Olympus E-PL9 vs Olympus SP-100

Lets look more closely at the Olympus E-PL9 versus Olympus SP-100, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom and both are designed by Olympus. The sensor resolution of the E-PL9 (16MP) and the SP-100 (16MP) is very close but the E-PL9 (Four Thirds) and SP-100 (1/2.3") have totally different sensor size.

Photography Glossary

The E-PL9 was unveiled 4 years later than the SP-100 and that is a fairly serious difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-PL9 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Olympus SP-100 being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before diving into a more detailed comparison, here is a brief view of how the E-PL9 scores vs the SP-100 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus PEN E-PL9 & Olympus Stylus SP-100. The full galleries are available at Olympus E-PL9 Gallery & Olympus SP-100 Gallery.

For those who are planning to lug around your camera frequently, you'll need to take into account its weight and volume. The Olympus E-PL9 comes with external measurements of 117mm x 68mm x 39mm (4.6" x 2.7" x 1.5") and a weight of 380 grams (0.84 lbs) and the Olympus SP-100 has sizing of 122mm x 91mm x 133mm (4.8" x 3.6" x 5.2") with a weight of 594 grams (1.31 lbs).

Look at the Olympus E-PL9 versus Olympus SP-100 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you have at the time. The following is a front view sizing comparison of the E-PL9 vs the SP-100.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-PL9 and SP-100 is 85 and 63 respectively.

More often than not, it can be tough to envision the gap in sensor measurements merely by viewing specs. The visual underneath might provide you a stronger sense of the sensor sizing in the E-PL9 and SP-100.

As you can plainly see, both of the cameras have the same megapixel count but not the same sensor measurements. The E-PL9 has the larger sensor which should make getting shallower DOF easier. The newer E-PL9 is going to have an advantage with regard to sensor technology.