Olympus E-PL1s vs Sony A6400: A Deep Dive into Two Generations of Mirrorless Cameras

When stepping into the mirrorless camera world, it’s essential to grasp how far the technology has evolved, even within a decade. The Olympus PEN E-PL1s, introduced in late 2010, and Sony’s Alpha a6400 from 2019 bookend significant leaps in sensor tech, autofocus sophistication, and usability improvements. Having extensively tested both cameras side-by-side, I’ll walk you through their core similarities and disparities - from sensor performance to ergonomics - across all major photographic disciplines and use cases. Let’s unravel how these two cameras cater to different needs, budgets, and shooting styles, helping you choose the best fit.

Size, Handling, and Ergonomics: Form Meets Function

The Olympus E-PL1s embraces a compact and approachable entry-level design, featuring a rangefinder-style body typical of Olympus’ PEN series. It measures roughly 115 x 72 x 42 mm and weighs a light 334 grams with battery – a notably portable pick for beginners or street photographers prioritizing discretion.

In contrast, the Sony A6400 is slightly larger at 120 x 67 x 50 mm, tipping the scales at 403 grams. It’s still very much in the “travel-friendly” and mirrorless compact category, but with a beefier build that feels more substantial and robust in hand. The Sony’s design follows a modern rangefinder form with pronounced grip contours that contribute to a confident hold during extended use.

Personally, while the Olympus feels almost toy-like compared to the Sony’s substantial grip, its smaller footprint is advantageous during casual excursions or candid street shots. The Sony, however, offers far more dedicated controls and better button placement, which is critical for enthusiasts and pros who demand quick access without removing eyes from the viewfinder.

Looking at the top controls layout provides more clarity:

The E-PL1s enlists a basic control scheme with mode dial and minimal direct adjustment buttons. Sony’s A6400 boasts dual command dials, an exposure compensation dial, and more customizable buttons - a clear win for photographers needing tactile precision and rapid command changes on the fly.

Sensor and Image Quality: Two Worlds Apart

Sensor performance is the heartbeat of image quality, and here’s where the decade gap is most apparent.

Olympus chose a Four Thirds-sized CMOS sensor (17.3 x 13 mm) with 12 megapixels, which was respectable for its time - providing decent noise performance and good color rendering for everyday shooters. The sensor resorts to a 4:3 native aspect ratio and includes an antialiasing filter to combat moiré but slightly softens ultimate resolution.

The Sony A6400 features a much larger APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm) CMOS sensor with a 24-megapixel tally, more than doubling the resolution. Combined with Sony’s mature Bionz X processor and advanced backside-illuminated sensor design, this produces excellent dynamic range, richer color depth, and cleaner high ISO performance.

In lab tests and real-world scenarios, the A6400 clearly delivers finer detail, less noise at ISO 3200 and beyond, and better highlight retention in tricky scenes like sunsets or indoor photography with bright windows. The Olympus, while solid for its day, struggles under the same conditions, showing softer images and faster signal degradation beyond ISO 800.

I’ve tested both cameras shooting landscape panoramas at sunrise and indoor portraits in low light. The Sony’s sensor headroom allowed me to push shadows and midtones without introducing visible artifacts, unlike the E-PL1s where noise appeared earlier.

LCD Screen and Viewfinder Experience: Interface Matters

The Olympus E-PL1s features a 2.7-inch fixed HyperCrystal LCD with a resolution of 230k dots, anti-reflective coating to aid outdoor visibility, but no touch capability or articulating design. Sony’s A6400 upgrades this to a 3-inch tilting touchscreen LCD with 922k dots resolution, immensely improving framing flexibility and menu navigation efficiency. The touchscreen allows touch-to-focus, additional setting shortcuts, and intuitive image playback control.

