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Olympus E-PL8 vs Olympus SZ-16 iHS

Portability
86
Imaging
54
Features
76
Overall
62
Olympus PEN E-PL8 front
 
Olympus SZ-16 iHS front
Portability
89
Imaging
40
Features
36
Overall
38

Olympus E-PL8 vs Olympus SZ-16 iHS Key Specs

Olympus E-PL8
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 200 - 25600
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 357g - 115 x 67 x 38mm
  • Launched September 2016
  • Earlier Model is Olympus E-PL7
  • New Model is Olympus E-PL9
Olympus SZ-16 iHS
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 80 - 6400
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 25-600mm (F3.0-6.9) lens
  • 226g - 108 x 70 x 40mm
  • Launched January 2013
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Olympus E-PL8 vs Olympus SZ-16 iHS Overview

Lets look a little more in depth at the Olympus E-PL8 vs Olympus SZ-16 iHS, former is a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom and they are both produced by Olympus. The resolution of the E-PL8 (16MP) and the SZ-16 iHS (16MP) is fairly comparable but the E-PL8 (Four Thirds) and SZ-16 iHS (1/2.3") feature totally different sensor size.

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The E-PL8 was brought out 3 years after the SZ-16 iHS which is a fairly big difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of the cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-PL8 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Olympus SZ-16 iHS being a Compact camera.

Before going in to a more detailed comparison, below is a brief introduction of how the E-PL8 scores against the SZ-16 iHS in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-PL8 over the Olympus SZ-16 iHS

 E-PL8 SZ-16 iHS 
LaunchedSeptember 2016January 2013More modern by 45 months
Manual focus Very exact focusing
Display typeTiltingFixed Tilting display
Display resolution1037k460kSharper display (+577k dot)
Touch display Easily navigate

Reasons to pick Olympus SZ-16 iHS over the Olympus E-PL8

 SZ-16 iHS E-PL8 

Common features in the Olympus E-PL8 and Olympus SZ-16 iHS

 E-PL8 SZ-16 iHS 
Display sizing3"3"Equivalent display size
Selfie screen Neither provides selfie screen

Olympus E-PL8 vs Olympus SZ-16 iHS Physical Comparison

If you're intending to carry around your camera frequently, you will have to factor its weight and size. The Olympus E-PL8 provides outside measurements of 115mm x 67mm x 38mm (4.5" x 2.6" x 1.5") accompanied by a weight of 357 grams (0.79 lbs) while the Olympus SZ-16 iHS has specifications of 108mm x 70mm x 40mm (4.3" x 2.8" x 1.6") with a weight of 226 grams (0.50 lbs).

Examine the Olympus E-PL8 vs Olympus SZ-16 iHS in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you are employing during that time. Following is the front view proportions comparison of the E-PL8 against the SZ-16 iHS.

Olympus E-PL8 vs Olympus SZ-16 iHS size comparison

Using dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-PL8 and SZ-16 iHS is 86 and 89 respectively.

Olympus E-PL8 vs Olympus SZ-16 iHS top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-PL8 vs Olympus SZ-16 iHS Sensor Comparison

Quite often, it is hard to envision the difference in sensor sizes just by checking out technical specs. The image here might offer you a better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-PL8 and SZ-16 iHS.

As you can tell, both the cameras enjoy the same exact megapixels but not the same sensor sizes. The E-PL8 uses the larger sensor which is going to make obtaining bokeh less difficult. The fresher E-PL8 will have a benefit with regard to sensor tech.

