Olympus E-PL2 vs Panasonic FZ100

Lets look a bit more closely at the Olympus E-PL2 vs Panasonic FZ100, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by competitors Olympus and Panasonic. The image resolution of the E-PL2 (12MP) and the FZ100 (14MP) is pretty similar but the E-PL2 (Four Thirds) and FZ100 (1/2.3") posses different sensor sizing.

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The E-PL2 was manufactured 7 months later than the FZ100 which means that they are both of a similar age. Both of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-PL2 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic FZ100 being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before diving straight to a comprehensive comparison, here is a quick highlight of how the E-PL2 matches up versus the FZ100 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus PEN E-PL2 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100. The entire galleries are viewable at Olympus E-PL2 Gallery & Panasonic FZ100 Gallery.

For anyone who is planning to lug around your camera, you'll need to take into account its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-PL2 offers physical dimensions of 114mm x 72mm x 42mm (4.5" x 2.8" x 1.7") having a weight of 362 grams (0.80 lbs) while the Panasonic FZ100 has dimensions of 124mm x 82mm x 92mm (4.9" x 3.2" x 3.6") accompanied by a weight of 540 grams (1.19 lbs).

See the Olympus E-PL2 vs Panasonic FZ100 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you select at the time. Underneath is a front view dimension comparison of the E-PL2 against the FZ100.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-PL2 and FZ100 is 85 and 67 respectively.

Normally, it's hard to picture the contrast between sensor measurements simply by going over specs. The visual underneath will help offer you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-PL2 and FZ100.

All in all, each of these cameras provide different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The E-PL2 featuring a bigger sensor is going to make achieving shallow depth of field less difficult and the Panasonic FZ100 will deliver more detail due to its extra 2 Megapixels. Higher resolution will make it easier to crop pictures more aggressively. The newer E-PL2 should have an advantage when it comes to sensor tech.