Leica SL Typ 601 vs Olympus PEN E-PL8

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Leica SL Typ 601 and the Olympus PEN E-PL8, highlighting the advantages of each over the other, discussing their pros and cons, shared strengths and weaknesses, and providing a rating based on their available features and specifications to assist you in choosing the one that best suits your needs.

Leica SL Typ 601 was introduced in October 2015 and Olympus PEN E-PL8 was introduced in September 2016. Let us first list highlights of the models.

Now that we've looked at the most essential specifications and gained a basic understanding of these cameras, we can delve into more details and see the differences between them.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Leica SL Typ 601 over Olympus PEN E-PL8.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Olympus PEN E-PL8 over Leica SL Typ 601.

We already listed pros and cons of each model. However, you may also find useful to look at their common strengths and weaknesses shown side-by-side.

Screen

Leica SL Typ 601 and Olympus PEN E-PL8 have 3.0" screens with 1,040k dot and 1,037k dot resolutions respectively. Leica SL Typ 601 has a Fixed screen Olympus PEN E-PL8 has a Tilting screen which makes it very useful for photography purposes but not so useful for video shooting. Both models feature touchscreen which has advantages such as easy menu navigation, intuitive controls, quick setting adjustment and most importantly a Touch-to-Focus functionality allowing users to select a specific point on the screen where they want the camera to focus. This feature can be helpful for achieving precise focus in both photo and video recording.

Viewfinder

Leica SL Typ 601 has a built-in Electronic viewfinder with 4,400k dot resolution. It has a 100% coverage and 0.80x magnification.Olympus PEN E-PL8 does not have a built-in viewfinder but an optional electronic viewfinder can be attached.

Leica SL Typ 601 features a 24 megapixel Full Frame CMOS sensor with dimensions of 36 x 24 mm and a total area of 864 mm². Its native ISO range is 50 - 50,000. Olympus PEN E-PL8 features a 16.1 megapixel Micro Four Thirds CMOS sensor with dimensions of 17.3 x 13 mm and a total area of 169 mm². Its native ISO range is 200 - 25,600 and expands to 100 - 25,600 in boosted mode.

Here is a sensor size comparison chart where you can see how different sensors compare with each other:

Sensor size chart

	Sensor	Dimensions	Area	Aspect Ratio	Crop Factor
	Medium Format	44 x 33 mm	1452 mm2	4:3	0.79x
	Full Frame	36 x 24 mm	864 mm2	3:2	1x
	APS-H	27 x 18 mm	486 mm2	3:2	1.3x
	APS-C	23.6 x 15.6 mm	368.2 mm2	3:2	1.5x
	APS-C (Canon)	22.3 x 14.9 mm	332.3 mm2	3:2	1.6x
	Micro Four Thirds	17.4 x 13 mm	226.2 mm2	4:3	2x
	1-inch	13.2 x 8.8 mm	116.2 mm2	3:2	2.7x
	1/1.7-inch	7.44 x 5.58 mm	41.5 mm2	4:3	4.7x
	1/2.3-inch	6.17 x 4.55 mm	28.1 mm2	4:3	5.6x

Leica SL Typ 601 is equipped with Maestro II processor and can take pictures up to 6000 x 4000 resolution. Olympus PEN E-PL8 is equipped with TruePic VII processor and can take pictures up to 4608 x 3456 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 3200 x 2400, 1280 x 960 with 1:1, 4:3, 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios.

Lens Mount

Leica SL Typ 601 has Leica L lens mount and Olympus PEN E-PL8 has Micro Four Thirds lens mount. Due to Full Frame sensor in Leica SL Typ 601 its crop factor is equal to 1x, this means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length. Due to Micro Four Thirds sensor in Olympus PEN E-PL8 its crop factor is equal to 2x, this means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 2.

No Low-Pass Filter on Leica SL Typ 601

There is no optical low-pass filter (OLPF), also known as an anti-aliasing filter, in front of the sensor on Leica SL Typ 601. This results in a slightly sharper image but may also introduce moiré patterns and aliasing artifacts when photographing subjects with fine, repetitive patterns or details.

In-Body Image Stabilization on Olympus PEN E-PL8

Olympus PEN E-PL8 has a built-in 5-Axis Sensor Shift in-body image stabilization (IBIS) with 3.5 stops of compensation. This means that you are still getting vibration reduction when camera is paired with non-image stabilizied lenses. It also works with lenses with optical image stabilization and in combination can achieve even better compensation.

Built-in GPS on Leica SL Typ 601

Leica SL Typ 601 has a built-in GPS (Global Positioning System) technology which allows you to automatically tag the location where you took your photos. You can later categorize, organize, and search for photos based on location. This is very useful for travel and outdoor photographers for documenting the locations where images were captured.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in GPS.

Built-in Wi-Fi

Cameras have built-in Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n, 2.4 GHz) which allows to easily transfer photos and videos from the camera to other Wi-Fi-enabled devices, such as smartphones, tablets, printers, or computers. This eliminates the need for cables and allows for quick and convenient media sharing and social media integration. It gives you the ability to control your camera remotely using a smartphone or tablet. This is particularly useful for taking self-portraits, group shots, or capturing images in challenging conditions without having to touch the camera. Firmware updates can also be downloaded and installed wirelessly.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in WiFi.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB inputs for data transfer. Leica SL Typ 601 has an HDMI and Olympus PEN E-PL8 has a Micro HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Leica SL Typ 601 comes with BP-SCL4 battery pack with battery life of 400 shots.

External Storage Slots

Leica SL Typ 601 has two card slots - one for SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II) and one for SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I). Olympus PEN E-PL8 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC card slot.

Shutter

Olympus PEN E-PL8 has Computerized focal-plane high-speed mechanical shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/8000 sec on Leica SL Typ 601, and up to 1/4000 sec on Olympus PEN E-PL8. Leica SL Typ 601 can shoot continuously up to 11.0 fps. Olympus PEN E-PL8 can shoot continuously up to 8.0 fps.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Olympus PEN E-PL8 ranges from -2 to +20 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±3 EV range on Leica SL Typ 601 and ±5 EV range on Olympus PEN E-PL8. You can also do exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Leica SL Typ 601 and exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Olympus PEN E-PL8.

Flash

Cameras have no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected to both of them via Hot Shoe or PC Terminal to Leica SL Typ 601 and via Hot Shoe or Wireless connection to Olympus PEN E-PL8. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/250 sec on Leica SL Typ 601.

Leica SL Typ 601 body has dimensions of 147 x 104 x 39 mm (5.79 x 4.09 x 1.54") and Olympus PEN E-PL8 body has dimensions of 115 x 67 x 38 mm (4.53 x 2.64 x 1.5"). Leica SL Typ 601 weighs 847 g (1.87 lb / 29.88 oz) and Olympus PEN E-PL8 weighs 357 g (0.79 lb / 12.59 oz).

Leica SL Typ 601

Olympus PEN E-PL8

147 mm

104 mm

115 mm

67 mm

104 mm

67 mm

39 mm

38 mm