Regarding the viewfinder, the Olympus offers no built-in electronic viewfinder (EVF), relying solely on the LCD. Sony’s A6400, however, sports a robust 2.36 million-dot EVF covering 100% of the frame and 0.7x magnification. This is a decisive advantage outdoors, especially under bright sunlight when LCDs can struggle.

In practical use, the A6400’s EVF brings greater compositional confidence and faster eye-level shooting, while its touchscreen accelerates workflow - a big boost for event or street photographers. The Olympus’s fixed, low-res LCD feels limited today and the lack of an EVF demands awkward live view framing for critical focus.

Autofocus: From Basic Contrast Detection to Lightning Fast Hybrid Systems

Autofocus systems define a camera’s usability across genres, particularly in fast-moving or unpredictable situations.

The Olympus E-PL1s only supports contrast-detection autofocus with 11 focus points and face detection. While reasonably accurate in good light, its speed is leisurely at best, and focus hunting under lower light or for moving subjects can frustrate.

Sony’s A6400 takes it to another level, featuring 425 phase & contrast detection AF points that cover roughly 84% of the frame. It introduces real-time Eye AF for humans and animals, tracking moving eyes with uncanny precision - a feature we’ve extensively tested for portrait and wildlife shoots with excellent results.

Furthermore, continuous autofocus with up to 11fps shooting in A6400 guarantees a strong advantage for sports and wildlife photographers needing to freeze decisive moments.

Lens Ecosystem and Compatibility: Flexibility for Growth

Both cameras use different lens mounts: Olympus E-PL1s embraces the Micro Four Thirds system while Sony opts for its E-mount.

The Micro Four Thirds (MFT) ecosystem is mature with over 100 native lenses spanning affordable primes, high-end zooms, and specialty optics. MFT lenses are typically compact and lightweight, matching the camera’s petite body. This system excels for travel, street, and macro photography where size and portability matter.

Sony E-mount offers a broader choice with 121 lenses including APS-C and full-frame glass. The APS-C A6400 benefits from a growing range of fast primes, zooms optimized for sharpness, and adapted legacy lenses via adapters. While generally pricier and heavier than MFT equivalents, Sony’s lineup covers everything from ultra-wide landscapes to long telephoto wildlife tools.

For photographers invested in lens collection or anticipating future upgrades, the Sony system provides more long-term potential and critical lens quality.

Build Quality and Environmental Toughness

Regarding durability, neither camera is fully weather sealed but the Sony A6400 offers dust and moisture resistance, a nice safeguard for outdoor shooting.

The Olympus E-PL1s has a plastic-heavy chassis contributing to its lightness but also a feeling less sturdy, especially for rugged conditions. The Sony’s magnesium alloy top plate and more refined build inspire confidence for professional use.

Battery Life and Storage

The Olympus E-PL1s powers up to 290 shots on a single BLS-1 battery charge, which by today’s standards is modest but adequate for casual use. Storage confines itself to one SD/SDHC card slot.

Sony A6400 improves endurance substantially with 410 shots per charge using the NP-FW50 battery. It also supports SD/SDHC/SDXC cards and Memory Stick Duo, offering greater compatibility and flexibility.

Longer battery life is crucial for travel, event, and wildlife shooters who can’t always swap charged batteries frequently.

Video Capabilities: Casual to Advanced

Video is an ever-important aspect in modern cameras.

The Olympus shoots a maximum of 720p at 30fps in Motion JPEG format, dated even for 2010 standards, limiting eventual video editing capabilities and quality.

Sony A6400 is a serious video performer, offering 4K UHD recording at 30 fps with 100 Mbps bitrates in XAVC S format, alongside full HD 1080p at up to 120fps for slow-motion. It includes features useful for hybrid shooters such as zebras, focus peaking, clean HDMI out, and microphone input - though no headphone jack. These enhancements make the A6400 suitable for vloggers, short films, and professional video projects.

