Olympus E-PL9 vs Sony A350

Lets take a deeper look at the Olympus E-PL9 versus Sony A350, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by companies Olympus and Sony. The resolution of the E-PL9 (16MP) and the A350 (14MP) is fairly comparable but the E-PL9 (Four Thirds) and A350 (APS-C) boast totally different sensor sizes.

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The E-PL9 was launched 9 years later than the A350 and that is a fairly serious difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-PL9 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony A350 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before diving straight to a complete comparison, here is a quick synopsis of how the E-PL9 grades versus the A350 for portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus PEN E-PL9 & Sony Alpha DSLR-A350. The complete galleries are available at Olympus E-PL9 Gallery & Sony A350 Gallery.

For anybody who is aiming to lug around your camera frequently, you should take into account its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-PL9 has got physical dimensions of 117mm x 68mm x 39mm (4.6" x 2.7" x 1.5") accompanied by a weight of 380 grams (0.84 lbs) and the Sony A350 has measurements of 131mm x 99mm x 75mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0") accompanied by a weight of 674 grams (1.49 lbs).

Look at the Olympus E-PL9 versus Sony A350 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you are using at the time. Underneath is a front view dimension comparison of the E-PL9 and the A350.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-PL9 and A350 is 85 and 62 respectively.

Typically, it is very difficult to see the gap in sensor measurements simply by seeing a spec sheet. The visual below may give you a more clear sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-PL9 and A350.

Clearly, each of these cameras provide different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The E-PL9 because of its smaller sensor will make getting shallower depth of field tougher and the Olympus E-PL9 will produce more detail utilizing its extra 2 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also help you crop photos more aggressively. The more modern E-PL9 is going to have an edge in sensor technology.