Canon PowerShot
G11
 vs
Olympus
PEN E-P2

Updated (June, 2011): Compare the Canon PowerShot G12 vs Olympus PEN E-P3

Canon PowerShot G11

56

Reasons to buy the Canon PowerShot G11

Image stabilization
 Image stabilization
Lens
Screen flips out
 Flip-out screen
Great for movies
Macro focus
 Great macro
1 cm
Viewfinder
 Great viewfinder
Tunnel
Built-in flash
 Built-in flash
Usually standard
Olympus PEN E-P2

34
Runner-up

Olympus PEN E-P2

Reasons to buy the Olympus PEN E-P2

Interchangeable lenses
 Interchangeable lenses
Many lenses to choose from
Sensor type
 CMOS Sensor
Better in low light
Longest exposure
 Long exposures
60 seconds

differences

Advantages of the Canon G11
Screen flips out Has a flip-out screen Yes vs No
Help
 Flip-out screens can be helpful when composing tricky shots or taking movies
Screen resolution Higher resolution screen 461k dots vs 230k dots
Help
 More than 2x higher resolution screen
Built-in flash Built-in flash Yes vs No
Help
 A built-in flash is useful for taking indoor shots where there is little light
Image stabilization Better image stabilization Lens vs Sensor shift
Help
 Less risk of blur
Dynamic range More dynamic range 11.1 EV vs 10.4 EV
Help
 0.7 f-stops more dynamic range
Canon PowerShot G11 Learn more about
the Canon G11

Advantages of the Olympus PEN E-P2
Movie format Higher resolution movies 720p @ 30fps vs 480p @ 30fps
Help
 Shoots high resolution HD (720p) video
Screen size Larger screen 3.0" vs 2.8"
Help
 Around 10% larger screen
Overall image quality Better image quality 56.0 vs 47.0
Help
 Around 20% better image quality
Interchangeable lenses Has interchangeable lenses Yes vs No
Help
 Can take advantage of a variety of lenses
Low light performance Lower noise at high ISO 505 ISO vs 169 ISO
Help
 The PEN E-P2 has excellent image quality 1.6 f-stops higher ISO than the G11
Color depth Better color depth 21.5 bits vs 20.4 bits
Help
 Distinguishes 1.1 more bits of color
True resolution Higher true resolution 12.2 MP vs 10 MP
Help
 Capture more than 20% more detail in your photos
Size Slightly smaller 121x70x36 mm vs 112x76x48 mm
Help
 Around 30% smaller
Sensor type Has a CMOS-family sensor NMOS vs CCD
Help
 CMOS-family sensors often produce better quality images
Continuous shooting Shoots slightly faster 3 fps vs 1.1 fps
Help
 More than 2.5x faster continuous shooting
Longest exposure Much longer exposures 60s vs 15s
Help
 4x longer exposures
Thickness Thinner 1.4" vs 1.9"
Help
 Around 30% thinner
Lowest price Slightly cheaper $449.99 vs $703.80
Help
 The best price we've seen is $254 cheaper (around 40% less)
Weight Slightly lighter 355 g vs 375 g
Help
 Around 10% lighter
Olympus PEN E-P2 Learn more about
the Olympus PEN E-P2
vs

recommendations

Relative to the best recent digital cameras, and ignoring price

Canon PowerShot G11 Canon PowerShot G11
56 vs 34
Explain scores
Olympus PEN E-P2 Olympus PEN E-P2
Green arrow Snapsort recommends the Canon PowerShot G11. This recommendation, however, should be taken with a grain of salt since it doesn't always make sense to compare a pro digicam with a mirrorless interchangeable-lens.

performance Which camera has better performance? Cast your vote!

CanonPowerShot G11
 Canon PowerShot G11 vs Olympus PEN E-P2
OlympusPEN E-P2
Uses Travel score Travel
On holiday or vacation
1
0
Vote Vote
Sports score Sports
Fast action, sometimes indoors
1
0
Vote Vote
Features Color accuracy Color accuracy
White balance in varied lighting
0
0
Vote Vote
Autofocus peformance Still image focusing
Speed and accuracy
1
0
Vote Vote
Autofocus performance Video focusing
Speed and accuracy
1
0
Vote Vote
Manual controls Manual settings
How quickly and easily you can change settings
0
0
Vote Vote
Performance Image stabilization
Ability to reduce blur from hand shake
0
0
Vote Vote
Green arrow Join in the discussion below!

similarities

Compared to recent digital cameras

Common Strengths Common Weaknesses
Supports RAW Supports RAW Help
Better editing
External flash Support external flash Help
Better lighting
Fastest shutter speed Fast max shutter speeds Help
1/4000 of a second
Weight Heavy Help
G11:375 g
PEN E-P2:355 g
Movie format Poor movies Help
G11:480p @ 30fps
PEN E-P2:720p @ 30fps

dxomark

DXOMark

competitors

Shared Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages
Canon PowerShot G12

Canon PowerShot G12

Pro digicam

$389 - $500
Supports 24p Records movies in 24p
Compare the PowerShot G12 vs the PowerShot G11
Compare the PowerShot G12 vs the PEN E-P2
Sony Alpha NEX-5

