Size and weight is a big decision factor when you are trying to find the ideal camera for your needs.
In this section, We are going to illustrate Nikon 1 J4 and Olympus E-PL1 side-by-side from the front, back and top in their relative dimensions. Nikon 1 J4 has external dimensions of 100 x 60 x 29 mm (3.92 x 2.36 x 1.12″) and weighs 232 g (0.51 lb / 8.18 oz) (including batteries). Olympus E-PL1 has external dimensions of 115 x 72 x 42 mm (4.53 x 2.83 x 1.65″) and weighs 334 g (0.74 lb / 11.78 oz) (including batteries).
Below you can see the front view size comparison of Nikon 1 J4 and Olympus E-PL1. Nikon 1 J4 is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 15mm narrower, 12mm shorter and 13mm thinner than Olympus E-PL1.
![Nikon 1 J4 vs Olympus E-PL1 Camera Size Comparison - Front View]()
Comparison image of Nikon 1 J4 and Olympus E-PL1 Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View
Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day.
Nikon 1 J4 is significantly lighter (102g ) than the Olympus E-PL1 which may become a big advantage especially on long walking trips.
Also keep in mind that body weight is not the only deciding factor when comparing two interchangeable camera bodies, you have to also take into account the lenses that you will be using with these bodies.
Weight Comparison
Mirrorless Cameras
Thickness Comparison
Mirrorless Cameras
Weather Sealing
Unfortunately neither Nikon 1 J4 nor Olympus PEN E-PL1 provides any type of weather sealing in their body, so you have to give extra care especially when you are shooting outdoors. If weather sealing is a must-have feature for you, check these sections: Top Mirrorless Cameras with Weather Sealing
LCD Screen Size and Features
Nikon 1 J4's 3" LCD screen is slightly larger than Olympus E-PL1's 2.7" screen.
Unfortunately, both cameras has fixed screens so they don't tilt or flip in directions.
Nikon 1 J4 has a 18.0MP 1" (13.2 x 8.8 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Expeed 4 processor. On the other hand, Olympus E-PL1 has a 12.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Truepic V processor.
Nikon 1 J4's sensor provides 6MP more than Olympus E-PL1's sensor, which gives a significant advantage in real life. You can print your images larger or crop more freely.
On the other hand, please keep in mind that Max sensor resolution is not the only determinant of resolving power. Factors such as the optical elements, low pass filter, pixel size and sensor technology also affects the final resolution of the captured image.
Below you can see the 1 J4 and E-PL1 sensor size comparison.
![Nikon 1 J4 vs Olympus E-PL1 Sensor Size Comparison]()
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Nikon 1 J4 and Olympus E-PL1 Cameras
As seen above, Olympus E-PL1 has a 1.9x Larger sensor area than Nikon 1 J4. Larger sensors give photographer more control on the depth of field and blurry background compared to smaller sensor when shot in same focal length and aperture.
Number of available lenses is a big decision factor while choosing your interchangeable lens camera. When we look at the available lenses for these two cameras, we see that Olympus E-PL1 has an advantage over Nikon 1 J4 There are 107 lenses for Olympus E-PL1's Micro Four Thirds mount, on the other hand there are only 13 lenses for Nikon 1 J4's Nikon 1 lens mount.
Another important factor is the availability of image stabilization. Olympus E-PL1 has a big advantage in this regard because it has a sensor based image stabilization which means that all the lenses mounted to this body will be stabilized. On the other hand, Nikon 1 J4 doesn't have this feature so you have to buy a lens with optical stabilization feature. Currently there are 7 lenses for Nikon 1 mount with Optical Image Stabilization features.
| Lens Type |
# of Nikon 1 J4 Lenses |
# of Olympus E-PL1 Lenses |
| Standard Zoom |
4 |
15 |
| Standard Prime |
2 |
13 |
| Wideangle Zoom |
1 |
5 |
| Wideangle Prime |
2 |
29 |
| Telephoto Zoom |
2 |
18 |
| Telephoto Prime |
n/a |
9 |
| SuperZoom |
2 |
8 |
| Wideangle Fisheye Prime |
n/a |
5 |
| Macro Prime |
n/a |
4 |
| Perspective Control Prime |
n/a |
n/a |
| Telephoto Mirror Prime |
n/a |
1 |
| TOTAL |
13 |
107 |
In this section, we rank and compare Nikon 1 J4 and Olympus E-PL1 for five different photography types in order to make your decision process easier in case you are specifically interested in one or more of these areas.
