Olympus E-PL6 vs Sony A580

Lets look more closely at the Olympus E-PL6 versus Sony A580, one is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by companies Olympus and Sony. The image resolution of the E-PL6 (16MP) and the A580 (16MP) is relatively comparable but the E-PL6 (Four Thirds) and A580 (APS-C) possess different sensor sizing.

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The E-PL6 was announced 3 years after the A580 which is a fairly large gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of these cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-PL6 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony A580 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before delving through a in depth comparison, below is a concise introduction of how the E-PL6 grades against the A580 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

The following is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus PEN E-PL6 and Sony Alpha DSLR-A580. The whole galleries are provided at Olympus E-PL6 Gallery and Sony A580 Gallery.

If you're planning to carry around your camera frequently, you are going to need to factor in its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-PL6 provides outer dimensions of 111mm x 64mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.5") with a weight of 325 grams (0.72 lbs) while the Sony A580 has proportions of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") along with a weight of 599 grams (1.32 lbs).

See the Olympus E-PL6 versus Sony A580 in the latest Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary depending on the lens you have attached at the time. Below is the front view dimension comparison of the E-PL6 and the A580.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-PL6 and A580 is 88 and 64 respectively.

Typically, it is very difficult to imagine the gap in sensor sizes only by seeing specs. The picture below should give you a clearer sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-PL6 and A580.

As you can plainly see, both of those cameras enjoy the same exact megapixel count albeit different sensor sizes. The E-PL6 uses the smaller sensor which will make getting shallow DOF more difficult. The younger E-PL6 should have an advantage with regard to sensor technology.