Olympus E-PL5 vs Olympus 6000

Following is a complete comparison of the Olympus E-PL5 and Olympus 6000, one is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the latter is a Small Sensor Compact and both of them are offered by Olympus. There exists a sizeable gap among the sensor resolutions of the E-PL5 (16MP) and 6000 (10MP) and the E-PL5 (Four Thirds) and 6000 (1/2.3") have different sensor sizing.

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The E-PL5 was announced 3 years after the 6000 which is a fairly large gap as far as camera technology is concerned. The two cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-PL5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Olympus 6000 being a Compact camera.

Before we go straight to a complete comparison, here is a brief summary of how the E-PL5 matches up against the 6000 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

This is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus PEN E-PL5 and Olympus Stylus Tough 6000. The whole galleries are available at Olympus E-PL5 Gallery and Olympus 6000 Gallery.

For anybody who is going to carry around your camera frequently, you will need to consider its weight and volume. The Olympus E-PL5 enjoys external dimensions of 111mm x 64mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.5") accompanied by a weight of 325 grams (0.72 lbs) and the Olympus 6000 has sizing of 95mm x 63mm x 22mm (3.7" x 2.5" x 0.9") accompanied by a weight of 179 grams (0.39 lbs).

See the Olympus E-PL5 and Olympus 6000 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ based on the lens you have attached during that time. Following is a front view overall size comparison of the E-PL5 and the 6000.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-PL5 and 6000 is 88 and 94 respectively.

Sometimes, it's difficult to visualize the gap in sensor sizes merely by looking through a spec sheet. The picture here should give you a greater sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-PL5 and 6000.

As you can see, each of these cameras provide different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The E-PL5 having a bigger sensor is going to make shooting shallow DOF less difficult and the Olympus E-PL5 will provide you with greater detail with its extra 6 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also help you crop pictures more aggressively. The younger E-PL5 should have a benefit when it comes to sensor innovation.