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Olympus E-1 vs Panasonic FH2

Portability
59
Imaging
38
Features
36
Overall
37
Olympus E-1 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH2 front
Portability
96
Imaging
37
Features
33
Overall
35

Olympus E-1 vs Panasonic FH2 Key Specs

Olympus E-1
(Full Review)
  • 5MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 1.8" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 3200
  • No Video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 735g - 141 x 104 x 81mm
  • Launched November 2003
  • New Model is Olympus E-3
Panasonic FH2
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 6400
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 28-112mm (F3.1-6.5) lens
  • 121g - 94 x 54 x 19mm
  • Announced January 2011
  • Additionally Known as Lumix DMC-FS16
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Olympus E-1 vs Panasonic FH2 Overview

Its time to look much closer at the Olympus E-1 and Panasonic FH2, former being a Pro DSLR while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by manufacturers Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a sizable gap among the resolutions of the E-1 (5MP) and FH2 (14MP) and the E-1 (Four Thirds) and FH2 (1/2.3") use different sensor size.

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The E-1 was revealed 8 years before the FH2 and that is a fairly significant difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of the cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-1 being a Large SLR camera and the Panasonic FH2 being a Compact camera.

Before we go in to a step-by-step comparison, below is a simple summary of how the E-1 grades against the FH2 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Photography Glossary
	
	

Reasons to pick Olympus E-1 over the Panasonic FH2

 E-1 FH2 
Focus manually More exact focus

Reasons to pick Panasonic FH2 over the Olympus E-1

 FH2 E-1 
AnnouncedJanuary 2011November 2003More recent by 86 months
Screen sizing2.7"1.8"Bigger screen (+0.9")
Screen resolution230k134kSharper screen (+96k dot)

Common features in the Olympus E-1 and Panasonic FH2

 E-1 FH2 
Screen typeFixed Fixed Fixed screen
Selfie screen Neither comes with selfie screen
Touch screen Absent Touch screen

Olympus E-1 vs Panasonic FH2 Physical Comparison

If you are going to lug around your camera regularly, you are going to need to factor its weight and volume. The Olympus E-1 comes with outer measurements of 141mm x 104mm x 81mm (5.6" x 4.1" x 3.2") and a weight of 735 grams (1.62 lbs) while the Panasonic FH2 has sizing of 94mm x 54mm x 19mm (3.7" x 2.1" x 0.7") accompanied by a weight of 121 grams (0.27 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus E-1 and Panasonic FH2 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you are utilising at the time. Underneath is the front view dimensions comparison of the E-1 and the FH2.

Olympus E-1 vs Panasonic FH2 size comparison

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-1 and FH2 is 59 and 96 respectively.

Olympus E-1 vs Panasonic FH2 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-1 vs Panasonic FH2 Sensor Comparison

Sometimes, its tough to visualize the gap in sensor measurements merely by researching technical specs. The visual below will give you a greater sense of the sensor measurements in the E-1 and FH2.

As you have seen, both of the cameras enjoy different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-1 using its bigger sensor is going to make shooting shallow DOF simpler and the Panasonic FH2 will provide you with more detail because of its extra 9 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also allow you to crop shots far more aggressively. The older E-1 will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor innovation.

Olympus E-1 vs Panasonic FH2 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-1 vs Panasonic FH2 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-1 vs Panasonic FH2 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Portrait photography with Olympus E-1
Portrait photography with Panasonic FH2
46
manual focus
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
saves RAW files
doesn't have liveview
low MP (5 megapixels)
33
decent megapixels (14MP)
has face detect autofocus
focusing manually not possible
no manual mode
can't use external flash
very small sensor (1/2.3")
does not have RAW format
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-1 Street photography information
Panasonic FH2 Street photography information
57
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
saves RAW files
environment sealing
lighter than others in class (735 grams)
no moving screen
lack of image stabilization
67
image stabilization (Optical)
comes with focus via touch
lighter than competitors in class (121g)
screen is fixed
very small sensor (1/2.3")
does not have RAW format
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Sports Comparison

