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Olympus E-PL2 vs Olympus TG-870

Portability
85
Imaging
48
Features
47
Overall
47
Olympus PEN E-PL2 front
 
Olympus Stylus Tough TG-870 front
Portability
91
Imaging
41
Features
46
Overall
43

Olympus E-PL2 vs Olympus TG-870 Key Specs

Olympus E-PL2
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 6400
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 362g - 114 x 72 x 42mm
  • Released February 2011
  • Succeeded the Olympus E-PL1s
  • Updated by Olympus E-PL3
Olympus TG-870
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Display
  • ISO 125 - 6400 (Expand to 12800)
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 21-105mm (F3.5-5.7) lens
  • 221g - 113 x 64 x 28mm
  • Revealed January 2016
  • Earlier Model is Olympus TG-860
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Olympus E-PL2 vs Olympus TG-870 Overview

Below is a in-depth comparison of the Olympus E-PL2 and Olympus TG-870, one being a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the other is a Ultracompact and they are both built by Olympus. There exists a huge gap between the image resolutions of the E-PL2 (12MP) and TG-870 (16MP) and the E-PL2 (Four Thirds) and TG-870 (1/2.3") possess totally different sensor dimensions.

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The E-PL2 was manufactured 5 years prior to the TG-870 and that is quite a significant gap as far as technology is concerned. Both cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-PL2 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Olympus TG-870 being a Ultracompact camera.

Before going through a step-by-step comparison, below is a quick summary of how the E-PL2 matches up against the TG-870 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-PL2 over the Olympus TG-870

 E-PL2 TG-870 
Manually focus More precise focusing

Reasons to pick Olympus TG-870 over the Olympus E-PL2

 TG-870 E-PL2 
RevealedJanuary 2016February 2011More recent by 59 months
Display typeTiltingFixed Tilting display
Display resolution921k460kSharper display (+461k dot)

Common features in the Olympus E-PL2 and Olympus TG-870

 E-PL2 TG-870 
Display sizing3"3"Equivalent display sizing
Selfie screen No selfie screen
Touch friendly display No Touch friendly display

Olympus E-PL2 vs Olympus TG-870 Physical Comparison

If you are going to lug around your camera, you will have to factor in its weight and volume. The Olympus E-PL2 features physical dimensions of 114mm x 72mm x 42mm (4.5" x 2.8" x 1.7") and a weight of 362 grams (0.80 lbs) whilst the Olympus TG-870 has sizing of 113mm x 64mm x 28mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.1") with a weight of 221 grams (0.49 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-PL2 and Olympus TG-870 in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Don't forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ based on the lens you have during that time. Following is the front view overall size comparison of the E-PL2 vs the TG-870.

Olympus E-PL2 vs Olympus TG-870 size comparison

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-PL2 and TG-870 is 85 and 91 respectively.

Olympus E-PL2 vs Olympus TG-870 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-PL2 vs Olympus TG-870 Sensor Comparison

Normally, its hard to visualise the gap between sensor measurements just by reading through specs. The photograph below will provide you a greater sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-PL2 and TG-870.

All in all, both of those cameras enjoy different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The E-PL2 due to its larger sensor will make shooting shallow depth of field simpler and the Olympus TG-870 will give you extra detail due to its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution will let you crop photos far more aggressively. The older E-PL2 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor technology.

