Olympus E-PL9 vs Sony A850

Its time to look more closely at the Olympus E-PL9 vs Sony A850, one is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the latter is a Advanced DSLR by rivals Olympus and Sony. There exists a significant gap between the sensor resolutions of the E-PL9 (16MP) and A850 (25MP) and the E-PL9 (Four Thirds) and A850 (Full frame) boast different sensor dimensions.

Samsung Releases Faster Versions of EVO MicroSD Cards

The E-PL9 was released 7 years after the A850 which is quite a sizable gap as far as technology is concerned. Both the cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-PL9 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony A850 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before diving into a in-depth comparison, here is a simple highlight of how the E-PL9 matches up versus the A850 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

The following is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus PEN E-PL9 and Sony Alpha DSLR-A850. The complete galleries are available at Olympus E-PL9 Gallery and Sony A850 Gallery.

For those who are going to travel with your camera frequently, you will want to think about its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-PL9 has physical dimensions of 117mm x 68mm x 39mm (4.6" x 2.7" x 1.5") having a weight of 380 grams (0.84 lbs) while the Sony A850 has dimensions of 156mm x 117mm x 82mm (6.1" x 4.6" x 3.2") along with a weight of 895 grams (1.97 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-PL9 vs Sony A850 in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change dependant on the lens you are working with at the time. Here is a front view scale comparison of the E-PL9 and the A850.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-PL9 and A850 is 85 and 54 respectively.

Sometimes, it can be tough to picture the contrast between sensor dimensions only by reading through a spec sheet. The image here should provide you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-PL9 and A850.

Clearly, each of these cameras come with different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The E-PL9 due to its tinier sensor is going to make achieving shallower depth of field more difficult and the Sony A850 will resolve more detail as a result of its extra 9MP. Higher resolution will allow you to crop shots a good deal more aggressively. The more recent E-PL9 should have an advantage with regard to sensor tech.