Olympus E-PL5 vs Olympus VG-160

Lets look more closely at the Olympus E-PL5 vs Olympus VG-160, one is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the latter is a Small Sensor Compact and both of them are offered by Olympus. The resolution of the E-PL5 (16MP) and the VG-160 (14MP) is relatively comparable but the E-PL5 (Four Thirds) and VG-160 (1/2.3") feature totally different sensor sizes.

Photography Glossary

The E-PL5 was manufactured 9 months after the VG-160 so they are of a similar generation. Each of the cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-PL5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Olympus VG-160 being a Compact camera.

Before we go through a more detailed comparison, below is a concise highlight of how the E-PL5 grades versus the VG-160 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

This is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus PEN E-PL5 and Olympus VG-160. The entire galleries are provided at Olympus E-PL5 Gallery and Olympus VG-160 Gallery.

For anyone who is going to travel with your camera often, you should think about its weight and size. The Olympus E-PL5 enjoys outer measurements of 111mm x 64mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.5") having a weight of 325 grams (0.72 lbs) and the Olympus VG-160 has specifications of 96mm x 57mm x 19mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.7") accompanied by a weight of 125 grams (0.28 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-PL5 vs Olympus VG-160 in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ based on the lens you use at that time. Below is the front view proportions comparison of the E-PL5 versus the VG-160.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-PL5 and VG-160 is 88 and 96 respectively.

Typically, its hard to envision the contrast in sensor dimensions just by going through technical specs. The image here should offer you a greater sense of the sensor measurements in the E-PL5 and VG-160.

As you can tell, each of these cameras enjoy different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The E-PL5 featuring a bigger sensor will make shooting shallow DOF simpler and the Olympus E-PL5 will show more detail due to its extra 2 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also allow you to crop photographs far more aggressively. The more recent E-PL5 will have a benefit with regard to sensor innovation.