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Olympus E-PL2 vs Panasonic S2

Portability
85
Imaging
48
Features
47
Overall
47
Olympus PEN E-PL2 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-S2 front
Portability
96
Imaging
37
Features
29
Overall
33

Olympus E-PL2 vs Panasonic S2 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
  • Replaced the Olympus E-PL1s
  • Successor is Olympus E-PL3
Panasonic S2
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 6400
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 28-112mm (F3.1-6.5) lens
  • 112g - 98 x 57 x 21mm
  • Revealed January 2012
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Olympus E-PL2 vs Panasonic S2 Overview

The following is a detailed analysis of the Olympus E-PL2 and Panasonic S2, former is a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by companies Olympus and Panasonic. The image resolution of the E-PL2 (12MP) and the S2 (14MP) is relatively close but the E-PL2 (Four Thirds) and S2 (1/2.3") use different sensor measurements.

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The E-PL2 was launched 11 months before the S2 and they are of a similar age. Both the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-PL2 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic S2 being a Compact camera.

Before diving straight into a thorough comparison, below is a quick synopsis of how the E-PL2 scores versus the S2 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-PL2 over the Panasonic S2

 E-PL2 S2 
Focus manually More precise focusing
Screen dimension3"2.7"Bigger screen (+0.3")
Screen resolution460k230kSharper screen (+230k dot)

Reasons to pick Panasonic S2 over the Olympus E-PL2

 S2 E-PL2 
RevealedJanuary 2012February 2011Newer by 11 months

Common features in the Olympus E-PL2 and Panasonic S2

 E-PL2 S2 
Screen typeFixed Fixed Fixed screen
Selfie screen Neither comes with selfie screen
Touch friendly screen Neither comes with Touch friendly screen

Olympus E-PL2 vs Panasonic S2 Physical Comparison

When you are planning to travel with your camera regularly, you'll have to factor in its weight and volume. The Olympus E-PL2 comes with outside dimensions 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 Panasonic S2 has sizing of 98mm x 57mm x 21mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 0.8") accompanied by a weight of 112 grams (0.25 lbs).

See the Olympus E-PL2 and Panasonic S2 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you are utilizing at that time. Following is the front view size comparison of the E-PL2 versus the S2.

Olympus E-PL2 vs Panasonic S2 size comparison

Considering size and weight, the portability rating of the E-PL2 and S2 is 85 and 96 respectively.

Olympus E-PL2 vs Panasonic S2 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-PL2 vs Panasonic S2 Sensor Comparison

Generally, it is hard to picture the difference in sensor dimensions purely by researching specs. The pic here should give you a more clear sense of the sensor sizes in the E-PL2 and S2.

As you can plainly see, both the cameras posses different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The E-PL2 because of its bigger sensor is going to make shooting shallow DOF easier and the Panasonic S2 will result in more detail utilizing its extra 2MP. Higher resolution will also allow you to crop pictures somewhat more aggressively. The more aged E-PL2 will be disadvantaged in sensor innovation.

Olympus E-PL2 vs Panasonic S2 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-PL2 vs Panasonic S2 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-PL2 vs Panasonic S2 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Portrait photography with Olympus E-PL2
Portrait photography with Panasonic S2
60
has manual focus
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
offers face detection focusing
delivers RAW formats
low resolution sensor (12 megapixels)
33
megapixel count good (14MP)
has face detect focus
focusing manually not possible
lack of manual exposure
cannot use external flash
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW format
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-PL2 Street photography info
Panasonic S2 Street photography info
73
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW formats
fixed screen
63
image stabilization (Optical)
lighter than average (112 grams)
no articulating screen
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW format
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Sports Comparison

Sports photography with Olympus E-PL2
Sports photography with Panasonic S2
45
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
offers tracking autofocus
low frames per second (3.0 fps)
low resolution sensor (12 megapixels)
not so great battery life (280 shots)
no phase detect AF
39
image stabilization (Optical)
megapixel count good (14MP)
good battery pack (280 shots)
continuous shooting slow (2.0 fps)
lack of shutter priority mode
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
doesn't have phase detect auto focus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-PL2 Travel photography features
Panasonic S2 Travel photography features
51
built-in flash
does not have Time Lapse recording
not so great battery life (280 per charge)
low resolution sensor (12 megapixels)
does not have selfie friendly screen
70
good battery pack (280 per charge)
lighter than average (112g)
megapixel count good (14 megapixels)
has built in flash
quite wide (28mm)
missing Timelapse function
does not have selfie friendly display
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.1)
Photography Glossary

Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-PL2 Landscape photography advice
Panasonic S2 Landscape photography advice
61
has manual focus
swap lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
screen is a decent size (3 inches)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW formats
low resolution sensor (12 megapixels)
not so great battery life (280 per charge)
does not have Time Lapse recording
41
quite wide (28mm)
image stabilization (Optical)
megapixel count good (14MP)
good battery pack (280 per charge)
focusing manually not possible
can't switch lens (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.1)
small screen (2.7")
lack of manual exposure
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW format
missing Timelapse function
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-PL2 Vlogging details
Panasonic S2 Vlogging details
29
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
offers face detection focusing
does not have selfie friendly screen
video res low (1280 x 720 pxls)
does not have external mic port
32
quite wide (28mm)
image stabilization (Optical)
has face detect focus
lighter than average (112 grams)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.1)
does not have selfie friendly display
low res video (1280 x 720 pixels)
missing microphone port
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Olympus E-PL2 vs Panasonic S2 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-PL2 and Panasonic S2
 Olympus PEN E-PL2Panasonic Lumix DMC-S2
General Information
Make Olympus Panasonic
Model type Olympus PEN E-PL2 Panasonic Lumix DMC-S2
Category Entry-Level Mirrorless Small Sensor Compact
Released 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 measurements 17.3 x 13mm 6.08 x 4.56mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 27.7mm²
Sensor resolution 12 megapixel 14 megapixel
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 4:3 and 16:9
Max resolution 4032 x 3024 4320 x 3240
Max native ISO 6400 6400
Minimum native ISO 100 100
RAW data
Autofocusing
Focus manually
AF touch
Continuous AF
Single AF
AF tracking
AF selectice
AF center weighted
AF multi area
Live view AF
Face detect AF
Contract detect AF
Phase detect AF
Total focus points 11 23
Lens
Lens support Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 28-112mm (4.0x)
Max aperture - f/3.1-6.5
Macro focusing distance - 5cm
Total lenses 107 -
Focal length multiplier 2.1 5.9
Screen
Display type Fixed Type Fixed Type
Display size 3 inches 2.7 inches
Resolution of display 460 thousand dot 230 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch functionality
Display tech HyperCrystal LCD AR(Anti-Reflective) coating TFT Color LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Electronic (optional) None
Features
Min shutter speed 60s 8s
Max shutter speed 1/4000s 1/1600s
Continuous shutter speed 3.0 frames/s 2.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes -
Change WB
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash distance 10.00 m 3.30 m
Flash settings Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync, Manual (3 levels) Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye reduction
External flash
AE bracketing
White balance bracketing
Max flash sync 1/160s -
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps)
Max video resolution 1280x720 1280x720
Video format Motion JPEG Motion JPEG
Microphone jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless None None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 362g (0.80 lbs) 112g (0.25 lbs)
Dimensions 114 x 72 x 42mm (4.5" x 2.8" x 1.7") 98 x 57 x 21mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 0.8")
DXO scores
DXO Overall 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 pictures 280 pictures
Battery form Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID BLS-5 -
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse recording
Type of storage SD/SDHC SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal
Storage slots Single Single
Retail cost $0 $109