Olympus E-PL2 vs Sony HX400V

Let's take a closer look at the Olympus E-PL2 vs Sony HX400V, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by competitors Olympus and Sony. There is a sizable difference between the resolutions of the E-PL2 (12MP) and HX400V (20MP) and the E-PL2 (Four Thirds) and HX400V (1/2.3") use different sensor size.

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The E-PL2 was revealed 4 years earlier than the HX400V and that is quite a significant difference as far as tech is concerned. Both of the cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-PL2 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony HX400V being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before going through a detailed comparison, below is a brief summary of how the E-PL2 grades vs the HX400V in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Following is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus PEN E-PL2 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX400V. The full galleries are provided at Olympus E-PL2 Gallery & Sony HX400V Gallery.

For those who are intending to carry your camera regularly, you should take into account its weight and size. The Olympus E-PL2 has got exterior measurements 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 Sony HX400V has specifications of 130mm x 93mm x 103mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 4.1") along with a weight of 660 grams (1.46 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus E-PL2 vs Sony HX400V in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you are working with at the time. Following is the front view scale comparison of the E-PL2 compared to the HX400V.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability score of the E-PL2 and HX400V is 85 and 62 respectively.

In many cases, its hard to imagine the difference between sensor sizing simply by reading through a spec sheet. The graphic below will give you a much better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-PL2 and HX400V.

As you can see, both of the cameras offer different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The E-PL2 having a bigger sensor is going to make getting shallow DOF easier and the Sony HX400V will resolve greater detail because of its extra 8 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also let you crop shots a little more aggressively. The older E-PL2 is going to be behind with regard to sensor technology.