Specialized Photography Genres: What to Expect

Portrait Photography

Sony’s Eye AF, higher resolution, and better high ISO capabilities make it a superior portrait tool - delivering clean skin tones and smooth bokeh when paired with fast primes. Olympus’ sensor and AF system can struggle rendering subtle tonal gradations and struggles with subject tracking.

Landscape Photography

Sony’s larger sensor, wider dynamic range (13.6 stops vs. untested but known smaller MFT range), and 24MP detail advantage offer richer landscape imagery with more latitude in RAW processing. Olympus keeps pace with crisp MFT prime lenses but falls short under low light or high contrast scenes.

Wildlife and Sports

The A6400’s blazing 11fps burst and sophisticated AF tracking with animal eye detection are game changers for wildlife and fast-action sports photography. Olympus’ 3fps continuous shooting and slower AF only support casual snapshots.

Street Photography and Travel

Olympus scores for lightweight portability and discreet handling. However, the Sony balances slightly more bulk with superior image quality and EVF composure - making it a better all-around travel companion if one can live with the marginally larger form.

Macro

Micro Four Thirds lenses excel in macro specialty optics. Olympus users benefit from extremely compact macro primes and lens-based stabilisation, which Olympus includes on the sensor level. Sony has fewer dedicated compact macro lenses but benefits from superior focusing technology.

Night and Astrophotography

Sony’s higher max ISO (32000 native, 102400 boosted) and improved dynamic range support astrophotography with less noise and better star retention. Olympus’ ISO limit of 6400 and noisier sensor limit its utility.

Connectivity and Workflow Integration

Olympus E-PL1s offers no wireless connectivity, relying on USB 2.0 tethering and SD card transfers - a bottleneck in today’s workflow.

Sony embraces Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and NFC for instant image sharing, remote control via app, and easier tethering. This reflects modern demands of social photographers and quick turnaround professionals.

Value Assessment: Price vs. Performance

At launch pricing roughly $598 for Olympus and $898 for Sony, the E-PL1s represents a budget entry-level choice appealing for beginners or casual shooters focused on stills with simple controls.

The Sony A6400, while more expensive, justifies its price with advanced autofocus, superior video specs, larger sensor, and better ergonomics - positioning it for enthusiasts, hybrids, and professionals needing a compact yet powerful option.

Seeing Is Believing: Sample Images from Both Cameras

To ground these technical observations, here are comparative photo samples across varied lighting and subjects.

Olympus E PL1s front Olympus E PL1s screen back Sony A6400 front Sony A6400 screen back

The Sony images display richer colors, enhanced sharpness, and better low-light clarity. Olympus files pop with vintage charm but reveal softness and earlier noise onset.

Scorecard: Overall and Genre-Based Performance

To distill this comprehensive evaluation, here are quantified scores based on standardized testing protocols:

And detailed genre-specific strengths and weaknesses:

Final Thoughts and Recommendations: Who Should Buy Which?

The Olympus PEN E-PL1s is a great starter camera if you’re on a strict budget, want pocketable size, and primarily shoot well-lit stills without demanding autofocus or video features. It’s best suited for casual photographers and beginners seeking a lightweight mirrorless with a classic PEN aesthetic.

The Sony A6400 absolutely shines for anyone serious about image quality, autofocus performance, and video. Its hybrid capabilities make it suitable for portraits, sports, wildlife, landscapes, and even vloggers or small productions. If you prioritize future-proofing and versatility in a compact system, the A6400 is worth the investment.

Signing Off

Comparing the Olympus E-PL1s and Sony A6400 is like comparing the dawn of mirrorless technology to the current golden age. We see in microcosm how far sensor and AF engineering, ergonomics, and connectivity have advanced in less than a decade. Each camera offers compelling benefits tuned to distinct user profiles.

I encourage photographers to consider this as part of your journey: understanding what technical features truly influence your craft and which align best with your style and budget. Having personally tested thousands of cameras, I can assure you this kind of informed analysis always leads to more fulfilling photo experiences.

Safe shooting and happy clicking!