Olympus E-PL8 vs Panasonic FH8

The following is a comprehensive review of the Olympus E-PL8 and Panasonic FH8, one is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by brands Olympus and Panasonic. The resolution of the E-PL8 (16MP) and the FH8 (16MP) is pretty similar but the E-PL8 (Four Thirds) and FH8 (1/2.3") have different sensor sizes.

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The E-PL8 was unveiled 4 years after the FH8 which is quite a big gap as far as technology is concerned. Both the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-PL8 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic FH8 being a Compact camera.

Before we go straight to a detailed comparison, here is a short summary of how the E-PL8 matches up versus the FH8 for portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

The following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus PEN E-PL8 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH8. The full galleries are provided at Olympus E-PL8 Gallery and Panasonic FH8 Gallery.

For anybody who is planning to travel with your camera, you should factor in its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-PL8 enjoys outer dimensions 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 Panasonic FH8 has dimensions of 96mm x 57mm x 19mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.7") and a weight of 123 grams (0.27 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus E-PL8 and Panasonic FH8 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change dependant on the lens you are working with at that moment. Below is a front view over all size comparison of the E-PL8 against the FH8.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-PL8 and FH8 is 86 and 96 respectively.

Sometimes, its difficult to visualize the contrast between sensor dimensions only by going over specifications. The picture below might offer you a better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-PL8 and FH8.

To sum up, both of these cameras provide the same megapixel count albeit different sensor dimensions. The E-PL8 has got the bigger sensor which will make obtaining shallow depth of field simpler. The newer E-PL8 provides a benefit in sensor technology.