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Olympus E-PL2 vs Olympus XZ-1

Portability
85
Imaging
48
Features
47
Overall
47
Olympus PEN E-PL2 front
 
Olympus XZ-1 front
Portability
88
Imaging
35
Features
51
Overall
41

Olympus E-PL2 vs Olympus XZ-1 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
  • Announced February 2011
  • Superseded the Olympus E-PL1s
  • Updated by Olympus E-PL3
Olympus XZ-1
(Full Review)
  • 10MP - 1/1.63" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 6400
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 28-112mm (F1.8-2.5) lens
  • 275g - 111 x 65 x 42mm
  • Launched January 2011
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Olympus E-PL2 vs Olympus XZ-1 Overview

Below, we are comparing the Olympus E-PL2 vs Olympus XZ-1, former is a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Small Sensor Compact and both are sold by Olympus. The sensor resolution of the E-PL2 (12MP) and the XZ-1 (10MP) is very comparable but the E-PL2 (Four Thirds) and XZ-1 (1/1.63") enjoy totally different sensor measurements.

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The E-PL2 was launched very close to the XZ-1 so they are of a similar age. Both cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-PL2 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Olympus XZ-1 being a Compact camera.

Before delving through a step-by-step comparison, below is a concise summation of how the E-PL2 matches up against the XZ-1 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Photography Glossary
	
	

Reasons to pick Olympus E-PL2 over the Olympus XZ-1

 E-PL2 XZ-1 

Reasons to pick Olympus XZ-1 over the Olympus E-PL2

 XZ-1 E-PL2 
Display resolution614k460kSharper display (+154k dot)

Common features in the Olympus E-PL2 and Olympus XZ-1

 E-PL2 XZ-1 
LaunchedFebruary 2011January 2011Same age
Manually focus Very accurate focusing
Display typeFixed Fixed Fixed display
Display dimension3"3"Identical display measurements
Selfie screen Lacking selfie screen
Touch friendly display Neither offers Touch friendly display

Olympus E-PL2 vs Olympus XZ-1 Physical Comparison

In case you're going to travel with your camera often, you're going to have to factor in its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-PL2 offers exterior measurements of 114mm x 72mm x 42mm (4.5" x 2.8" x 1.7") and a weight of 362 grams (0.80 lbs) while the Olympus XZ-1 has proportions of 111mm x 65mm x 42mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.7") with a weight of 275 grams (0.61 lbs).

See the Olympus E-PL2 vs Olympus XZ-1 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you have chosen during that time. Underneath is the front view overall size comparison of the E-PL2 versus the XZ-1.

Olympus E-PL2 vs Olympus XZ-1 size comparison

Factoring in size and weight, the portability rating of the E-PL2 and XZ-1 is 85 and 88 respectively.

Olympus E-PL2 vs Olympus XZ-1 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-PL2 vs Olympus XZ-1 Sensor Comparison

Generally, it's hard to visualise the contrast in sensor dimensions simply by seeing specs. The picture below will help give you a better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-PL2 and XZ-1.

As you can plainly see, both of those cameras have got different resolutions and different sensor dimensions. The E-PL2 because of its larger sensor will make getting shallow DOF less difficult and the Olympus E-PL2 will show greater detail utilizing its extra 2 Megapixels. Greater resolution will let you crop images much more aggressively.

