Olympus E-PL8 vs Olympus TG-4

Here is a in-depth overview of the Olympus E-PL8 and Olympus TG-4, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Waterproof and both of them are manufactured by Olympus. The resolution of the E-PL8 (16MP) and the TG-4 (16MP) is relatively close but the E-PL8 (Four Thirds) and TG-4 (1/2.3") use totally different sensor sizing.

Photography Glossary

The E-PL8 was introduced 18 months later than the TG-4 which makes the cameras a generation apart from one another. The two cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-PL8 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Olympus TG-4 being a Compact camera.

Before diving through a comprehensive comparison, below is a simple highlight of how the E-PL8 matches up vs the TG-4 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Here is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus PEN E-PL8 & Olympus Tough TG-4. The whole galleries are viewable at Olympus E-PL8 Gallery & Olympus TG-4 Gallery.

For anyone who is intending to carry your camera often, you need to think about its weight and volume. The Olympus E-PL8 offers outside dimensions 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 Olympus TG-4 has sizing of 112mm x 66mm x 31mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.2") and a weight of 247 grams (0.54 lbs).

Look at the Olympus E-PL8 and Olympus TG-4 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you use at the time. Here is the front view proportions comparison of the E-PL8 compared to the TG-4.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-PL8 and TG-4 is 86 and 90 respectively.

Quite often, it is hard to see the gap in sensor sizing purely by looking through technical specs. The visual here will help give you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-PL8 and TG-4.

As you have seen, the 2 cameras posses the exact same megapixel count albeit not the same sensor sizing. The E-PL8 features the bigger sensor which will make obtaining shallower DOF easier. The fresher E-PL8 is going to have an edge when it comes to sensor technology.