Olympus E-PL8 vs Olympus TG-6

Below is a comprehensive analysis of the Olympus E-PL8 and Olympus TG-6, one being a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the latter is a Waterproof and they are both built by Olympus. There exists a crucial gap among the resolutions of the E-PL8 (16MP) and TG-6 (12MP) and the E-PL8 (Four Thirds) and TG-6 (1/2.3") enjoy different sensor sizes.

Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a Landslide

The E-PL8 was revealed 3 years earlier than the TG-6 and that is a fairly serious gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of the cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-PL8 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Olympus TG-6 being a Compact camera.

Before delving in to a in-depth comparison, below is a short introduction of how the E-PL8 scores vs the TG-6 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus PEN E-PL8 and Olympus Tough TG-6. The full galleries are viewable at Olympus E-PL8 Gallery and Olympus TG-6 Gallery.

For anybody who is planning to lug around your camera regularly, you need to factor in its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-PL8 enjoys outside measurements of 115mm x 67mm x 38mm (4.5" x 2.6" x 1.5") with a weight of 357 grams (0.79 lbs) and the Olympus TG-6 has dimensions of 113mm x 66mm x 32mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.3") accompanied by a weight of 253 grams (0.56 lbs).

Check the Olympus E-PL8 and Olympus TG-6 in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ depending on the lens you have chosen at the time. Following is the front view scale comparison of the E-PL8 against the TG-6.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-PL8 and TG-6 is 86 and 90 respectively.

Sometimes, it is difficult to picture the difference in sensor measurements only by viewing specs. The graphic below will help give you a far better sense of the sensor sizing in the E-PL8 and TG-6.

As you can plainly see, the two cameras enjoy different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The E-PL8 having a bigger sensor is going to make getting shallow DOF easier and the Olympus E-PL8 will result in greater detail because of its extra 4MP. Higher resolution will allow you to crop photographs far more aggressively. The older E-PL8 will be behind when it comes to sensor tech.