Nikon 1 J4 for Portrait Photography
Olympus E-PL1 for Portrait Photography
Average sized 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 18.0MP
Average Ergonomics&Handling
No Image Stabilization
No Built-in Viewfinder
Read the details
Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
Optional External Viewfinder
Average Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details
Nikon 1 J4 for Street Photography
Olympus E-PL1 for Street Photography
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Average sized 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm) sensor
Medium sized Body
No Image Stabilization
No Built-in Viewfinder
Read the details
Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Optional External Viewfinder
Medium sized Body
Read the details
Nikon 1 J4 for Sports Photography
Olympus E-PL1 for Sports Photography
Fast Continuous Shooting: 60.0fps
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
105 Cross Type Focus sensors
171 Focus Points
Wireless Connection
Average Ergonomics&Handling
No Image Stabilization
No Built-in Viewfinder
Environmental Sealings
Read the details
Image Stabilization
11 Focus Points
Optional External Viewfinder
Average Ergonomics&Handling
Average Max shutter speed: 1/2000s
Slow Continuous Shooting: 3.0fps
Environmental Sealings
Poor Battery Life: 290 shots
Read the details
Nikon 1 J4 for Daily Photography
Olympus E-PL1 for Daily Photography
Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Medium size Body
334g
Body Thickness 42mm
Read the details
Nikon 1 J4 for Landscape Photography
Olympus E-PL1 for Landscape Photography
Very High Resolution Sensor: 18.0MP
Live-view
Average sized 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm) sensor
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details
Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Live-view
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details
You may have already made your decision about which camera suits better for your needs and your budget so far but in case you wonder how we rated Nikon 1 J4 and Olympus E-PL1, below you can find their scores in five different aspects.
Our Decision Algorithm dynamically scores cameras using 63 different specs, current price and DxO Mark scores (where possible) in order to make a more objective and consistent comparison.
Here is a summary of how Nikon 1 J4 and Olympus E-PL1 scores compare:
Nikon 1 J4
Ranked
#70 out of 126 in Rangefinder-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked
#326 out of 1218 in all Cameras
Olympus E-PL1
Ranked
#84 out of 126 in Rangefinder-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked
#372 out of 1218 in all Cameras
Nikon 1 J4 is the clear winner of this comparison. It has a higher Overall Score and beats Olympus E-PL1 in all criteria. It has better general image quality, more features, more compact body and offers more value for the money
| General |
Nikon 1 J4 |
Olympus PEN E-PL1 |
| Brand |
Nikon |
Olympus |
| Announced |
2014-04-10 |
2010-05-17 |
| Body Type |
Rangefinder-style mirrorless |
Rangefinder-style mirrorless |
Sensor |
|
|
| Type |
CMOS |
CMOS |
| Size |
1" |
Four Thirds |
| Dimensions |
13.2 x 8.8 mm |
17.3 x 13 mm |
| Area |
116.16mm2 |
224.90mm2 |
| Megapixels |
18 megapixels |
12 megapixels |
| Max Resolution |
5232 x 3488 |
4032 x 3024 |
| Max Native Light sensitivity |
12,800 ISO |
3,200 ISO |
| Min Native Light sensitivity |
160 ISO |
100 ISO |
| RAW Support |
|
|
Autofocus |
|
|
| AF Touch |
|
|
| AF Continuous |
|
|
| AF Single |
|
|
| AF Tracking |
|
|
| AF Selective |
|
|
| AF Center |
|
|
| AF Multi Area |
|
|
| AF Live View |
|
|
| AF Face Detection |
|
|
| AF Contrast Detection |
|
|
| AF Phase Detection |
|
|
| Number of Focus Points |
171 |
11 |
Lens |
|
|
| Manual Focus |
|
|
| Lens Mount |
Nikon 1 |
Micro Four Thirds |
| Number of Available Lenses |
13 |
107 |
Screen |
|
|
| Type |
Fixed type |
Fixed type |
| Size |
3" |
2.7" |
| Resolution |
1,037k dots |
230k dots |
| Touch Screen |
|
|
Viewfinder |
|
|
| Viewfinder |
None |
Electronic (optional) |
Photography Features |
|
|
| Max Mechanical Shutter |
1/4000s |
1/2000s |
| Max Electronic Shutter |
1/16000s |
n/a |
| Shutter Priority |
|
|
| Aperture Priority |
|
|
| Manual Exposure Mode |
|
|
| Custom White Balance |
|
|
| Image Stabilization |
No |
Sensor-shift |
| Built-in Flash |
|
|
| Flash Range |
5.00 m (ISO 100) |
10.00 m |
| Max Flash Sync |
n/a |
1/160s |
| External Flash |
|
|
| Continuous Shooting |
60.0 fps |
3.0 fps |
| Multi-Segment |
|
|
| Average |
|
|
| Spot |
|
|
| Partial |
|
|
| AF-Area |
|
|
| Center Weighted |
|
|
| AE Bracketing |
|
|
| WB Bracketing |
|
|
Video Features |
|
|
| Max Video Resolution |
1920 x 1080 |
1280 x 720 |
| Video Formats |
MPEG-4, H.264 |
Motion JPEG |
| Microphone Port |
|
|
| Headphone Port |
|
|
Connectivity |
|
|
| Wireless Connectivity |
Built-In |
None |
| HDMI |
|
|
Physical |
|
|
| Environmental Sealing |
|
|
| Weight |
232g |
334g |
| Dimensions |
100 x 60 x 29mm |
115 x 72 x 42mm |
| Battery Life |
300 shots |
290 shots |
Other Features |
|
|
| Timelapse Recording |
|
|
| GPS |
None |
None |
DxO Sensor Scores |
|
|
| DxO Overall Score |
not tested |
54 |
| DxO Color Depth |
not tested |
21.5 |
| DxO Dynamic Range |
not tested |
10.1 |
| DxO Low Light ISO |
not tested |
487 |
|
Report a correction |
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