Olympus E-PL8 vs Panasonic G9

Below is a extended review of the Olympus E-PL8 versus Panasonic G9, one being a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the latter is a Pro Mirrorless by companies Olympus and Panasonic. The sensor resolution of the E-PL8 (16MP) and the G9 (20MP) is pretty similar and they enjoy the same exact sensor size (Four Thirds).

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The E-PL8 was announced 13 months before the G9 which makes the cameras a generation apart from one another. Each of these cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-PL8 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic G9 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera.

Before going through a more detailed comparison, below is a quick summary of how the E-PL8 matches up vs the G9 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Below is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus PEN E-PL8 and Panasonic Lumix DC-G9. The whole galleries are provided at Olympus E-PL8 Gallery and Panasonic G9 Gallery.

In case you're going to lug around your camera regularly, you need to factor its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-PL8 provides outer dimensions 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 Panasonic G9 has dimensions of 137mm x 97mm x 92mm (5.4" x 3.8" x 3.6") having a weight of 658 grams (1.45 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus E-PL8 versus Panasonic G9 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change dependant on the lens you are utilizing during that time. Here is the front view scale comparison of the E-PL8 versus the G9.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-PL8 and G9 is 86 and 62 respectively.

Typically, its hard to visualise the difference between sensor measurements purely by going over specs. The visual underneath should provide you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-PL8 and G9.

All in all, each of these cameras enjoy the same exact sensor sizing albeit not the same megapixels. You should expect the Panasonic G9 to deliver greater detail with its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also make it easier to crop shots far more aggressively. The older E-PL8 is going to be behind with regard to sensor technology.