Sony Alpha NEX-5

Mirrorless interchangeable-lens

$569 with 18-55mm lens
Overall image quality Has slightly better image quality
Movie format Records higher quality movies
Viewfinder Doesn't have a viewfinder
Image stabilization Doesn't have image stabilization
Compare the Alpha NEX-5 vs the PowerShot G11
Compare the Alpha NEX-5 vs the PEN E-P2
Canon Powershot S100

Canon Powershot S100

Pro digicam

$414 - $430
Aperture Has a significantly wider aperture
Movie format Records higher quality movies
Fastest shutter speed Has a slower max shutter speed
Viewfinder Doesn't have a viewfinder
Compare the Powershot S100 vs the PowerShot G11
Compare the Powershot S100 vs the PEN E-P2
Fujifilm Finepix X10

Fujifilm Finepix X10

Pro digicam

$583 - $600
Aperture Has a significantly wider aperture
Movie format Records higher quality movies
Thickness Is thicker
Compare the Finepix X10 vs the PowerShot G11
Compare the Finepix X10 vs the PEN E-P2
Sony NEX-5N

Sony NEX-5N

Mirrorless interchangeable-lens

$599 - $600 body only

$698 - $699 with 18-55mm lens
Overall image quality Has significantly better image quality
Movie format Records higher quality movies
Viewfinder Doesn't have a viewfinder
Image stabilization Doesn't have image stabilization
Compare the NEX-5N vs the PowerShot G11
Compare the NEX-5N vs the PEN E-P2
Olympus PEN E-PL1

Olympus PEN E-PL1

Mirrorless interchangeable-lens

$280 - $299 with 14-42mm lens
Fastest shutter speed Has a slower max shutter speed
Viewfinder Doesn't have a viewfinder
Compare the PEN E-PL1 vs the PowerShot G11
Compare the PEN E-PL1 vs the PEN E-P2
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5

Pro digicam

$320 - $468
Aperture Has a significantly wider aperture
Wide angle Has a significantly wider wide angle lens
Viewfinder Doesn't have a viewfinder
Compare the Lumix DMC-LX5 vs the PowerShot G11
Compare the Lumix DMC-LX5 vs the PEN E-P2

Canon PowerShot G11 Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages
Nikon Coolpix P7000

Nikon Coolpix P7000

Pro digicam

$279 - $500
Supports 24p Supports 24p
Screen resolution Significantly higher resolution screen
Screen flips out Screen does not flip out
Overall image quality Worse image quality
Compare the Coolpix P7000 vs the PowerShot G11
Canon PowerShot G1X

Canon PowerShot G1X

Boutique

$799
Movie format Higher resolution movies
Supports 24p Supports 24p
Macro focus Much worse macro capability
Size Larger
Compare the PowerShot G1X vs the PowerShot G11
Canon PowerShot G10

Canon PowerShot G10

Pro digicam
Screen size Larger screen
True resolution Significantly higher true resolution
Screen flips out Screen does not flip out
Overall image quality Worse image quality
Compare the PowerShot G10 vs the PowerShot G11
Canon PowerShot S95

Canon PowerShot S95

Pro digicam

$369
Aperture Significantly wider aperture
Supports 24p Supports 24p
Screen flips out Screen does not flip out
Macro focus Significantly worse macro capability
Compare the PowerShot S95 vs the PowerShot G11
Canon PowerShot G9

Canon PowerShot G9

Pro digicam
Screen size Larger screen
Movie format Higher resolution movies
Wide angle Much worse wide angle
Screen flips out Screen does not flip out
Compare the PowerShot G9 vs the PowerShot G11

Olympus PEN E-P2 Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages
Olympus PEN E-PL2

Olympus PEN E-PL2

Mirrorless interchangeable-lens

$449 with 14-42mm lens
Screen resolution Higher resolution screen
Built-in flash Built-in flash
Size Slightly larger
Dynamic range Less dynamic range
Compare the PEN E-PL2 vs the PEN E-P2
Olympus PEN E-P3

Olympus PEN E-P3

Mirrorless interchangeable-lens

$899 - $900 with 17mm lens
Screen type Has an OLED screen
Movie format Higher resolution movies
Overall image quality Worse image quality
Color depth Worse color depth
Compare the PEN E-P3 vs the PEN E-P2
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2

Mirrorless interchangeable-lens

$329 - $379 with 14-42mm lens
Movie format Higher resolution movies
Touch screen Has a touch screen
Image stabilization No image stabilization
Overall image quality Slightly worse image quality
Compare the Lumix DMC-GF2 vs the PEN E-P2
Olympus PEN E-P1

Olympus PEN E-P1

Mirrorless interchangeable-lens

$279 body only

$390 with 14-42mm lens
Lowest price Slightly cheaper
Color depth Worse color depth
Compare the PEN E-P1 vs the PEN E-P2
Fujifilm FinePix X100

Fujifilm FinePix X100

Boutique

$1,189 - $1,419
Overall image quality Significantly better image quality
Dynamic range More dynamic range
Image stabilization No image stabilization
Screen size Smaller screen
Compare the FinePix X100 vs the PEN E-P2

appearance

Canon PowerShot G11 Olympus PEN E-P2
Canon PowerShot G11 Olympus PEN E-P2
Canon PowerShot G11 Olympus PEN E-P2

Find similar cameras

Here are some links to help you find other cameras with similar features to both of these:

discussion Which do you think is better?

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