Olympus E-PL9 vs Sony A380

Following is a extended overview of the Olympus E-PL9 versus Sony A380, former is a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by competitors Olympus and Sony. The resolution of the E-PL9 (16MP) and the A380 (14MP) is pretty similar but the E-PL9 (Four Thirds) and A380 (APS-C) come with totally different sensor dimensions.

Photography Glossary

The E-PL9 was released 8 years after the A380 which is quite a sizable difference as far as tech is concerned. Both the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-PL9 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony A380 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before we go straight into a full comparison, below is a brief summary of how the E-PL9 matches up vs the A380 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Here is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus PEN E-PL9 & Sony Alpha DSLR-A380. The complete galleries are viewable at Olympus E-PL9 Gallery & Sony A380 Gallery.

If you are intending to carry around your camera regularly, you need to take into account its weight and volume. The Olympus E-PL9 has physical dimensions of 117mm x 68mm x 39mm (4.6" x 2.7" x 1.5") along with a weight of 380 grams (0.84 lbs) while the Sony A380 has sizing of 128mm x 97mm x 71mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 2.8") accompanied by a weight of 519 grams (1.14 lbs).

See the Olympus E-PL9 versus Sony A380 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you are using during that time. Here is the front view sizing comparison of the E-PL9 compared to the A380.

Using size and weight, the portability grade of the E-PL9 and A380 is 85 and 68 respectively.

Oftentimes, it's hard to visualise the gap between sensor sizes simply by going over specifications. The image here will give you a better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-PL9 and A380.

To sum up, each of these cameras have got different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The E-PL9 because of its tinier sensor will make shooting shallow depth of field more difficult and the Olympus E-PL9 will offer you more detail as a result of its extra 2MP. Higher resolution can also let you crop pictures much more aggressively. The more recent E-PL9 will have an edge when it comes to sensor innovation.