Olympus E-PL5 vs Olympus 7010

On this page, we are looking at the Olympus E-PL5 vs Olympus 7010, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Small Sensor Compact and both of them are built by Olympus. There exists a substantial gap among the image resolutions of the E-PL5 (16MP) and 7010 (12MP) and the E-PL5 (Four Thirds) and 7010 (1/2.3") provide different sensor sizes.

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The E-PL5 was revealed 3 years later than the 7010 and that is a fairly big difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-PL5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Olympus 7010 being a Compact camera.

Before diving right into a more detailed comparison, here is a brief overview of how the E-PL5 grades against the 7010 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Below is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus PEN E-PL5 & Olympus Stylus 7010. The full galleries are viewable at Olympus E-PL5 Gallery & Olympus 7010 Gallery.

If you are intending to lug around your camera regularly, you'll need to factor in its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-PL5 has outer measurements of 111mm x 64mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.5") accompanied by a weight of 325 grams (0.72 lbs) while the Olympus 7010 has measurements of 98mm x 56mm x 26mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 1.0") accompanied by a weight of 145 grams (0.32 lbs).

Compare the Olympus E-PL5 vs Olympus 7010 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you use at that time. Here is a front view dimension comparison of the E-PL5 vs the 7010.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-PL5 and 7010 is 88 and 94 respectively.

Quite often, it is tough to visualize the contrast in sensor measurements purely by going through a spec sheet. The visual underneath might offer you a greater sense of the sensor measurements in the E-PL5 and 7010.

As you can see, both of these cameras provide different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The E-PL5 having a larger sensor is going to make getting shallow depth of field simpler and the Olympus E-PL5 will produce more detail because of its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also allow you to crop pics more aggressively. The younger E-PL5 should have an edge in sensor innovation.