Olympus E-PL2 vs Sony A57

Its time to look a little more in depth at the Olympus E-PL2 versus Sony A57, one being a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by brands Olympus and Sony. There is a big difference among the resolutions of the E-PL2 (12MP) and A57 (16MP) and the E-PL2 (Four Thirds) and A57 (APS-C) possess totally different sensor sizing.

President Biden pushes bill mandating TikTok sale or ban

The E-PL2 was launched 19 months prior to the A57 making the cameras a generation apart from each other. Both cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-PL2 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony A57 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before we go through a detailed comparison, below is a brief view of how the E-PL2 matches up against the A57 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Here is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus PEN E-PL2 and Sony SLT-A57. The complete galleries are provided at Olympus E-PL2 Gallery and Sony A57 Gallery.

If you are going to carry your camera regularly, you have to factor in its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-PL2 comes with external measurements of 114mm x 72mm x 42mm (4.5" x 2.8" x 1.7") and a weight of 362 grams (0.80 lbs) whilst the Sony A57 has dimensions of 132mm x 98mm x 81mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.2") along with a weight of 618 grams (1.36 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus E-PL2 versus Sony A57 in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary dependant on the lens you are employing at that time. Below is the front view dimensions comparison of the E-PL2 compared to the A57.

Considering size and weight, the portability grade of the E-PL2 and A57 is 85 and 64 respectively.

Often, its tough to see the gap in sensor sizing just by looking through specs. The graphic below will provide you a more clear sense of the sensor measurements in the E-PL2 and A57.

As you can plainly see, the 2 cameras have got different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The E-PL2 because of its smaller sensor will make getting shallower depth of field trickier and the Sony A57 will provide you with extra detail utilizing its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also enable you to crop pics much more aggressively. The older E-PL2 will be behind in sensor innovation.