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Olympus E-PL2 vs Olympus VR-340

Portability
85
Imaging
48
Features
47
Overall
47
Olympus PEN E-PL2 front
 
Olympus VR-340 front
Portability
96
Imaging
39
Features
36
Overall
37

Olympus E-PL2 vs Olympus VR-340 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
  • Launched February 2011
  • Replaced the Olympus E-PL1s
  • Renewed by Olympus E-PL3
Olympus VR-340
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 3200
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 24-240mm (F3.0-5.7) lens
  • 125g - 96 x 57 x 19mm
  • Released January 2012
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Olympus E-PL2 vs Olympus VR-340 Overview

Lets take a more detailed look at the Olympus E-PL2 and Olympus VR-340, one being a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the other is a Small Sensor Compact and they are both sold by Olympus. There exists a sizeable gap among the image resolutions of the E-PL2 (12MP) and VR-340 (16MP) and the E-PL2 (Four Thirds) and VR-340 (1/2.3") have different sensor sizes.

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The E-PL2 was announced 11 months before the VR-340 which means that they are both of a similar generation. Both cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-PL2 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Olympus VR-340 being a Compact camera.

Before getting right into a comprehensive comparison, here is a short highlight of how the E-PL2 scores vs the VR-340 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-PL2 over the Olympus VR-340

 E-PL2 VR-340 
Manual focus More accurate focus

Reasons to pick Olympus VR-340 over the Olympus E-PL2

 VR-340 E-PL2 
ReleasedJanuary 2012February 2011More recent by 11 months

Common features in the Olympus E-PL2 and Olympus VR-340

 E-PL2 VR-340 
Display typeFixed Fixed Fixed display
Display size3"3"Same display dimensions
Display resolution460k460kIdentical display resolution
Selfie screen Missing selfie screen
Touch display Missing Touch display

Olympus E-PL2 vs Olympus VR-340 Physical Comparison

When you are planning to lug around your camera frequently, you are going to need to consider its weight and volume. The Olympus E-PL2 comes with exterior measurements of 114mm x 72mm x 42mm (4.5" x 2.8" x 1.7") along with a weight of 362 grams (0.80 lbs) whilst the Olympus VR-340 has sizing of 96mm x 57mm x 19mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.7") having a weight of 125 grams (0.28 lbs).

See the Olympus E-PL2 and Olympus VR-340 in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into consideration, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ depending on the lens you are working with at that time. The following is a front view physical size comparison of the E-PL2 against the VR-340.

Olympus E-PL2 vs Olympus VR-340 size comparison

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-PL2 and VR-340 is 85 and 96 respectively.

Olympus E-PL2 vs Olympus VR-340 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-PL2 vs Olympus VR-340 Sensor Comparison

Quite often, it can be difficult to picture the contrast in sensor measurements purely by researching technical specs. The graphic here may provide you a more clear sense of the sensor measurements in the E-PL2 and VR-340.

As you can tell, each of these cameras come with different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-PL2 using its larger sensor is going to make shooting bokeh less difficult and the Olympus VR-340 will provide you with greater detail with its extra 4MP. Greater resolution will also enable you to crop photos a good deal more aggressively. The older E-PL2 will be behind with regard to sensor technology.

Olympus E-PL2 vs Olympus VR-340 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-PL2 vs Olympus VR-340 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-PL2 vs Olympus VR-340 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
Photography Glossary

Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-PL2 Portrait photography info
Olympus VR-340 Portrait photography info
60
manual focus
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
has face detection autofocus
saves RAW formats
low megapixels (12MP)
34
good resolution (16 megapixels)
offers face detect focusing
lack of manual focus
no manual control
no external flash support
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW format
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-PL2 Street photography advice
Olympus VR-340 Street photography advice
73
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
no articulating screen
63
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
lighter than competition in class (125g)
no articulating screen
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW format
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-PL2 as a Sports photography camera
Olympus VR-340 as a Sports photography camera
45
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
has tracking autofocus
max frames per second very slow (3.0 frames/s)
low megapixels (12 megapixels)
bad battery (280 shots)
lacks phase detect autofocus
44
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
good resolution (16MP)
offers tracking focus
no shutter priority
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
doesn't have phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-PL2 Travel photography features
Olympus VR-340 Travel photography features
51
has built in flash
missing Time Lapse recording
bad battery (280 shots)
low megapixels (12MP)
doesn't contain selfie friendly screen
69
lighter than competition in class (125 grams)
good resolution (16MP)
has built in flash
relatively wide (24mm)
no Time Lapse recording
doesn't have selfie friendly display
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.0)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-PL2 as a Landscape photography camera
Olympus VR-340 as a Landscape photography camera
61
manual focus
swap lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
pretty good screen size (3 inch)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
low megapixels (12 megapixels)
bad battery (280 shots)
missing Time Lapse recording
43
relatively wide (24mm)
screen size is good (3")
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
good resolution (16MP)
lack of manual focus
cannot change lens (fixed lens mount)
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.0)
no manual control
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW format
no Time Lapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-PL2 Vlogging factors
Olympus VR-340 Vlogging factors
29
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
has face detection autofocus
doesn't contain selfie friendly screen
low quality video (1280 x 720 resolution)
missing external mic jack
33
relatively wide (24mm)
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
offers face detect focusing
lighter than competition in class (125 grams)
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.0)
doesn't have selfie friendly display
video res low (1280 x 720 pixels)
no mic port
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Olympus E-PL2 vs Olympus VR-340 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-PL2 and Olympus VR-340
 Olympus PEN E-PL2Olympus VR-340
General Information
Make Olympus Olympus
Model Olympus PEN E-PL2 Olympus VR-340
Category Entry-Level Mirrorless Small Sensor Compact
Launched 2011-02-11 2012-01-10
Body design Rangefinder-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor Information
Processor Truepic V -
Sensor type CMOS CCD
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 12MP 16MP
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 4:3 and 16:9
Highest resolution 4032 x 3024 4608 x 3456
Highest native ISO 6400 3200
Min native ISO 100 100
RAW data
Autofocusing
Focus manually
AF touch
AF continuous
Single AF
AF tracking
AF selectice
Center weighted AF
Multi area AF
Live view AF
Face detect AF
Contract detect AF
Phase detect AF
Number of focus points 11 -
Cross focus points - -
Lens
Lens mounting type Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens focal range - 24-240mm (10.0x)
Highest aperture - f/3.0-5.7
Available lenses 107 -
Focal length multiplier 2.1 5.8
Screen
Range of display Fixed Type Fixed Type
Display sizing 3" 3"
Display resolution 460k dot 460k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch functionality
Display technology HyperCrystal LCD AR(Anti-Reflective) coating TFT Color LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic (optional) None
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60 secs 4 secs
Highest shutter speed 1/4000 secs 1/2000 secs
Continuous shooting speed 3.0 frames/s -
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual exposure
Exposure compensation Yes -
Change WB
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash range 10.00 m 4.80 m
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync, Manual (3 levels) Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in
Hot shoe
AEB
WB bracketing
Highest flash sync 1/160 secs -
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 1280 x 720 (30,15 fps), 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 180 (30,15 fps)
Highest video resolution 1280x720 1280x720
Video file format Motion JPEG Motion JPEG
Mic jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless None Eye-Fi Connected
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 362 gr (0.80 lbs) 125 gr (0.28 lbs)
Physical dimensions 114 x 72 x 42mm (4.5" x 2.8" x 1.7") 96 x 57 x 19mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.7")
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 -
Type of battery Battery Pack -
Battery model BLS-5 LI-50B
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 12 sec)
Time lapse feature
Type of storage SD/SDHC SD/SDHC/SDXC
Storage slots One One
Cost at launch $0 $130