Olympus E-PM1 vs Sony A380

Let's look more closely at the Olympus E-PM1 vs Sony A380, one being a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by brands Olympus and Sony. The sensor resolution of the E-PM1 (12MP) and the A380 (14MP) is pretty similar but the E-PM1 (Four Thirds) and A380 (APS-C) enjoy totally different sensor sizing.

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The E-PM1 was brought out 2 years later than the A380 and that is quite a sizable gap as far as technology is concerned. Each of the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-PM1 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony A380 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before going through a comprehensive comparison, below is a brief view of how the E-PM1 scores against the A380 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Here is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus PEN E-PM1 and Sony Alpha DSLR-A380. The entire galleries are viewable at Olympus E-PM1 Gallery and Sony A380 Gallery.

For anybody who is looking to lug around your camera frequently, you'll need to factor its weight and volume. The Olympus E-PM1 offers physical measurements of 110mm x 64mm x 34mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.3") along with a weight of 265 grams (0.58 lbs) whilst the Sony A380 has sizing of 128mm x 97mm x 71mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 2.8") along with a weight of 519 grams (1.14 lbs).

Look at the Olympus E-PM1 vs Sony A380 in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ based on the lens you have attached at that time. Here is the front view sizing comparison of the E-PM1 vs the A380.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-PM1 and A380 is 89 and 68 respectively.

Normally, its tough to envision the difference between sensor measurements purely by going over technical specs. The graphic here will offer you a greater sense of the sensor sizing in the E-PM1 and A380.

As you can tell, both of these cameras have got different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-PM1 due to its tinier sensor will make getting shallow DOF tougher and the Sony A380 will deliver extra detail having its extra 2 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also enable you to crop photographs much more aggressively. The newer E-PM1 will have an edge in sensor innovation.