Olympus E-PL8 vs Olympus SZ-16 iHS sensor size comparison

Olympus E-PL8 vs Olympus SZ-16 iHS Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-PL8 vs Olympus SZ-16 iHS Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-PL8 Portrait photography features
Olympus SZ-16 iHS Portrait photography features
72
focusing manually
good megapixels (16MP)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
comes with face detection focus
exports RAW formats
35
megapixel count decent (16MP)
comes with face detection autofocus
lack of manual focus
manual mode not possible
can't use external flash
sensor is tiny (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW format
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-PL8 Street photography features
Olympus SZ-16 iHS Street photography features
84
tilting screen
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
exports RAW formats
features focus by touch
great ISO range (25,600)
61
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
lighter than competition in class (226 grams)
screen is fixed
sensor is tiny (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW format
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-PL8 Sports photography advice
Olympus SZ-16 iHS Sports photography advice
67
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
good megapixels (16 megapixels)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
comes with tracking autofocus
does not have phase detect auto focus
42
excellent zoom range (25-600mm 24.0 x zoom)
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
megapixel count decent (16 megapixels)
comes with tracking autofocus
slow continuous shooting (2.0 fps)
lack of shutter priority mode
sensor is tiny (1/2.3")
not so great battery (220 shots)
doesn't have phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-PL8 as a Travel photography camera
Olympus SZ-16 iHS as a Travel photography camera
71
features focus by touch
good megapixels (16 megapixels)
doesn't posses selfie friendly display
65
lighter than competition in class (226g)
megapixel count decent (16 megapixels)
has built in flash
reasonably wide (25mm)
very long reach (600mm)
doesn't have Timelapse recording
not so great battery (220 per charge)
screen is not selfie friendly
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.0)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-PL8 as a Landscape photography camera
Olympus SZ-16 iHS as a Landscape photography camera
80
focusing manually
switch lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
pretty good screen size (3 inch)
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
good megapixels (16 megapixels)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
great ISO range (25,600)
exports RAW formats
41
reasonably wide (25mm)
nice screen size (3")
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
megapixel count decent (16 megapixels)
lack of manual focus
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.0)
manual mode not possible
sensor is tiny (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW format
not so great battery (220 CIPA)
doesn't have Timelapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-PL8 Vlogging info
Olympus SZ-16 iHS Vlogging info
35
touchscreen functionality
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
comes with face detection focus
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 pxls)
doesn't posses selfie friendly display
doesn't have external mic support
31
reasonably wide (25mm)
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
comes with face detection autofocus
lighter than competition in class (226g)
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.0)
screen is not selfie friendly
low quality video (1280 x 720 pixels)
doesn't have external microphone support
Photography Glossary

Olympus E-PL8 vs Olympus SZ-16 iHS Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-PL8 and Olympus SZ-16 iHS
 Olympus PEN E-PL8Olympus SZ-16 iHS
General Information
Make Olympus Olympus
Model type Olympus PEN E-PL8 Olympus SZ-16 iHS
Class Entry-Level Mirrorless Small Sensor Superzoom
Launched 2016-09-19 2013-01-08
Physical type Rangefinder-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor Information
Chip TruePic VII -
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 16 megapixels 16 megapixels
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 -
Highest resolution 4608 x 3456 4608 x 3456
Highest native ISO 25600 6400
Min native ISO 200 80
RAW pictures
Min boosted ISO 100 -
Autofocusing
Focus manually
AF touch
AF continuous
AF single
Tracking AF
AF selectice
AF center weighted
Multi area AF
Live view AF
Face detection focusing
Contract detection focusing
Phase detection focusing
Total focus points 81 -
Cross type focus points - -
Lens
Lens mount type Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 25-600mm (24.0x)
Maximum aperture - f/3.0-6.9
Amount of lenses 107 -
Crop factor 2.1 5.8
Screen
Type of screen Tilting Fixed Type
Screen diagonal 3 inches 3 inches
Screen resolution 1,037 thousand dots 460 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch function
Screen tech - TFT Color LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic (optional) None
Features
Slowest shutter speed 60 secs 4 secs
Maximum shutter speed 1/4000 secs 1/2000 secs
Continuous shooting rate 8.0 frames per second 2.0 frames per second
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual mode
Exposure compensation Yes -
Custom WB
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash distance no built-in flash -
Flash options no built-in flash Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in
Hot shoe
AE bracketing
WB bracketing
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (30p), 1280 x 720 (30p), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 180 (30fps)
Highest video resolution 1920x1080 1280x720
Video data format H.264, Motion JPEG MPEG-4, H.264
Microphone support
Headphone support
Connectivity
Wireless Built-In None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 357 gr (0.79 pounds) 226 gr (0.50 pounds)
Dimensions 115 x 67 x 38mm (4.5" x 2.6" x 1.5") 108 x 70 x 40mm (4.3" x 2.8" x 1.6")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating not tested not tested
DXO Color Depth rating not tested not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested not tested
DXO Low light rating not tested not tested
Other
Battery life 350 photographs 220 photographs
Type of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID - LI-50B
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec, custom) Yes (2 or 12 sec, pet auto shutter)
Time lapse feature
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC card SD/SDHC/SDXC
Card slots 1 1
Cost at launch $500 $230