Olympus E-PL8 vs Panasonic FS12

Lets take a deeper look at the Olympus E-PL8 versus Panasonic FS12, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Ultracompact by companies Olympus and Panasonic. There is a large difference among the image resolutions of the E-PL8 (16MP) and FS12 (12MP) and the E-PL8 (Four Thirds) and FS12 (1/2.3") have totally different sensor dimensions.

Photography Glossary

The E-PL8 was unveiled 7 years later than the FS12 and that is a fairly serious difference as far as camera tech is concerned. The two cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-PL8 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic FS12 being a Ultracompact camera.

Before delving right into a in depth comparison, here is a brief summation of how the E-PL8 matches up vs the FS12 for portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

The following is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus PEN E-PL8 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS12. The full galleries are provided at Olympus E-PL8 Gallery & Panasonic FS12 Gallery.

For anyone who is intending to lug around your camera often, you need to think about 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") having a weight of 357 grams (0.79 lbs) whilst the Panasonic FS12 has dimensions of 97mm x 55mm x 22mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.9") accompanied by a weight of 129 grams (0.28 lbs).

Compare the Olympus E-PL8 versus Panasonic FS12 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you are employing at that moment. Following is a front view sizing comparison of the E-PL8 compared to the FS12.

Looking at size and weight, the portability rating of the E-PL8 and FS12 is 86 and 95 respectively.

Usually, it is tough to see the gap in sensor measurements just by researching technical specs. The photograph underneath should offer you a more clear sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-PL8 and FS12.

As you can tell, both of the cameras have different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The E-PL8 using its bigger sensor will make getting shallow DOF simpler and the Olympus E-PL8 will render greater detail having an extra 4MP. Higher resolution will allow you to crop photographs a bit more aggressively. The more recent E-PL8 is going to have an advantage with regard to sensor innovation.