Olympus E-PL9 vs Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH20: A Deep Dive Into Two Distinct Worlds of Photography

When it comes to choosing a camera, enthusiasts and professionals alike face a sometimes bewildering array of options - from compact, pocket-friendly shooters to more complex mirrorless systems. Today, I’m comparing two very different cameras: the Olympus PEN E-PL9, a 2018 entry-level mirrorless designed for creative users, and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH20, a 2010 small sensor compact aimed at casual shooters. While both carry the Panasonic/Olympus Micro Four Thirds ecosystem roots and share some brand familiarity, their technological generations, sensor sizes, and intended audiences diverge markedly.

Over years testing cameras across genres and skill tiers, I’ve found that understanding not only specs but also real-world usability and performance nuances can save you from disappointment. So, let’s unpack these two cameras thoroughly - highlighting how they stack up technically, exploring their strengths and weaknesses in practical scenarios, and ultimately guiding you toward the camera that best suits your photography goals.

First Impressions: Design, Ergonomics, and Build Quality

The Olympus E-PL9 boasts a more substantial build (117 x 68 x 39 mm, 380g) compared to the Panasonic FH20’s ultra-compact footprint (100 x 56 x 28 mm, 178g). At first glance, the Olympus feels like a thoughtfully designed entry-level mirrorless with rangefinder-style aesthetics - featuring a tilting 3-inch touchscreen, a well-placed mode dial, and a slightly chunkier grip that facilitates stable handheld shooting. In contrast, the Panasonic FH20 is essentially a small, pocketable point-and-shoot with a fixed lens and minimalistic control layout, built for grab-and-go convenience.

While the FH20’s lightness appeals to minimalists and casual photographers needing near-invisibility during street or travel shooting, this comes at the expense of tactile control. The E-PL9’s larger body accommodates more sophisticated handling, including dedicated dials for shutter/aperture priority modes and exposure compensation - features you won’t find on the FH20.

I appreciate Olympus’s attention to ergonomics here; the E-PL9’s physical controls and tactile feedback are well balanced for beginners and enthusiasts looking to learn manual exposure without being overwhelmed. The FH20 leans heavily on automatic modes, which limits creative manual shooting but keeps operation simple.

Interface and Control Layout: Putting Your Fingers on the Right Buttons

Examining the top and rear controls reveals how these cameras cater to different user expectations and experience levels.

The E-PL9’s top view showcases a mode dial featuring PASM (Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual) modes, as well as a dedicated movie-record button. The button layout is intuitively spaced, with an easily accessible on/off switch around the shutter release. Its rear screen is a 3-inch tilting LCD with 1040k dots resolution - a genuinely useful touchscreen that supports shutter release, menu selection, and focus point selection.

The FH20, by contrast, features a small fixed rear LCD (2.7 inches, 230k dots) - less sharp and non-touchscreen - with control confined to a few buttons and a small zoom lever on top. Its fixed lens and lack of manual exposure modes simplify the interface, but also limit creative control.

Having tested these cameras side by side, I can confidently say the E-PL9’s interface supports a faster learning curve and superior shooting fluidity - especially in scenarios where adjusting settings on the fly is crucial (think street or event photography).

Sensor Technology: Why Size and Resolution Matter

One of the most critical distinctions between these cameras is their sensor technology and size. The Olympus E-PL9 encompasses a Four Thirds sized CMOS sensor measuring 17.3 x 13 mm (224.9 mm²), whereas the Panasonic FH20 relies on a much smaller 1/2.3” CCD sensor of only 6.08 x 4.56 mm (27.72 mm²).

This is not just a numbers game. Larger sensors generally provide superior image quality, increased dynamic range, better low-light performance, and more control over depth of field. The E-PL9’s 16-megapixel sensor with CMOS technology (paired with the TruePic VIII processor) affords those benefits, including a reasonably high native ISO range of 200-6400 (boosted to 25600), leading to cleaner images in challenging lighting.

By contrast, the FH20’s 14-megapixel CCD sensor - common in compact cameras from its era - is more limited: native ISO starts at 80 but doesn’t extend in any useful way above 6400, and high-ISO images reveal significantly more noise. Additionally, CCD sensors are generally slower in readout speeds compared to modern CMOS, affecting autofocus and continuous shooting performance.

In practical shooting, this sensor disparity means the Olympus E-PL9 captures richer, more detailed photos with better color fidelity and lower noise profiles, particularly under lower lighting or high-contrast scenes (such as landscapes at dusk or indoor portraits).

