Olympus E-PL6 vs Pentax W80

Its time to take a deeper look at the Olympus E-PL6 and Pentax W80, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Small Sensor Compact by rivals Olympus and Pentax. There is a noticeable difference between the sensor resolutions of the E-PL6 (16MP) and W80 (12MP) and the E-PL6 (Four Thirds) and W80 (1/2.3") come with different sensor dimensions.

Photography Glossary

The E-PL6 was brought out 5 years later than the W80 and that is quite a sizable difference as far as tech is concerned. The two cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-PL6 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Pentax W80 being a Compact camera.

Before delving through a in-depth comparison, below is a concise highlight of how the E-PL6 grades against the W80 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

The following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus PEN E-PL6 & Pentax Optio W80. The entire galleries are available at Olympus E-PL6 Gallery & Pentax W80 Gallery.

If you are looking to lug around your camera frequently, you'll need to factor in its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-PL6 comes with outside 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) and the Pentax W80 has measurements of 100mm x 56mm x 25mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 1.0") accompanied by a weight of 156 grams (0.34 lbs).

Compare the Olympus E-PL6 and Pentax W80 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you choose at that time. Underneath is the front view over all size comparison of the E-PL6 vs the W80.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability score of the E-PL6 and W80 is 88 and 94 respectively.

Usually, it's tough to picture the gap between sensor measurements just by reading through specifications. The photograph underneath will provide you a stronger sense of the sensor sizing in the E-PL6 and W80.

Plainly, both the cameras have got different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The E-PL6 due to its larger sensor is going to make achieving shallow DOF simpler and the Olympus E-PL6 will resolve more detail having its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also enable you to crop photos much more aggressively. The fresher E-PL6 should have an edge with regard to sensor tech.