Olympus E-PM2 vs Panasonic FX90

Its time to look a little more closely at the Olympus E-PM2 vs Panasonic FX90, former is a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Small Sensor Compact by manufacturers Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a sizable gap between the sensor resolutions of the E-PM2 (16MP) and FX90 (12MP) and the E-PM2 (Four Thirds) and FX90 (1/2.3") offer totally different sensor measurements.

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The E-PM2 was launched 22 months after the FX90 making them a generation away from one another. The two cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-PM2 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic FX90 being a Compact camera.

Before delving straight to a in depth comparison, here is a concise introduction of how the E-PM2 scores vs the FX90 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Following is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus PEN E-PM2 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX90. The complete galleries are provided at Olympus E-PM2 Gallery & Panasonic FX90 Gallery.

For those who are aiming to carry around your camera often, you need to consider its weight and size. The Olympus E-PM2 has exterior measurements of 110mm x 64mm x 34mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.3") accompanied by a weight of 269 grams (0.59 lbs) whilst the Panasonic FX90 has specifications of 102mm x 56mm x 22mm (4.0" x 2.2" x 0.9") with a weight of 149 grams (0.33 lbs).

Check the Olympus E-PM2 vs Panasonic FX90 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you are working with at that time. Underneath is a front view proportions comparison of the E-PM2 vs the FX90.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-PM2 and FX90 is 89 and 95 respectively.

More often than not, its difficult to visualise the contrast between sensor sizes only by reading a spec sheet. The picture underneath should give you a better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-PM2 and FX90.

Clearly, both the cameras come with different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The E-PM2 featuring a larger sensor will make getting shallower depth of field simpler and the Olympus E-PM2 will offer you greater detail utilizing its extra 4MP. Greater resolution can also allow you to crop images a good deal more aggressively. The more modern E-PM2 will have an advantage when it comes to sensor innovation.