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Olympus E-PL2 vs Panasonic FH8

Portability
85
Imaging
48
Features
47
Overall
47
Olympus PEN E-PL2 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH8 front
Portability
96
Imaging
39
Features
32
Overall
36

Olympus E-PL2 vs Panasonic FH8 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
  • Earlier Model is Olympus E-PL1s
  • Successor is Olympus E-PL3
Panasonic FH8
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 6400
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 24-120mm (F2.5-6.4) lens
  • 123g - 96 x 57 x 19mm
  • Introduced January 2012
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Olympus E-PL2 vs Panasonic FH8 Overview

Below is a comprehensive analysis of the Olympus E-PL2 and Panasonic FH8, one being a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by rivals Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a huge gap between the resolutions of the E-PL2 (12MP) and FH8 (16MP) and the E-PL2 (Four Thirds) and FH8 (1/2.3") posses different sensor size.

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The E-PL2 was launched 11 months prior to the FH8 and they are both of a similar generation. Both cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-PL2 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic FH8 being a Compact camera.

Before going right into a complete comparison, here is a brief overview of how the E-PL2 scores versus the FH8 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-PL2 over the Panasonic FH8

 E-PL2 FH8 
Manual focus Very accurate focusing
Screen resolution460k230kCrisper screen (+230k dot)

Reasons to pick Panasonic FH8 over the Olympus E-PL2

 FH8 E-PL2 
IntroducedJanuary 2012February 2011More recent by 11 months

Common features in the Olympus E-PL2 and Panasonic FH8

 E-PL2 FH8 
Screen typeFixed Fixed Fixed screen
Screen dimensions3"3"Equal screen size
Selfie screen No selfie screen
Touch friendly screen No Touch friendly screen

Olympus E-PL2 vs Panasonic FH8 Physical Comparison

When you are planning to lug around your camera frequently, you will need to think about its weight and volume. The Olympus E-PL2 enjoys physical dimensions of 114mm x 72mm x 42mm (4.5" x 2.8" x 1.7") with a weight of 362 grams (0.80 lbs) while the Panasonic FH8 has sizing of 96mm x 57mm x 19mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.7") accompanied by a weight of 123 grams (0.27 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus E-PL2 and Panasonic FH8 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ dependant on the lens you select at that moment. The following is a front view sizing comparison of the E-PL2 against the FH8.

Olympus E-PL2 vs Panasonic FH8 size comparison

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-PL2 and FH8 is 85 and 96 respectively.

Olympus E-PL2 vs Panasonic FH8 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-PL2 vs Panasonic FH8 Sensor Comparison

Typically, its hard to visualize the difference between sensor measurements merely by going over specs. The graphic below will help offer you a much better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-PL2 and FH8.

All in all, the two cameras have different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-PL2 featuring a bigger sensor is going to make shooting shallow DOF less difficult and the Panasonic FH8 will deliver greater detail utilizing its extra 4MP. Higher resolution can also make it easier to crop pictures a bit more aggressively. The older E-PL2 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor tech.

