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Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic FX48

Portability
81
Imaging
52
Features
70
Overall
59
Olympus OM-D E-M5 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX48 front
Portability
95
Imaging
35
Features
21
Overall
29

Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic FX48 Key Specs

Olympus E-M5
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Display
  • ISO 200 - 25600
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 425g - 122 x 89 x 43mm
  • Introduced April 2012
  • Refreshed by Olympus E-M5 II
Panasonic FX48
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 2.5" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 80 - 3200 (Raise to 6400)
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 640 x 480 video
  • 25-125mm (F2.8-5.9) lens
  • 150g - 95 x 53 x 22mm
  • Launched January 2009
  • Alternative Name is Lumix DMC-FX40
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Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic FX48 Overview

Its time to look more closely at the Olympus E-M5 and Panasonic FX48, former is a Advanced Mirrorless while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by companies Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a substantial gap between the sensor resolutions of the E-M5 (16MP) and FX48 (12MP) and the E-M5 (Four Thirds) and FX48 (1/2.3") have different sensor sizing.

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The E-M5 was introduced 3 years after the FX48 which is quite a big difference as far as technology is concerned. Both cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-M5 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic FX48 being a Compact camera.

Before delving straight to a thorough comparison, here is a simple view of how the E-M5 grades versus the FX48 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-M5 over the Panasonic FX48

 E-M5 FX48 
LaunchedApril 2012January 2009More modern by 40 months
Manually focus Very precise focus
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen dimensions3"2.5"Bigger screen (+0.5")
Screen resolution610k230kClearer screen (+380k dot)
Touch friendly screen Quickly navigate

Reasons to pick Panasonic FX48 over the Olympus E-M5

 FX48 E-M5 

Common features in the Olympus E-M5 and Panasonic FX48

 E-M5 FX48 
Selfie screen Neither comes with selfie screen

Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic FX48 Physical Comparison

For anyone who is going to carry around your camera often, you are going to need to factor in its weight and volume. The Olympus E-M5 comes with outer measurements of 122mm x 89mm x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") with a weight of 425 grams (0.94 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).

Contrast the Olympus E-M5 and Panasonic FX48 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Don't forget, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you are using during that time. Underneath is a front view measurements comparison of the E-M5 vs the FX48.

Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic FX48 size comparison

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-M5 and FX48 is 81 and 95 respectively.

Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic FX48 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic FX48 Sensor Comparison

Sometimes, it is hard to visualize the difference between sensor sizes purely by reading through specs. The image underneath may provide you a much better sense of the sensor sizing in the E-M5 and FX48.

As you can plainly see, each of these cameras provide different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The E-M5 using its bigger sensor is going to make getting shallow DOF less difficult and the Olympus E-M5 will give greater detail using its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will enable you to crop pictures more aggressively. The younger E-M5 should have an edge when it comes to sensor tech.

Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic FX48 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic FX48 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic FX48 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Portrait photography advice
Panasonic FX48 Portrait photography advice
71
focusing manually
MP count good (16 megapixels)
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
has face detection focusing
delivers RAW formats
27
includes face detection autofocus
manual focus not available
no external flash support
low resolution (12 megapixels)
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW support
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Street photography information
Panasonic FX48 Street photography information
82
tilting screen
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW formats
features focus by touch
weather proofing
above average high ISO (25,600)
57
has image stabilization (Optical)
fixed screen
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW support
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Sports photography features
Panasonic FX48 Sports photography features
67
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
MP count good (16MP)
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
has tracking autofocus
weather proofing
lack of phase detect AF
25
has image stabilization (Optical)
very slow continuous shooting (2.0 frames/s)
lack of shutter priority mode
low resolution (12MP)
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
doesn't have phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Olympus E-M5
Travel photography with Panasonic FX48
66
weather proofing
features focus by touch
MP count good (16MP)
does not have Timelapse mode
display is not selfie friendly
58
has built in flash
quite wide (25mm)
does not have Timelapse function
low resolution (12MP)
display isn't selfie friendly
somewhat slow max aperture (f2.8)
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Olympus E-M5
Landscape photography with Panasonic FX48
73
focusing manually
switch lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
pretty good screen size (3 inch)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
MP count good (16 megapixels)
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
above average high ISO (25,600)
delivers RAW formats
weather proofing
does not have Timelapse mode
33
quite wide (25mm)
has image stabilization (Optical)
manual focus not available
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow max aperture (f2.8)
screen is small (2.5 inches)
low resolution (12MP)
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW support
does not have Timelapse function
Photography Glossary

Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Olympus E-M5
Vlogging with Panasonic FX48
34
touch screen
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
has face detection focusing
high res video (1920 x 1080 pxls)
display is not selfie friendly
does not have external microphone socket
31
quite wide (25mm)
has image stabilization (Optical)
includes face detection autofocus
somewhat slow max aperture (f2.8)
display isn't selfie friendly
low res video (640 x 480 pxls)
does not have external microphone jack
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Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic FX48 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-M5 and Panasonic FX48
 Olympus OM-D E-M5Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX48
General Information
Make Olympus Panasonic
Model Olympus OM-D E-M5 Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX48
Alternate name - Lumix DMC-FX40
Type Advanced Mirrorless Small Sensor Compact
Introduced 2012-04-30 2009-01-27
Body design SLR-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor Information
Chip TruePic VI -
Sensor type CMOS 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 16 megapixel 12 megapixel
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Full resolution 4608 x 3456 4000 x 3000
Max native ISO 25600 3200
Max boosted ISO - 6400
Min native ISO 200 80
RAW support
Min boosted ISO 100 -
Autofocusing
Manual focus
AF touch
Continuous AF
AF single
AF tracking
Selective AF
AF center weighted
AF multi area
AF live view
Face detect AF
Contract detect AF
Phase detect AF
Number of focus points 35 11
Lens
Lens mounting type Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens focal range - 25-125mm (5.0x)
Max aperture - f/2.8-5.9
Macro focus distance - 5cm
Amount of lenses 107 -
Focal length multiplier 2.1 5.9
Screen
Range of display Tilting Fixed Type
Display size 3" 2.5"
Resolution of display 610k dot 230k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch functionality
Display tech Touch control in electrostatic capacitance type OLED monitor -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Electronic None
Viewfinder resolution 1,440k dot -
Viewfinder coverage 100 percent -
Viewfinder magnification 0.58x -
Features
Slowest shutter speed 60 secs 60 secs
Maximum shutter speed 1/4000 secs 1/3000 secs
Continuous shooting speed 9.0 frames/s 2.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Change WB
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash range no built-in flash 6.00 m
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync (2), Manual (3 levels) Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye reduction, Slow Sync
External flash
AEB
White balance bracketing
Maximum flash sync 1/250 secs -
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1280 x 720 (60, 30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 848 x 480 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps)
Max video resolution 1920x1080 640x480
Video file format H.264, Motion JPEG Motion JPEG
Microphone input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless Eye-Fi Connected None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 425 grams (0.94 lbs) 150 grams (0.33 lbs)
Physical dimensions 122 x 89 x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") 95 x 53 x 22mm (3.7" x 2.1" x 0.9")
DXO scores
DXO All around score 71 not tested
DXO Color Depth score 22.8 not tested
DXO Dynamic range score 12.3 not tested
DXO Low light score 826 not tested
Other
Battery life 360 photographs -
Form of battery Battery Pack -
Battery model BLN-1 -
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse shooting
Storage media SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/MMC/SDHC card, Internal
Storage slots 1 1
Retail price $799 $325