Olympus E-PM2 vs Pentax W80

Let's look a little more closely at the Olympus E-PM2 vs Pentax W80, former is a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Small Sensor Compact by companies Olympus and Pentax. There exists a sizable gap between the image resolutions of the E-PM2 (16MP) and W80 (12MP) and the E-PM2 (Four Thirds) and W80 (1/2.3") boast different sensor size.

Photography Glossary

The E-PM2 was revealed 3 years after the W80 which is quite a significant difference as far as technology is concerned. Each of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-PM2 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Pentax W80 being a Compact camera.

Before diving straight to a thorough comparison, here is a quick synopsis of how the E-PM2 scores versus the W80 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Following is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus PEN E-PM2 & Pentax Optio W80. The full galleries are provided at Olympus E-PM2 Gallery & Pentax W80 Gallery.

When you are going to carry around your camera often, you're going to have to take into account its weight and volume. The Olympus E-PM2 enjoys outside dimensions of 110mm x 64mm x 34mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.3") with a weight of 269 grams (0.59 lbs) while the Pentax W80 has sizing of 100mm x 56mm x 25mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 1.0") with a weight of 156 grams (0.34 lbs).

Check the Olympus E-PM2 vs Pentax W80 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you are working with at that time. Following is a front view dimensions comparison of the E-PM2 versus the W80.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-PM2 and W80 is 89 and 94 respectively.

Normally, its difficult to imagine the gap between sensor sizes merely by reading through a spec sheet. The pic underneath will offer you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-PM2 and W80.

Clearly, both of those cameras provide different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The E-PM2 having a larger sensor is going to make achieving shallower DOF less difficult and the Olympus E-PM2 will give greater detail because of its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also let you crop pics more aggressively. The fresher E-PM2 should have a benefit with regard to sensor innovation.