Olympus E-PL5 has a
16.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor . 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.
Below you can see the E-PL5 and E-PL1 sensor size comparison.
Olympus E-PL5 and Olympus E-PL1 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 (18.45µm2 vs 14.12µm2) compared to Olympus E-PL5, it has larger pixel area to collect light hence potential to have less noise in low light / High ISO images.
DxOMark Sensor Scores
Both Olympus E-PL5 and Olympus E-PL1 sensors have been tested by DxoMark. DxoMark scores camera sensors for color depth (DXO Portrait), dynamic range (DXO Landscape) and low-light sensitivity (DXO Sports), and also gives them an overall score. Of the two cameras that we are comparing, E-PL5 has scored 72, 18 points higher than E-PL1.
Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
Olympus E-PL5 |
72 |
22.8 bits |
12.3 Evs |
889 ISO |
Olympus E-PL1 |
54 |
21.5 bits |
10.1 Evs |
487 ISO |