Olympus E-PL1s vs Olympus XZ-10

Lets look much closer at the Olympus E-PL1s versus Olympus XZ-10, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact and both are sold by Olympus. The sensor resolution of the E-PL1s (12MP) and the XZ-10 (12MP) is relatively close but the E-PL1s (Four Thirds) and XZ-10 (1/2.3") offer totally different sensor sizing.

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The E-PL1s was manufactured 3 years before the XZ-10 and that is a fairly big difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-PL1s being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Olympus XZ-10 being a Compact camera.

Before delving right into a full comparison, here is a short summation of how the E-PL1s grades vs the XZ-10 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

The following is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus PEN E-PL1s & Olympus Stylus XZ-10. The entire galleries are available at Olympus E-PL1s Gallery & Olympus XZ-10 Gallery.

When you are intending to lug around your camera often, you have to think about its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-PL1s provides physical 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) while the Olympus XZ-10 has measurements of 102mm x 61mm x 34mm (4.0" x 2.4" x 1.3") with a weight of 221 grams (0.49 lbs).

Examine the Olympus E-PL1s versus Olympus XZ-10 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you use at that time. The following is a front view scale comparison of the E-PL1s and the XZ-10.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-PL1s and XZ-10 is 86 and 91 respectively.

Quite often, it's tough to envision the contrast in sensor measurements only by viewing technical specs. The visual below will help provide you a far better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-PL1s and XZ-10.

As you have seen, each of the cameras have the same megapixel count albeit not the same sensor measurements. The E-PL1s provides the bigger sensor which will make achieving shallower DOF simpler. The older E-PL1s will be behind in sensor tech.