Autofocus Systems and Shooting Responsiveness

Moving onto autofocus (AF), the Olympus E-PL9 features a contrast-detection AF system with 121 focus points and supports face detection and tracking, enabling precise focusing on subjects - especially useful in portrait and street photography. Though it lacks phase-detection AF found on higher-end models, it still performs admirably in well-lit environments and can maintain focus on moving subjects at up to 8.6 frames per second, which is respectable for its class.

Conversely, the Panasonic FH20 utilizes a simpler contrast-detect AF with just 9 points and no face detection, which translates to slower, less accurate autofocus performance. It is best suited for static subjects or occasional snapshots in good light.

Testing both cameras in wildlife and sports scenarios quickly highlights these differences: the E-PL9’s AF tracking can keep up with moderate subject movement, although it will not rival pro-level mirrorless or DSLR autofocus systems. The FH20 can struggle with quick focus acquisition, limiting it severely for action photography.

Image Quality in Practical Disciplines: Portraits, Landscapes, and Beyond

Portrait Photography

The Olympus E-PL9 excels in portraiture with its Four Thirds sensor, lens interchangeability, and sensor-based stabilization - allowing for pleasant background separation (bokeh) and accurate skin tones. Eye-detection AF, while basic compared to recent models, helps keep the focal point sharp on the subject’s eye, and the flexible 3” tilting touchscreen aids creative framing.

In contrast, the FH20 delivers average skin tone rendition and shallow depth of field is essentially out of the question on its small sensor and fixed lens with a modest aperture dial of f/3.3-5.9. Its lack of face detection also makes critical focusing on eyes tricky in snapshots.

Landscape Photography

Landscape photographers prioritize dynamic range and resolution, where the E-PL9’s sensor outperforms the FH20 significantly. Although 16-megapixels might not sound groundbreaking now, the larger sensor area equates to less noise and richer tonal gradations across highlights and shadows. Weather sealing is nonexistent on both cameras, so they’re best used in mild conditions or under protection.

Landscape images from the FH20 are serviceable in daylight but exhibit less detail and dynamic range, and heavy ISO noise above 400 detracts from image quality.

Olympus E PL9 front Olympus E PL9 screen back Panasonic FH20 front Panasonic FH20 screen back

Wildlife and Sports Photography

While neither camera is specifically built for wildlife or sport aficionados, the E-PL9 - with faster burst shooting and more advanced AF tracking - marginally handles fast-moving subjects better. Its Micro Four Thirds lens ecosystem offers telephoto options with image stabilization, critical for reaching distant animals.

The FH20’s zoom range (28-224 mm equivalent) appeals superficially but is hindered by its small sensor and slower AF, resulting in blurred or out-of-focus shots of moving subjects.

Street and Travel Photography

For street photography, discretion, portability, and quick responsiveness matter. The FH20’s small size makes it unobtrusive, fitting discreetly in a pocket. However, slow AF and limited manual controls restrict spontaneous creativity and control under varied lighting.

The E-PL9 is larger but still compact enough for travel use, with superior image quality, a touchscreen interface, and the option to carry lightweight prime lenses for inconspicuous shooting. Its battery life (approx. 350 shots) is decent but travelers may want to carry spares.

Macro Photography

The Olympus E-PL9, paired with compatible Micro Four Thirds macro lenses, can focus closely and produce impressive detail with built-in sensor stabilization reducing blur - making it markedly superior for macro work.

The FH20 only offers fixed lens macro focusing down to 5cm, which is decent for casual snaps but won’t compete with dedicated macro optics for sharpness or background separation.

Night and Astro Photography

Low light and astrophotography push a camera’s sensor and ISO performance. The Olympus E-PL9’s larger CMOS sensor allows higher usable ISOs and longer shutter speeds (max 1/4000 mechanical, 1/16000 electronic), enabling creative exposure control and less noise at high ISOs.

The FH20 caps at ISO 1600 and shutter speed max at 1/1600, with a small sensor that produces grainy images with little detail in the dark. Lack of manual exposure modes makes control limited. If you’re serious about night photography, the E-PL9 is the clear choice.

Video Capabilities: Which Performs Better?

The Olympus E-PL9 delivers 4K UHD video at 30p with decent bit rates (~102 Mbps), using H.264 codec plus linear PCM audio recording - though there’s no microphone or headphone port for external audio control. Its sensor-shift image stabilization helps in handheld videography.

The Panasonic FH20 offers only basic HD (1280 x 720) video at 30 fps in Motion JPEG format, with no external mic input or stabilization beyond the optical stabilization in its lens. Video quality is serviceable for casual use but considered outdated by today’s standards.

For videographers or hybrid shooters, the E-PL9 provides a much more future-proof package with better image quality and advanced video features.

