Olympus E-PL1s vs Pentax WG-2

Let's look more closely at the Olympus E-PL1s and Pentax WG-2, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Waterproof by rivals Olympus and Pentax. There exists a large gap between the image resolutions of the E-PL1s (12MP) and WG-2 (16MP) and the E-PL1s (Four Thirds) and WG-2 (1/2.3") have different sensor size.

Photography Glossary

The E-PL1s was announced 14 months before the WG-2 making them a generation apart from one another. Both cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-PL1s being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Pentax WG-2 being a Compact camera.

Before going into a in-depth comparison, here is a concise highlight of how the E-PL1s grades versus the WG-2 for portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

The following is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus PEN E-PL1s & Pentax Optio WG-2. The whole galleries are available at Olympus E-PL1s Gallery & Pentax WG-2 Gallery.

If you're going to lug around your camera frequently, you'll have to take into account its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-PL1s comes with outside dimensions 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 Pentax WG-2 has dimensions of 122mm x 61mm x 30mm (4.8" x 2.4" x 1.2") accompanied by a weight of 192 grams (0.42 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-PL1s and Pentax WG-2 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you choose at that moment. Underneath is a front view dimension comparison of the E-PL1s against the WG-2.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-PL1s and WG-2 is 86 and 91 respectively.

Normally, it is tough to picture the contrast between sensor measurements only by reading through specifications. The photograph here may provide you a clearer sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-PL1s and WG-2.

To sum up, the 2 cameras provide different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-PL1s having a larger sensor is going to make shooting shallower depth of field simpler and the Pentax WG-2 will give more detail with its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution will let you crop photos more aggressively. The older E-PL1s is going to be behind with regard to sensor technology.