Olympus E-PM1 vs Olympus 7040

Lets look a little more in depth at the Olympus E-PM1 versus Olympus 7040, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Small Sensor Compact and they are both manufactured by Olympus. The image resolution of the E-PM1 (12MP) and the 7040 (14MP) is fairly close but the E-PM1 (Four Thirds) and 7040 (1/2.3") feature different sensor sizes.

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The E-PM1 was revealed 23 months later than the 7040 making the cameras a generation apart from one another. Both cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-PM1 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Olympus 7040 being a Compact camera.

Before delving in to a comprehensive comparison, below is a quick introduction of how the E-PM1 scores vs the 7040 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

This is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus PEN E-PM1 & Olympus Stylus 7040. The full galleries are provided at Olympus E-PM1 Gallery & Olympus 7040 Gallery.

For those who are going to carry your camera regularly, you will want to factor in its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-PM1 features physical measurements of 110mm x 64mm x 34mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.3") accompanied by a weight of 265 grams (0.58 lbs) while the Olympus 7040 has measurements of 95mm x 56mm x 26mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 1.0") along with a weight of 144 grams (0.32 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-PM1 versus Olympus 7040 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you have chosen at the time. Below is the front view overall size comparison of the E-PM1 and the 7040.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-PM1 and 7040 is 89 and 95 respectively.

Typically, it is very hard to visualize the gap in sensor sizing merely by viewing a spec sheet. The graphic here will help give you a much better sense of the sensor sizing in the E-PM1 and 7040.

As you can see, both of those cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The E-PM1 using its larger sensor is going to make achieving shallow DOF less difficult and the Olympus 7040 will result in more detail because of its extra 2 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also let you crop pics somewhat more aggressively. The newer E-PM1 should have an edge when it comes to sensor technology.