Olympus E-PL2 vs Olympus SZ-30MR

Its time to look a bit more closely at the Olympus E-PL2 vs Olympus SZ-30MR, former is a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom and both are produced by Olympus. There is a noticeable difference between the image resolutions of the E-PL2 (12MP) and SZ-30MR (16MP) and the E-PL2 (Four Thirds) and SZ-30MR (1/2.3") enjoy totally different sensor dimensions.

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The E-PL2 was revealed very close to the SZ-30MR and they are of a similar age. Each of the cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-PL2 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Olympus SZ-30MR being a Compact camera.

Before going through a step-by-step comparison, below is a quick introduction of how the E-PL2 matches up against the SZ-30MR with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Following is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus PEN E-PL2 & Olympus SZ-30MR. The full galleries are available at Olympus E-PL2 Gallery & Olympus SZ-30MR Gallery.

For anyone who is aiming to carry around your camera frequently, you're going to have to think about its weight and size. The Olympus E-PL2 provides outer measurements of 114mm x 72mm x 42mm (4.5" x 2.8" x 1.7") with a weight of 362 grams (0.80 lbs) and the Olympus SZ-30MR has specifications of 106mm x 69mm x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6") with a weight of 226 grams (0.50 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus E-PL2 vs Olympus SZ-30MR in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you are using at that time. Below is the front view proportions comparison of the E-PL2 and the SZ-30MR.

Considering size and weight, the portability rating of the E-PL2 and SZ-30MR is 85 and 89 respectively.

Generally, its difficult to visualise the gap between sensor sizes merely by reviewing specs. The image underneath will help give you a greater sense of the sensor measurements in the E-PL2 and SZ-30MR.

As you can plainly see, both cameras enjoy different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The E-PL2 having a bigger sensor will make shooting shallower depth of field simpler and the Olympus SZ-30MR will offer you extra detail because of its extra 4MP. Higher resolution will also let you crop pictures far more aggressively.