Olympus E-PL8 vs Panasonic FS42

Its time to look a bit more closely at the Olympus E-PL8 and Panasonic FS42, former is a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Ultracompact by companies Olympus and Panasonic. There is a noticeable difference between the resolutions of the E-PL8 (16MP) and FS42 (10MP) and the E-PL8 (Four Thirds) and FS42 (1/2.5") enjoy different sensor sizes.

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The E-PL8 was unveiled 7 years after the FS42 which is quite a sizable difference as far as tech is concerned. Both cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-PL8 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic FS42 being a Ultracompact camera.

Before diving through a thorough comparison, below is a concise introduction of how the E-PL8 grades vs the FS42 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Below is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus PEN E-PL8 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS42. The full galleries are available at Olympus E-PL8 Gallery & Panasonic FS42 Gallery.

For those who are intending to travel with your camera often, you're going to have to factor in its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-PL8 offers 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) and the Panasonic FS42 has proportions of 98mm x 55mm x 22mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 0.9") accompanied by a weight of 132 grams (0.29 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-PL8 and Panasonic FS42 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you have at the time. Underneath is the front view physical size comparison of the E-PL8 compared to the FS42.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability rating of the E-PL8 and FS42 is 86 and 95 respectively.

Oftentimes, it can be hard to visualize the difference between sensor dimensions merely by checking a spec sheet. The image underneath should offer you a clearer sense of the sensor sizes in the E-PL8 and FS42.

As you can see, the 2 cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor dimensions. The E-PL8 using its bigger sensor is going to make getting shallow DOF easier and the Olympus E-PL8 will resolve more detail having an extra 6 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also help you crop photographs somewhat more aggressively. The newer E-PL8 should have an edge when it comes to sensor tech.