Lens Ecosystem and Expandability

A huge advantage for the Olympus E-PL9 is its Micro Four Thirds mount compatibility, giving access to an extensive lineup of over 100 lenses - including primes, zooms, macros, and specialty optics - from both Olympus and Panasonic, as well as third-party manufacturers. This flexibility supports growth and experimentation across all photography genres.

The Panasonic FH20 uses a fixed zoom lens (28-224mm equivalent) with limited aperture range (f/3.3-5.9), restricting creative control and optical quality. You cannot change lenses, which can be a dealbreaker for serious photography.

Battery Life, Storage, and Connectivity Features

The E-PL9 uses a proprietary rechargeable battery providing approximately 350 shots per charge - respectable within mirrorless norms but not exceptional. It uses SD/SDHC/SDXC cards with UHS-I support for faster write speeds.

Wireless connectivity includes built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for remote shooting and easy image transfer, which integrates well with modern workflows.

The FH20’s battery details are less transparent, and lifetime tended to be modest in testing. No wireless connectivity or HDMI port is available. Storage relies on SD cards plus internal memory, though the latter tends to be quite limited.

Performance Summary and Value Analysis

Strengths & Weaknesses at a Glance

Olympus PEN E-PL9:

• Pros: Larger sensor yields superior image quality, extensive lens ecosystem, 4K video, modern touchscreen UI, better autofocus with face detection, sensor stabilization, Wi-Fi/BT connectivity, manual exposure modes
• Cons: Larger size and weight, no built-in viewfinder (optional EVF required), moderate battery life

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH20:

• Pros: Compact, lightweight, simple controls, versatile zoom range for casual use, optical image stabilization
• Cons: Tiny sensor with compromised image quality, slow autofocus, lack of manual controls, poor video capabilities, no wireless features

What Do the Experts Say? Real-World Use Cases Across Genres

To fully appreciate the Olympus E-PL9 and Panasonic FH20’s place in the photo world, I tested them in prevailing photography disciplines with practical results:

• Portraits: The E-PL9 produces creamier bokeh and more natural skin tones, aided by face detection and manual focus. The FH20 struggles with background separation and accurate focus.

• Landscape: The E-PL9’s dynamic range and detail capture make it the go-to choice. The FH20 delivers passable daylight images but lacks shadow detail and noise control for dusk shots.

• Wildlife/Sports: Better autofocus tracking and telephoto lens support on E-PL9 results in sharper images of moving subjects. FH20 frequently misses focus on movement.

• Street: FH20’s small size aids stealth photography, but slower AF and lower IQ limit creative potential. E-PL9 offers flexibility with lenses and quicker controls at the cost of size.

• Macro: Sensor-based stabilization and lens options allow E-PL9 to excel. FH20’s fixed lens macro mode is for casual shooting only.

• Night/Astro: Olympus’ high ISO range and manual exposure enable shooting stars and nightscapes. FH20 is not suitable for low light.

• Video: Olympus’ 4K video beats FH20’s 720p significantly. No external mic options on either limit pro use.

• Travel: FH20’s pocketability is unmatched, but image quality and versatility favor the E-PL9, especially if you’re keen on serious photography on the road.

• Professional Work: E-PL9 supports RAW, manual controls, and a flexible lens ecosystem required for workflow integration; FH20 is strictly casual.

Final Recommendations: Who Should Buy Which Camera?

If you’re a casual shooter looking for a simple, compact camera to capture family outings or travel memories, the Panasonic FH20’s ease of use and affordability might suffice - not ideal, but entirely reasonable for snapshots in good light. Its fixed lens design and automatic operation require little upfront learning or maintenance.

However, for photography enthusiasts who want room to grow, experiment creatively, or even produce professional-grade images, the Olympus E-PL9 is by far the superior option. Its larger sensor, versatile lens lineup, affordable price point, and modern features strike a compelling balance between entry-level accessibility and serious photographic potential.

Summary: The Olympus E-PL9 Wins Hands Down for Serious Photography

Our extensive hands-on testing and comparison conclude that the Olympus PEN E-PL9 is a far more capable, versatile camera - delivering significantly better image quality, better focusing, and more creative control across nearly every photography discipline compared to the Panasonic FH20. While the FH20’s compact size and simplicity have niche use cases, it falls short in today’s photography landscape dominated by mirrorless systems.

Opt for the E-PL9 if you want to invest in a solid photographic tool that grows with your skills. Choose the FH20 if budget and minimalism trump everything else - but don’t expect breakthrough image quality or advanced features.

I hope this detailed analysis helps you make an informed choice. Selecting a camera is ultimately about matching your needs, ambitions, and budget - and armed with these insights, you’re ready to shoot with confidence!