Olympus E-PL1s vs Sony QX1

Following is a comprehensive comparison of the Olympus E-PL1s versus Sony QX1, one is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the other is a Lens-style by companies Olympus and Sony. There exists a crucial gap among the resolutions of the E-PL1s (12MP) and QX1 (20MP) and the E-PL1s (Four Thirds) and QX1 (APS-C) have different sensor measurements.

Photography Glossary

The E-PL1s was revealed 4 years before the QX1 which is a fairly serious gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-PL1s being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony QX1 being a Lens-style camera.

Before going into a thorough comparison, here is a brief view of how the E-PL1s scores against the QX1 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

This is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus PEN E-PL1s and Sony Alpha QX1. The full galleries are provided at Olympus E-PL1s Gallery and Sony QX1 Gallery.

When you are going to carry around your camera regularly, you will have to take into account its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-PL1s has outer measurements of 115mm x 72mm x 42mm (4.5" x 2.8" x 1.7") having a weight of 334 grams (0.74 lbs) and the Sony QX1 has proportions of 74mm x 70mm x 53mm (2.9" x 2.8" x 2.1") with a weight of 216 grams (0.48 lbs).

Compare the Olympus E-PL1s versus Sony QX1 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change dependant on the lens you have chosen during that time. The following is a front view proportions comparison of the E-PL1s and the QX1.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-PL1s and QX1 is 86 and 90 respectively.

Normally, its difficult to visualize the contrast in sensor sizes simply by looking through a spec sheet. The image below will help give you a much better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-PL1s and QX1.

As you can see, both the cameras have different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The E-PL1s with its smaller sensor is going to make getting shallower DOF harder and the Sony QX1 will provide you with extra detail because of its extra 8 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also let you crop photos a bit more aggressively. The more aged E-PL1s will be disadvantaged in sensor innovation.