Olympus E-PL7 vs Pentax MX-1

Its time to look closer at the Olympus E-PL7 versus Pentax MX-1, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Small Sensor Compact by manufacturers Olympus and Pentax. There exists a large gap among the resolutions of the E-PL7 (16MP) and MX-1 (12MP) and the E-PL7 (Four Thirds) and MX-1 (1/1.7") enjoy different sensor measurements.

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The E-PL7 was revealed 15 months later than the MX-1 making the cameras a generation apart from one another. Both of these cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-PL7 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Pentax MX-1 being a Compact camera.

Before we go straight into a in depth comparison, below is a simple summation of how the E-PL7 grades against the MX-1 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

The following is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus PEN E-PL7 & Pentax MX-1. The full galleries are available at Olympus E-PL7 Gallery & Pentax MX-1 Gallery.

For those who are planning to lug around your camera, you will need to take into account its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-PL7 has got physical measurements of 115mm x 67mm x 38mm (4.5" x 2.6" x 1.5") with a weight of 357 grams (0.79 lbs) while the Pentax MX-1 has dimensions of 122mm x 61mm x 51mm (4.8" x 2.4" x 2.0") with a weight of 391 grams (0.86 lbs).

See the Olympus E-PL7 versus Pentax MX-1 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you have attached at the time. Here is the front view physical size comparison of the E-PL7 versus the MX-1.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-PL7 and MX-1 is 86 and 84 respectively.

More often than not, it is difficult to visualize the gap in sensor measurements simply by going through a spec sheet. The visual here will give you a better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-PL7 and MX-1.

Clearly, the two cameras offer different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-PL7 having a larger sensor is going to make getting shallower depth of field easier and the Olympus E-PL7 will produce extra detail because of its extra 4MP. Greater resolution can also make it easier to crop images a little more aggressively. The more modern E-PL7 should have an edge in sensor technology.