Olympus E-M1 vs Panasonic FX48

Following is a detailed comparison of the Olympus E-M1 and Panasonic FX48, former is a Pro Mirrorless while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by brands Olympus and Panasonic. There is a sizable difference among the image resolutions of the E-M1 (16MP) and FX48 (12MP) and the E-M1 (Four Thirds) and FX48 (1/2.3") boast different sensor sizing.

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The E-M1 was manufactured 4 years after the FX48 which is a fairly significant difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Each of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-M1 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic FX48 being a Compact camera.

Before diving into a complete comparison, here is a concise view of how the E-M1 matches up vs the FX48 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Following is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus OM-D E-M1 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX48. The entire galleries are available at Olympus E-M1 Gallery & Panasonic FX48 Gallery.

If you are going to carry around your camera, you will need to consider its weight and volume. The Olympus E-M1 comes with outer dimensions of 130mm x 94mm x 63mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.5") along with a weight of 497 grams (1.10 lbs) while the Panasonic FX48 has sizing of 95mm x 53mm x 22mm (3.7" x 2.1" x 0.9") having a weight of 150 grams (0.33 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-M1 and Panasonic FX48 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you are utilising at the time. The following is a front view measurement comparison of the E-M1 against the FX48.

Looking at size and weight, the portability grade of the E-M1 and FX48 is 71 and 95 respectively.

Generally, its hard to visualize the difference in sensor sizes just by researching technical specs. The picture below should give you a stronger sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-M1 and FX48.

As you can tell, the 2 cameras provide different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The E-M1 because of its bigger sensor is going to make getting shallow DOF simpler and the Olympus E-M1 will render greater detail due to its extra 4MP. Higher resolution will also enable you to crop shots more aggressively. The newer E-M1 provides an advantage with regard to sensor innovation.