Olympus E-PL2 vs Panasonic FH8 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-PL2 vs Panasonic FH8 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-PL2 vs Panasonic FH8 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-PL2 Portrait photography factors
Panasonic FH8 Portrait photography factors
60
has manual focus
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
offers face detection focusing
saves RAW formats
MP count low (12MP)
34
MP count good (16MP)
has face detect focusing
lack of manual focus
manual mode not available
can't use external flash
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
has no RAW support
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Olympus E-PL2
Street photography with Panasonic FH8
73
image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
no articulating screen
63
image stabilization (Optical)
lighter than competition in class (123 grams)
screen is fixed
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
has no RAW support
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-PL2 Sports photography factors
Panasonic FH8 Sports photography factors
45
image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
offers tracking autofocus
continuous shooting slow (3.0 frames/s)
MP count low (12 megapixels)
terrible battery (280 shots)
doesn't have phase detect AF
40
image stabilization (Optical)
MP count good (16 megapixels)
has tracking focus
low frames per second (1.0 frames per second)
lack of shutter priority mode
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
has no phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Olympus E-PL2
Travel photography with Panasonic FH8
51
built-in flash
does not have Timelapse mode
terrible battery (280 CIPA)
MP count low (12MP)
doesn't feature selfie friendly display
69
lighter than competition in class (123g)
MP count good (16 megapixels)
flash built-in
quite wide (24mm)
lack of Time Lapse mode
display is not selfie friendly
somewhat slow max aperture (f2.5)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-PL2 Landscape photography factors
Panasonic FH8 Landscape photography factors
61
has manual focus
interchangeable lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
nice screen size (3")
image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
MP count low (12MP)
terrible battery (280 per charge)
does not have Timelapse mode
43
quite wide (24mm)
screen is a good size (3 inches)
image stabilization (Optical)
MP count good (16 megapixels)
lack of manual focus
can't swap lens (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow max aperture (f2.5)
manual mode not available
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
has no RAW support
lack of Time Lapse mode
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-PL2 Vlogging highlights
Panasonic FH8 Vlogging highlights
29
image stabilization (Sensor based)
offers face detection focusing
doesn't feature selfie friendly display
video resolution low (1280 x 720 resolution)
does not have external microphone jack
33
quite wide (24mm)
image stabilization (Optical)
has face detect focusing
lighter than competition in class (123g)
somewhat slow max aperture (f2.5)
display is not selfie friendly
video res low (1280 x 720 resolution)
lack of mic jack
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Olympus E-PL2 vs Panasonic FH8 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-PL2 and Panasonic FH8
 Olympus PEN E-PL2Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH8
General Information
Make Olympus Panasonic
Model type Olympus PEN E-PL2 Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH8
Type Entry-Level Mirrorless Small Sensor Compact
Launched 2011-02-11 2012-01-09
Body design Rangefinder-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor Information
Processor Chip Truepic V -
Sensor type CMOS CCD
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 6.08 x 4.56mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 27.7mm²
Sensor resolution 12MP 16MP
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Highest resolution 4032 x 3024 4608 x 3456
Highest native ISO 6400 6400
Minimum native ISO 100 100
RAW photos
Autofocusing
Focus manually
AF touch
Continuous AF
Single AF
Tracking AF
Selective AF
Center weighted AF
AF multi area
AF live view
Face detect focusing
Contract detect focusing
Phase detect focusing
Total focus points 11 23
Lens
Lens mount type Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 24-120mm (5.0x)
Highest aperture - f/2.5-6.4
Macro focusing range - 4cm
Total lenses 107 -
Crop factor 2.1 5.9
Screen
Range of display Fixed Type Fixed Type
Display size 3 inch 3 inch
Display resolution 460k dot 230k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch friendly
Display technology HyperCrystal LCD AR(Anti-Reflective) coating TFT Color LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic (optional) None
Features
Slowest shutter speed 60s 8s
Maximum shutter speed 1/4000s 1/1600s
Continuous shooting speed 3.0 frames per sec 1.0 frames per sec
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual exposure
Exposure compensation Yes -
Set WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash distance 10.00 m 5.60 m
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync, Manual (3 levels) Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye reduction
Hot shoe
AE bracketing
White balance bracketing
Maximum flash sync 1/160s -
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Highest video resolution 1280x720 1280x720
Video format Motion JPEG MPEG-4
Mic input
Headphone input
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 seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 362g (0.80 lb) 123g (0.27 lb)
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 rating 55 not tested
DXO Color Depth rating 21.4 not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating 10.2 not tested
DXO Low light rating 573 not tested
Other
Battery life 280 images 260 images
Battery format Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID BLS-5 -
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse shooting
Type of storage SD/SDHC SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal
Storage slots One One
Pricing at launch $0 $149