Olympus E-PL9 vs Sony A390

On this page, we will be matching up the Olympus E-PL9 and Sony A390, one is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by competitors Olympus and Sony. The sensor resolution of the E-PL9 (16MP) and the A390 (14MP) is pretty comparable but the E-PL9 (Four Thirds) and A390 (APS-C) boast different sensor sizes.

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The E-PL9 was manufactured 7 years after the A390 which is a fairly serious gap as far as camera tech is concerned. Both the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-PL9 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony A390 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before delving right into a thorough comparison, here is a concise introduction of how the E-PL9 scores versus the A390 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Here is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus PEN E-PL9 and Sony Alpha DSLR-A390. The entire galleries are viewable at Olympus E-PL9 Gallery and Sony A390 Gallery.

For anyone who is looking to carry around your camera, you should think about its weight and volume. The Olympus E-PL9 has got exterior measurements of 117mm x 68mm x 39mm (4.6" x 2.7" x 1.5") having a weight of 380 grams (0.84 lbs) and the Sony A390 has sizing of 128mm x 97mm x 86mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 3.4") along with a weight of 549 grams (1.21 lbs).

See the Olympus E-PL9 and Sony A390 in the latest Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary based on the lens you are using during that time. The following is a front view physical size comparison of the E-PL9 versus the A390.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability grade of the E-PL9 and A390 is 85 and 66 respectively.

Oftentimes, it can be hard to picture the gap in sensor sizes purely by seeing technical specs. The pic underneath will help provide you a much better sense of the sensor sizing in the E-PL9 and A390.

As you can tell, each of these cameras have different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The E-PL9 featuring a smaller sensor is going to make achieving shallow DOF more difficult and the Olympus E-PL9 will provide extra detail due to its extra 2 Megapixels. Higher resolution will make it easier to crop shots a bit more aggressively. The newer E-PL9 provides a benefit with regard to sensor innovation.