Olympus E-PL2 vs Olympus XZ-1 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-PL2 vs Olympus XZ-1 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-PL2 vs Olympus XZ-1 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-PL2 Portrait photography details
Olympus XZ-1 Portrait photography details
60
manual focus
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
comes with face detection autofocus
exports RAW files
low MP (12 megapixels)
45
focusing manually
provides face detect autofocus
saves RAW files
sensor resolution low (10 megapixels)
tiny sensor (1/1.63")
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-PL2 as a Street photography camera
Olympus XZ-1 as a Street photography camera
73
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
exports RAW files
no moving screen
59
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
saves RAW files
screen is fixed
tiny sensor (1/1.63")
more heavy than competition in class (275g)
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-PL2 Sports photography information
Olympus XZ-1 Sports photography information
45
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
comes with tracking autofocus
slow frames per second (3.0 frames per second)
low MP (12 megapixels)
low battery power (280 CIPA)
doesn't have phase detect autofocus
38
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
provides tracking focus
better than average battery (320 per charge)
slow frames per second (2.0 frames per second)
sensor resolution low (10 megapixels)
tiny sensor (1/1.63")
lack of phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Olympus E-PL2
Travel photography with Olympus XZ-1
51
has built in flash
doesn't have Timelapse recording
low battery power (280 CIPA)
low MP (12MP)
doesn't posses selfie friendly screen
62
better than average battery (320 per charge)
flash built-in
relatively wide (28mm)
fast max aperture (f1.8)
no Timelapse function
more heavy than competition in class (275g)
sensor resolution low (10MP)
display isn't selfie friendly
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Olympus E-PL2
Landscape photography with Olympus XZ-1
61
manual focus
swap lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
nice screen size (3 inch)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
exports RAW files
low MP (12MP)
low battery power (280 CIPA)
doesn't have Timelapse recording
54
focusing manually
relatively wide (28mm)
fast max aperture (f1.8)
nice screen size (3 inch)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
saves RAW files
better than average battery (320 per charge)
cannot change lens (fixed lens mount)
sensor resolution low (10MP)
tiny sensor (1/1.63")
no Timelapse function
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Olympus E-PL2
Vlogging with Olympus XZ-1
29
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
comes with face detection autofocus
doesn't posses selfie friendly screen
low res video (1280 x 720 resolution)
doesn't have external microphone socket
31
relatively wide (28mm)
fast max aperture (f1.8)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
provides face detect autofocus
display isn't selfie friendly
low video resolution (1280 x 720 pixels)
no microphone socket
more heavy than competition in class (275g)
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Olympus E-PL2 vs Olympus XZ-1 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-PL2 and Olympus XZ-1
 Olympus PEN E-PL2Olympus XZ-1
General Information
Manufacturer Olympus Olympus
Model Olympus PEN E-PL2 Olympus XZ-1
Class Entry-Level Mirrorless Small Sensor Compact
Announced 2011-02-11 2011-01-26
Physical type Rangefinder-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor Information
Processor Truepic V TruePic V
Sensor type CMOS CCD
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/1.63"
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 8.07 x 5.56mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 44.9mm²
Sensor resolution 12 megapixel 10 megapixel
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Full resolution 4032 x 3024 3664 x 2752
Max native ISO 6400 6400
Lowest native ISO 100 100
RAW images
Autofocusing
Manual focus
Touch to focus
AF continuous
Single AF
Tracking AF
Selective AF
AF center weighted
Multi area AF
AF live view
Face detect focusing
Contract detect focusing
Phase detect focusing
Number of focus points 11 11
Lens
Lens mount Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens focal range - 28-112mm (4.0x)
Highest aperture - f/1.8-2.5
Macro focus distance - 1cm
Available lenses 107 -
Crop factor 2.1 4.5
Screen
Type of display Fixed Type Fixed Type
Display diagonal 3 inch 3 inch
Resolution of display 460 thousand dots 614 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch function
Display tech HyperCrystal LCD AR(Anti-Reflective) coating OLED
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic (optional) Electronic (optional)
Features
Slowest shutter speed 60 seconds 60 seconds
Maximum shutter speed 1/4000 seconds 1/2000 seconds
Continuous shooting rate 3.0 frames/s 2.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Custom WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash range 10.00 m 8.60 m (ISO 800)
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync, Manual (3 levels) Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in
External flash
Auto exposure bracketing
WB bracketing
Maximum flash synchronize 1/160 seconds -
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Max video resolution 1280x720 1280x720
Video data format Motion JPEG Motion JPEG
Microphone port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless None None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 362g (0.80 lb) 275g (0.61 lb)
Dimensions 114 x 72 x 42mm (4.5" x 2.8" x 1.7") 111 x 65 x 42mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.7")
DXO scores
DXO All around score 55 34
DXO Color Depth score 21.4 18.8
DXO Dynamic range score 10.2 10.4
DXO Low light score 573 117
Other
Battery life 280 photos 320 photos
Battery type Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model BLS-5 Li-50B
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 12 sec)
Time lapse feature
Storage type SD/SDHC SD/SDHC/SDXC
Card slots Single Single
Retail pricing $0 $567