Olympus E-PL2 vs Olympus SH-50

Below is a in-depth overview of the Olympus E-PL2 versus Olympus SH-50, one being a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom and both are created by Olympus. There is a big difference between the sensor resolutions of the E-PL2 (12MP) and SH-50 (16MP) and the E-PL2 (Four Thirds) and SH-50 (1/2.3") use totally different sensor dimensions.

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The E-PL2 was unveiled 23 months before the SH-50 making the cameras a generation apart from each other. Each of the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-PL2 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Olympus SH-50 being a Compact camera.

Before going straight into a complete comparison, below is a quick synopsis of how the E-PL2 matches up versus the SH-50 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus PEN E-PL2 and Olympus SH-50. The full galleries are viewable at Olympus E-PL2 Gallery and Olympus SH-50 Gallery.

For anybody who is intending to lug around your camera frequently, you will have to consider its weight and volume. The Olympus E-PL2 has external dimensions of 114mm x 72mm x 42mm (4.5" x 2.8" x 1.7") along with a weight of 362 grams (0.80 lbs) while the Olympus SH-50 has sizing of 112mm x 63mm x 42mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.7") accompanied by a weight of 269 grams (0.59 lbs).

See the Olympus E-PL2 versus Olympus SH-50 in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change depending on the lens you have chosen at that time. The following is the front view size comparison of the E-PL2 compared to the SH-50.

Considering size and weight, the portability score of the E-PL2 and SH-50 is 85 and 88 respectively.

Often, it is very hard to see the contrast between sensor measurements simply by reading through a spec sheet. The visual underneath will give you a much better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-PL2 and SH-50.

As you can see, each of the cameras posses different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The E-PL2 using its larger sensor will make achieving shallower depth of field easier and the Olympus SH-50 will resolve greater detail having an extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also make it easier to crop photos somewhat more aggressively. The older E-PL2 is going to be behind when it comes to sensor technology.