Nikon L120 vs Olympus E-PM1 Comparison

Camera to replace

Change

Nikon L120

14 MP | 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) CCD Sensor

CHECK PRICE

Change

Olympus E-PM1

12 MP | Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) CMOS Sensor

CHECK PRICE

Nikon L120 vs Olympus E-PM1 Comparison Overview

Here we are comparing two cameras with different body types: Nikon L120, which was introduced in February 2011 is a Small Sensor Superzoom camera with a 14.0MP 1/2.3-inch sensor whereas Olympus E-PM1, which was introduced in November 2011 is a Entry-Level Mirrorless camera with a 12.0MP Four Thirds sensor. There is only 9 months difference between L120 and E-PM1 so we are expecting this to be a fair comparison regarding age and technology level.

Comparing an interchangeble lens camera to a fixed lens camera is a bit tricky but we will do our best to make this a fair comparison.

Here is a brief look at the main features of Nikon L120 and Olympus E-PM1 before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Nikon L120 Key Specs

Announcement Date: 2011-02-09

14MP - 1/2.3-inch CCD Sensor

ISO 80 - 6400

25-525 mm F3.1-5.8 Zoom Lens

Sensor-shift Image Stabilization

3" Fixed Type Screen

1 fps continuous shooting

HD - 1280 x 720 video resolution

431g. 110 x 77 x 78 mm

Replaced Nikon Coolpix L110 Compare

Olympus E-PM1 Key Specs

Announcement Date: 2011-11-23

12MP - Four Thirds CMOS Sensor

ISO 100 - 12800

Micro Four Thirds Mount

Sensor-shift Image Stabilization

3" Fixed Type Screen

6 fps continuous shooting

Full HD - 1920 x 1080 video resolution

265g. 110 x 64 x 34 mm

Olympus E-PM1 was replaced by Olympus PEN E-PM2. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Olympus PEN E-PM2 vs Olympus PEN E-PM1
Olympus PEN E-PM2 vs Nikon Coolpix L120

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Nikon L120 and Olympus E-PM1 compares and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one is better for you.

Reasons to choose Nikon Coolpix L120 over Olympus PEN E-PM1

Built-in Flash	Yes vs No	Useful in low-light
Max Sensor Resolution	14 MP vs 12 MP	16% more pixels
LCD Screen Resolution	921k dots vs 460k dots	100% higher resolution screen

Reasons to choose Olympus PEN E-PM1 over Nikon Coolpix L120

External Flash Shoe	Yes vs No	Better for flash photography
RAW Support	Yes vs No	Better image quality
Max ISO	12.800 vs 6.400	100% higher Max ISO
Number of Focus Points	35 vs 9	26 more focus points
Continuous Shooting	6.0fps vs 1.0fps	5 fps faster
Weight	265 g vs 431 g	166 g lighter
Manual Exposure	Yes vs No	better exposure control
Sensor Pixel Area	18.45µm² vs 2.01µm²	817% larger pixel area
Max Video Resolution	1920 x 1080 vs 1280 x 720	Higher Resolution Video
AE Bracketing	Yes vs No	Useful for tough lighting conditions and HDR

Common Strengths of Nikon Coolpix L120 and Olympus PEN E-PM1

Image Stabilization	Sensor-shift vs Sensor-shift	Sharper images at longer focal lengths and long exposures
Face Detection Focus	Yes vs Yes	very handy for portraits

Common Weaknesses of Nikon Coolpix L120 and Olympus PEN E-PM1

Fixed Screen	Fixed Type vs No	No flexible viewing angles
Environmental Sealing	No vs No	not suitable for tough conditions

Nikon L120 vs Olympus E-PM1: Physical Specs and Body features Comparison

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 L120 and Olympus E-PM1 side-by-side from the front, back and top in their relative dimensions. Nikon L120 has external dimensions of 110 x 77 x 78 mm (4.33 x 3.03 x 3.07″) and weighs 431 g (0.95 lb / 15.20 oz) (including batteries). Olympus E-PM1 has external dimensions of 110 x 64 x 34 mm (4.33 x 2.52 x 1.34″) and weighs 265 g (0.58 lb / 9.35 oz) (including batteries).

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Nikon L120 and Olympus E-PM1. As you can tell, actually this is not a fair size comparison since Nikon L120 has a built-in lens but Olympus E-PM1 doesn't. Once you put a lens on E-PM1, its thickness will increase significantly.

Comparison image of Nikon L120 and Olympus E-PM1 Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View

Here is the back view size comparison of Nikon L120 and Olympus E-PM1.

Comparison image of Nikon L120 and Olympus E-PM1 Size and Weight - Back View

Now lets look at the top view comparison of Nikon L120 and Olympus E-PM1.

Top View Comparison image of Nikon L120 and Olympus E-PM1 Size

Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day. Olympus E-PM1 is significantly lighter (166g ) than the Nikon L120 which may become a big advantage especially on long walking trips.

Again, this comparison may not be very useful in real life as we are comparing the weight of a camera with a built-in lens to the body-only weight of an interchangeable lens camera. Once you put a lens on E-PM1, the total kit will weigh much higher.

Weather Sealing

Unfortunately neither Nikon Coolpix L120 nor Olympus PEN E-PM1 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 Compact Cameras with Weather Sealing
Top Mirrorless Cameras with Weather Sealing

LCD Screen Size and Features

Nikon L120 and Olympus E-PM1's LCD screens has the same diagonal size of 3".

