3 months prior to the SZ-30MR and they are of a similar age. Each of these cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-PL1s being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Olympus SZ-30MR being a Compact camera.

Before we go right into a detailed comparison, here is a concise summation of how the E-PL1s matches up against the SZ-30MR with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Below is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus PEN E-PL1s & Olympus SZ-30MR. The complete galleries are available at Olympus E-PL1s Gallery & Olympus SZ-30MR Gallery.

When you are intending to travel with your camera frequently, you'll need to factor in its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-PL1s comes with outer measurements of 115mm x 72mm x 42mm (4.5" x 2.8" x 1.7") and a weight of 334 grams (0.74 lbs) while the Olympus SZ-30MR has measurements of 106mm x 69mm x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6") along with a weight of 226 grams (0.50 lbs).

Examine the Olympus E-PL1s vs Olympus SZ-30MR in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you have attached at the time. Underneath is a front view scale comparison of the E-PL1s and the SZ-30MR.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-PL1s and SZ-30MR is 86 and 89 respectively.

Typically, its difficult to visualise the difference in sensor dimensions only by looking through a spec sheet. The picture here will provide you a far better sense of the sensor sizing in the E-PL1s and SZ-30MR.

As you can see, both cameras come with different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The E-PL1s due to its bigger sensor will make achieving shallower DOF less difficult and the Olympus SZ-30MR will render greater detail as a result of its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also make it easier to crop shots a good deal more aggressively.