Olympus E-PL8 vs Olympus 7030

Below is a thorough review of the Olympus E-PL8 and Olympus 7030, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Small Sensor Compact and both of them are manufactured by Olympus. The sensor resolution of the E-PL8 (16MP) and the 7030 (14MP) is very comparable but the E-PL8 (Four Thirds) and 7030 (1/2.3") have totally different sensor sizing.

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The E-PL8 was brought out 6 years later than the 7030 and that is a fairly serious difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Both of these cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-PL8 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Olympus 7030 being a Compact camera.

Before diving into a complete comparison, here is a simple summation of how the E-PL8 matches up versus the 7030 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Here is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus PEN E-PL8 & Olympus Stylus 7030. The entire galleries are viewable at Olympus E-PL8 Gallery & Olympus 7030 Gallery.

For anyone who is aiming to lug around your camera, you should think about its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-PL8 comes with outside measurements of 115mm x 67mm x 38mm (4.5" x 2.6" x 1.5") and a weight of 357 grams (0.79 lbs) while the Olympus 7030 has dimensions of 93mm x 56mm x 26mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 1.0") with a weight of 140 grams (0.31 lbs).

Look at the Olympus E-PL8 and Olympus 7030 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you use at the time. Following is a front view measurements comparison of the E-PL8 compared to the 7030.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability score of the E-PL8 and 7030 is 86 and 95 respectively.

Usually, it's hard to visualise the contrast in sensor measurements merely by seeing technical specs. The visual underneath will provide you a greater sense of the sensor sizing in the E-PL8 and 7030.

As you can tell, both of those cameras feature different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The E-PL8 due to its larger sensor will make getting shallow DOF less difficult and the Olympus E-PL8 will produce more detail having its extra 2 Megapixels. Greater resolution will allow you to crop images way more aggressively. The younger E-PL8 is going to have a benefit with regard to sensor tech.