Olympus E-PM2 vs Sony A390

Following is a in-depth overview of the Olympus E-PM2 and Sony A390, former is a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by companies Olympus and Sony. The resolution of the E-PM2 (16MP) and the A390 (14MP) is very close but the E-PM2 (Four Thirds) and A390 (APS-C) have totally different sensor measurements.

Photography Glossary

The E-PM2 was launched 2 years after the A390 which is a fairly large difference as far as camera technology is concerned. The two cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-PM2 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony A390 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before diving right into a thorough comparison, here is a brief view of how the E-PM2 grades against the A390 for portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Following is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus PEN E-PM2 & Sony Alpha DSLR-A390. The complete galleries are provided at Olympus E-PM2 Gallery & Sony A390 Gallery.

For anybody who is planning to carry around your camera frequently, you should take into account its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-PM2 has exterior measurements of 110mm x 64mm x 34mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.3") having a weight of 269 grams (0.59 lbs) and the Sony A390 has dimensions of 128mm x 97mm x 86mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 3.4") along with a weight of 549 grams (1.21 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus E-PM2 and Sony A390 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you have at the time. Here is a front view measurements comparison of the E-PM2 and the A390.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-PM2 and A390 is 89 and 66 respectively.

Normally, it is very hard to see the difference in sensor sizes merely by looking through specs. The pic here will help offer you a much better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-PM2 and A390.

As you can plainly see, both of those cameras provide different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The E-PM2 due to its smaller sensor will make achieving shallow DOF harder and the Olympus E-PM2 will result in more detail utilizing its extra 2MP. Greater resolution will enable you to crop photos more aggressively. The newer E-PM2 is going to have an edge with regard to sensor tech.