Olympus E-PL1s vs Sony A100

On this page, we are comparing the Olympus E-PL1s and Sony A100, one is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by companies Olympus and Sony. The image resolution of the E-PL1s (12MP) and the A100 (10MP) is very comparable but the E-PL1s (Four Thirds) and A100 (APS-C) provide totally different sensor sizes.

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The E-PL1s was announced 4 years after the A100 which is a fairly large gap as far as camera tech is concerned. Both of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-PL1s being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony A100 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before we go straight to a complete comparison, here is a simple summation of how the E-PL1s scores versus the A100 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Following is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus PEN E-PL1s and Sony Alpha DSLR-A100. The whole galleries are provided at Olympus E-PL1s Gallery and Sony A100 Gallery.

In case you're aiming to travel with your camera regularly, you're going to have to take into account its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-PL1s offers outer 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 Sony A100 has measurements of 133mm x 95mm x 71mm (5.2" x 3.7" x 2.8") having a weight of 638 grams (1.41 lbs).

Compare the Olympus E-PL1s and Sony A100 in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary based on the lens you use during that time. Below is a front view physical size comparison of the E-PL1s against the A100.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability rating of the E-PL1s and A100 is 86 and 64 respectively.

Oftentimes, it is tough to envision the gap in sensor dimensions merely by checking out technical specs. The pic here will help give you a better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-PL1s and A100.

As you can tell, each of the cameras have different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The E-PL1s with its smaller sensor will make shooting shallow depth of field more challenging and the Olympus E-PL1s will provide extra detail with its extra 2 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also enable you to crop photos a bit more aggressively. The younger E-PL1s is going to have a benefit with regard to sensor technology.