Unfortunately, both cameras has fixed screens so they don't tilt or flip in directions.

Nikon L120 vs Olympus E-PM1: Sensor Comparison

Nikon L120 has a 14.0MP 1/2.3-inch (6.17 x 4.55 mm ) sized CCD sensor and features Expeed C2 processor. On the other hand, Olympus E-PM1 has a 12.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features TruePic VI processor.

Below you can see the L120 and E-PM1 sensor size comparison.

Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Nikon L120 and Olympus E-PM1 Cameras

As seen above, Olympus E-PM1 has a 8.0x Larger sensor area than Nikon L120. 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.

What types of Photography are Nikon L120 and Olympus E-PM1 Good for?

In this section, we rank and compare Nikon L120 and Olympus E-PM1 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 L120 for Portrait Photography

POOR

Olympus E-PM1 for Portrait Photography

AVERAGE

Image Stabilization
Average Resolution Sensor: 14.0MP
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
No External Flash Shoe
No Built-in Viewfinder
No Manual Focus Mode
No Manual Exposure Mode
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
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 L120 for Street Photography

GOOD

Olympus E-PM1 for Street Photography

EXCELLENT

Image Stabilization
Small Body
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
25 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
No Built-in Viewfinder
No Manual Focus Mode
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 L120 for Sports Photography

POOR

Olympus E-PM1 for Sports Photography

AVERAGE

Image Stabilization
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
525 mm Tele Lens
No RAW shooting capability
No External Flash Shoe
No Built-in Viewfinder
No Manual Focus Mode
No Manual Exposure Mode
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
Slow Continuous Shooting: 1.0fps
Environmental Sealings
9 Focus Points
Slow Lens at Tele: f5.80
Read the details

Image Stabilization
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
35 Focus Points
Optional External Viewfinder
Average Ergonomics&Handling
Average Continuous Shooting: 6.0fps
Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Nikon L120 for Daily Photography

AVERAGE

Olympus E-PM1 for Daily Photography

GOOD

Compact Body
21.0X Optical Zoom
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
431g
Body Thickness 78mm
Read the details

Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
265g
Medium size Body
Read the details

Nikon L120 for Landscape Photography

POOR

Olympus E-PM1 for Landscape Photography

POOR

25 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
Average Resolution Sensor: 14.0MP
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
No Manual Focus Mode
No Manual Exposure Mode
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

Nikon L120 vs Olympus E-PM1: OUR DECISION

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 L120 and Olympus E-PM1, 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 L120 and Olympus E-PM1 scores compare:

Nikon L120

Imaging

Features

Value

Portability

Overall

Ranked #216 out of 475 in Compact cameras
Ranked #792 out of 1223 in all Cameras

Olympus E-PM1

Imaging

Features

Value

Portability

Overall

Ranked #83 out of 127 in Rangefinder-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked #371 out of 1223 in all Cameras

Olympus E-PM1 is the clear winner of this comparison. It has a higher Overall Score and beats Nikon L120 in all criteria.
It has better general image quality, more features, more compact body and offers more value for the money

Olympus E-PM1 vs Nikon L120 Specs Table

Detailed comparison of specifications

General	Nikon Coolpix L120	Olympus PEN E-PM1
Brand	Nikon	Olympus
Announced	2011-02-09	2011-11-23
Body Type	Compact	Rangefinder-style mirrorless
Sensor
Type	CCD	CMOS
Size	1/2.3-inch	Four Thirds
Dimensions	6.17 x 4.55 mm	17.3 x 13 mm
Area	28.07mm²	224.90mm²
Megapixels	14 megapixels	12 megapixels
Max Resolution	4320 x 3240	4032 x 3024
Max Native Light sensitivity	6,400 ISO	12,800 ISO
Min Native Light sensitivity	80 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	9	35
Lens
Manual Focus
Lens Mount	fixed lens	Micro Four Thirds
Lens Focal Range	25-525 mm (21×)	no lens
Max Aperture	F3.1-5.8	no lens
Macro Focus Range	1cm	no lens
Screen
Type	Fixed type	Fixed type
Size	3"	3"
Resolution	921k dots	460k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder	None	Electronic (optional)
Photography Features
Max Mechanical Shutter	1/4000s	1/4000s
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Custom White Balance
Image Stabilization	Sensor-shift	Sensor-shift
Built-in Flash
Flash Range	6.00 m	no built-in flash
Max Flash Sync	n/a	1/160s
External Flash
Continuous Shooting	1.0 fps	6.0 fps
Multi-Segment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF-Area
Center Weighted
AE Bracketing
WB Bracketing
Video Features
Max Video Resolution	1280 x 720	1920 x 1080
Video Formats	Motion JPEG	AVCHD, Motion JPEG
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Connectivity
Wireless Connectivity	None	None
HDMI
Physical
Environmental Sealing
Weight	431g	265g
Dimensions	110 x 77 x 78mm	110 x 64 x 34mm
Battery Life	330 shots	330 shots
Other Features
Timelapse Recording
GPS	None	None
DxO Sensor Scores
DxO Overall Score	not tested	52
DxO Color Depth	not tested	21.0
DxO Dynamic Range	not tested	10.3
DxO Low Light ISO	not tested	499
	Report a correction	Report a correction