Olympus E-PL8 has a
16.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features TruePic VII processor. On the other hand, Canon M has a
18.0MP APS-C (22.3 x 14.9 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Digic 5 processor.
Below you can see the E-PL8 and M sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Olympus E-PL8 and Canon M Cameras
As seen above, Canon M has a 1.5x Larger sensor area than Olympus E-PL8. 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.
Sensor size sets the circle of confusion, so it drives how much depth of field each
of these bodies gives you at a given aperture. You can calculate it exactly for the
Olympus E-PL8
or the
Canon M ,
including hyperfocal distance.
One thing to watch when comparing these two: they have different sensor sizes
(Four Thirds versus APS-C),
so compare them at the same framing rather than the same focal length.
Put the same focal length on the smaller sensor and it will show less depth of
field, not more, because it also crops tighter. The calculator shows the
full frame equivalent focal length for each body so you can match the framing.