Olympus E-PL2 vs Olympus TG-870 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-PL2 vs Olympus TG-870 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-PL2 vs Olympus TG-870 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-PL2 Portrait photography information
Olympus TG-870 Portrait photography information
60
has manual focus
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
comes with face detect focus
supports RAW formats
low resolution sensor (12MP)
36
good resolution (16 megapixels)
features face detect focusing
no manual focus
no manual mode
can't use external flash
small sensor size (1/2.3")
no RAW format
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Olympus E-PL2
Street photography with Olympus TG-870
73
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
supports RAW formats
no moving screen
65
has a tilting screen
image stabilization (Optical)
weather proofing
small sensor size (1/2.3")
no RAW format
heavier than others (221 grams)
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-PL2 as a Sports photography camera
Olympus TG-870 as a Sports photography camera
45
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
comes with tracking focus
painfully slow continuous shooting (3.0 frames/s)
low resolution sensor (12 megapixels)
low battery pack (280 shots)
doesn't have phase detect auto focus
51
image stabilization (Optical)
good resolution (16MP)
features tracking focus
weather proofing
better than average battery power (300 shots)
no shutter priority
small sensor size (1/2.3")
no phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-PL2 Travel photography features
Olympus TG-870 Travel photography features
51
flash built-in
missing Timelapse function
low battery pack (280 shots)
low resolution sensor (12 megapixels)
screen is not selfie friendly
69
better than average battery power (300 CIPA)
weather proofing
good resolution (16MP)
built-in flash
quite wide (21mm)
heavier than others (221g)
display isn't selfie friendly
sluggish max aperture (f3.5)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-PL2 Landscape photography details
Olympus TG-870 Landscape photography details
61
has manual focus
swap lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
nice screen size (3 inch)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
supports RAW formats
low resolution sensor (12 megapixels)
low battery pack (280 per charge)
missing Timelapse function
50
quite wide (21mm)
nice screen size (3")
image stabilization (Optical)
good resolution (16MP)
weather proofing
better than average battery power (300 per charge)
no manual focus
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
sluggish max aperture (f3.5)
no manual mode
small sensor size (1/2.3")
no RAW format
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-PL2 Vlogging info
Olympus TG-870 Vlogging info
29
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
comes with face detect focus
screen is not selfie friendly
video resolution low (1280 x 720 pxls)
missing microphone jack
32
quite wide (21mm)
image stabilization (Optical)
features face detect focusing
high video quality (1920 x 1080 pxls)
sluggish max aperture (f3.5)
display isn't selfie friendly
lack of mic jack
heavier than others (221g)
Photography Glossary

Olympus E-PL2 vs Olympus TG-870 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-PL2 and Olympus TG-870
 Olympus PEN E-PL2Olympus Stylus Tough TG-870
General Information
Brand Name Olympus Olympus
Model Olympus PEN E-PL2 Olympus Stylus Tough TG-870
Type Entry-Level Mirrorless Ultracompact
Released 2011-02-11 2016-01-06
Body design Rangefinder-style mirrorless Ultracompact
Sensor Information
Processor Chip Truepic V TruePic VII
Sensor type CMOS BSI-CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 12MP 16MP
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Maximum resolution 4032 x 3024 4608 x 3456
Maximum native ISO 6400 6400
Maximum boosted ISO - 12800
Minimum native ISO 100 125
RAW files
Autofocusing
Manual focus
Touch focus
Autofocus continuous
Single autofocus
Tracking autofocus
Selective autofocus
Center weighted autofocus
Multi area autofocus
Autofocus live view
Face detect focus
Contract detect focus
Phase detect focus
Number of focus points 11 -
Lens
Lens mount Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens focal range - 21-105mm (5.0x)
Max aperture - f/3.5-5.7
Macro focus range - 1cm
Total lenses 107 -
Crop factor 2.1 5.8
Screen
Range of display Fixed Type Tilting
Display sizing 3" 3"
Display resolution 460k dot 921k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch capability
Display technology HyperCrystal LCD AR(Anti-Reflective) coating -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Electronic (optional) None
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60 secs 4 secs
Highest shutter speed 1/4000 secs 1/2000 secs
Continuous shooting speed 3.0fps 7.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes -
Change white balance
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash range 10.00 m 4.00 m (at ISO 1600)
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync, Manual (3 levels) Auto, redeye reduction, fill flash, off, LED illuminator
Hot shoe
AEB
White balance bracketing
Highest flash sync 1/160 secs -
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 1920 x 1080 (60p), 1280 x 720 (60p), 640 x 480 (60p)
Maximum video resolution 1280x720 1920x1080
Video data format Motion JPEG MPEG-4, H.264
Mic input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None BuiltIn
Physical
Environment seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 362 gr (0.80 lb) 221 gr (0.49 lb)
Dimensions 114 x 72 x 42mm (4.5" x 2.8" x 1.7") 113 x 64 x 28mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.1")
DXO scores
DXO All around score 55 not tested
DXO Color Depth score 21.4 not tested
DXO Dynamic range score 10.2 not tested
DXO Low light score 573 not tested
Other
Battery life 280 photos 300 photos
Form of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model BLS-5 Li-50B
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec, custom)
Time lapse recording
Storage media SD/SDHC SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal
Storage slots 1 1
Retail price $0 $280