Sports photography with Olympus E-1
Sports photography with Panasonic FH2
40
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
environment sealing
sensor has phase detect AF
doesn't have liveview
low frames per second (3.0 frames per second)
lack of image stabilization
low MP (5MP)
43
image stabilization (Optical)
decent megapixels (14 megapixels)
has tracking focus
good battery pack (270 CIPA)
max fps very slow (4.0 frames/s)
lack of shutter priority mode
very small sensor (1/2.3")
does not have phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-1 as a Travel photography camera
Panasonic FH2 as a Travel photography camera
47
lighter than others in class (735g)
environment sealing
doesn't have Time Lapse mode
low MP (5 megapixels)
screen isn't selfie friendly
72
good battery pack (270 CIPA)
lighter than competitors in class (121 grams)
comes with focus via touch
decent megapixels (14 megapixels)
has built in flash
pretty wide (28mm)
doesn't have Timelapse mode
screen is not selfie friendly
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.1)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-1 Landscape photography details
Panasonic FH2 Landscape photography details
46
manual focus
swap lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
saves RAW files
environment sealing
small screen (1.8")
doesn't have liveview
lack of image stabilization
low MP (5MP)
doesn't have Time Lapse mode
41
pretty wide (28mm)
image stabilization (Optical)
decent megapixels (14MP)
good battery pack (270 per charge)
focusing manually not possible
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.1)
screen is somewhat small (2.7")
no manual mode
very small sensor (1/2.3")
does not have RAW format
doesn't have Timelapse mode
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-1 Vlogging details
Panasonic FH2 Vlogging details
9
no video recording
32
pretty wide (28mm)
image stabilization (Optical)
has face detect autofocus
lighter than competitors in class (121g)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.1)
screen is not selfie friendly
video resolution low (1280 x 720 resolution)
doesn't have microphone socket
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Olympus E-1 vs Panasonic FH2 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-1 and Panasonic FH2
 Olympus E-1Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH2
General Information
Company Olympus Panasonic
Model type Olympus E-1 Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH2
Also referred to as - Lumix DMC-FS16
Category Pro DSLR Small Sensor Compact
Launched 2003-11-29 2011-01-05
Physical type Large SLR Compact
Sensor Information
Processor - Venus Engine IV
Sensor type CCD CCD
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 6.08 x 4.56mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 27.7mm²
Sensor resolution 5 megapixel 14 megapixel
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Max resolution 2560 x 1920 4320 x 3240
Max native ISO 3200 6400
Lowest native ISO 100 100
RAW photos
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Autofocus touch
Autofocus continuous
Autofocus single
Autofocus tracking
Selective autofocus
Center weighted autofocus
Multi area autofocus
Autofocus live view
Face detection focus
Contract detection focus
Phase detection focus
Total focus points 3 11
Lens
Lens support Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 28-112mm (4.0x)
Max aperture - f/3.1-6.5
Macro focusing range - 5cm
Available lenses 45 -
Focal length multiplier 2.1 5.9
Screen
Type of screen Fixed Type Fixed Type
Screen sizing 1.8 inch 2.7 inch
Resolution of screen 134 thousand dots 230 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch function
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Optical (pentaprism) None
Viewfinder coverage 100% -
Viewfinder magnification 0.48x -
Features
Min shutter speed 60 seconds 60 seconds
Max shutter speed 1/4000 seconds 1/1600 seconds
Continuous shutter rate 3.0 frames per second 4.0 frames per second
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes -
Custom white balance
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash distance no built-in flash 3.30 m
Flash settings Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye reduction
Hot shoe
AEB
WB bracketing
Max flash synchronize 1/180 seconds -
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Video resolutions - 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps)
Max video resolution None 1280x720
Video format - Motion JPEG
Microphone port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless None None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 735 gr (1.62 lb) 121 gr (0.27 lb)
Dimensions 141 x 104 x 81mm (5.6" x 4.1" x 3.2") 94 x 54 x 19mm (3.7" x 2.1" x 0.7")
DXO scores
DXO Overall rating not tested not tested
DXO Color Depth rating not tested not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested not tested
DXO Low light rating not tested not tested
Other
Battery life - 270 pictures
Battery type - Battery Pack
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse recording
Type of storage Compact Flash (Type I or II) SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal
Card slots Single Single
Launch cost $1,700 $149