Olympus E-PL1 has a
12.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Truepic V processor. On the other hand, Olympus E-PL8 has a
16.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features TruePic VII processor.
Below you can see the E-PL1 and E-PL8 sensor size comparison.
Olympus E-PL1 and Olympus E-PL8 have the same sensor sizes so they will provide same level of control over the depth of field when used with same focal length and aperture. On the other hand, since Olympus E-PL1 has 30% larger pixel area compared to Olympus E-PL8, it has potential to collect more light on pixel level hence have less noise in low light / High ISO images.