Olympus E-PL9 vs Panasonic S1H

On this page, we will be comparing the Olympus E-PL9 and Panasonic S1H, one is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the latter is a Pro Mirrorless by rivals Olympus and Panasonic. There is a crucial difference between the sensor resolutions of the E-PL9 (16MP) and S1H (24MP) and the E-PL9 (Four Thirds) and S1H (Full frame) provide different sensor dimensions.

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The E-PL9 was revealed 18 months prior to the S1H which makes them a generation away from each other. The two cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-PL9 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic S1H being a SLR-style mirrorless camera.

Before delving right into a detailed comparison, here is a quick highlight of how the E-PL9 matches up versus the S1H when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Here is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus PEN E-PL9 and Panasonic Lumix DC-S1H. The full galleries are provided at Olympus E-PL9 Gallery and Panasonic S1H Gallery.

For those who are intending to travel with your camera often, you will need to factor in its weight and volume. The Olympus E-PL9 has outer measurements of 117mm x 68mm x 39mm (4.6" x 2.7" x 1.5") accompanied by a weight of 380 grams (0.84 lbs) whilst the Panasonic S1H has sizing of 151mm x 114mm x 110mm (5.9" x 4.5" x 4.3") along with a weight of 1052 grams (2.32 lbs).

Check the Olympus E-PL9 and Panasonic S1H in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ depending on the lens you are employing at that moment. Below is a front view dimensions comparison of the E-PL9 vs the S1H.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability grade of the E-PL9 and S1H is 85 and 52 respectively.

Often, it can be tough to imagine the difference between sensor dimensions purely by reading a spec sheet. The image below will offer you a greater sense of the sensor sizing in the E-PL9 and S1H.

As you can see, the 2 cameras have different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The E-PL9 using its tinier sensor is going to make getting shallow DOF trickier and the Panasonic S1H will deliver extra detail because of its extra 8 Megapixels. Higher resolution will make it easier to crop pictures a bit more aggressively. The more aged E-PL9 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor technology.