Olympus E-3 vs Panasonic GM5

On this page, we will be looking at the Olympus E-3 and Panasonic GM5, one being a Advanced DSLR and the latter is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by companies Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a huge gap between the image resolutions of the E-3 (10MP) and GM5 (16MP) but both cameras boast the same sensor dimensions (Four Thirds).

Photography Glossary

The E-3 was introduced 7 years before the GM5 and that is quite a significant gap as far as technology is concerned. Both of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-3 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Panasonic GM5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before going right into a detailed comparison, here is a quick overview of how the E-3 scores against the GM5 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

The following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus E-3 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM5. The whole galleries are available at Olympus E-3 Gallery and Panasonic GM5 Gallery.

For those who are going to carry your camera, you will have to factor in its weight and volume. The Olympus E-3 features external dimensions of 142mm x 116mm x 75mm (5.6" x 4.6" x 3.0") along with a weight of 890 grams (1.96 lbs) while the Panasonic GM5 has sizing of 99mm x 60mm x 36mm (3.9" x 2.4" x 1.4") along with a weight of 211 grams (0.47 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-3 and Panasonic GM5 in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ depending on the lens you have attached during that time. Here is a front view proportions comparison of the E-3 against the GM5.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-3 and GM5 is 56 and 91 respectively.

More often than not, its difficult to imagine the contrast between sensor sizing just by reading technical specs. The visual here will help provide you a better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-3 and GM5.

As you can tell, each of the cameras provide the same sensor dimensions albeit different MP. You should expect the Panasonic GM5 to offer extra detail using its extra 6 Megapixels. Higher resolution will make it easier to crop photographs more aggressively. The older E-3 is going to be behind with regard to sensor tech.