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Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic FZ1000

Portability
81
Imaging
52
Features
70
Overall
59
Olympus OM-D E-M5 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000 front
Portability
55
Imaging
52
Features
80
Overall
63

Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic FZ1000 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
  • Revealed April 2012
  • New Model is Olympus E-M5 II
Panasonic FZ1000
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - 1" Sensor
  • 3" Fully Articulated Screen
  • ISO 125 - 12800 (Boost to 25600)
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • 25-400mm (F2.8-4.0) lens
  • 831g - 137 x 99 x 131mm
  • Revealed June 2014
  • Later Model is Panasonic FZ2500
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Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic FZ1000 Overview

On this page, we will be analyzing the Olympus E-M5 versus Panasonic FZ1000, former being a Advanced Mirrorless while the latter is a Large Sensor Superzoom by brands Olympus and Panasonic. The image resolution of the E-M5 (16MP) and the FZ1000 (20MP) is pretty close but the E-M5 (Four Thirds) and FZ1000 (1") posses different sensor measurements.

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The E-M5 was introduced 3 years before the FZ1000 and that is a fairly serious difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Each of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-M5 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic FZ1000 being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before getting straight to a comprehensive comparison, here is a concise view of how the E-M5 grades versus the FZ1000 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-M5 over the Panasonic FZ1000

 E-M5 FZ1000 
Touch friendly screen Quickly navigate

Reasons to pick Panasonic FZ1000 over the Olympus E-M5

 FZ1000 E-M5 
RevealedJune 2014April 2012More recent by 25 months
Screen typeFully ArticulatedTiltingFully Articulating screen
Screen resolution921k610kCrisper screen (+311k dot)
Selfie screen Take selfies

Common features in the Olympus E-M5 and Panasonic FZ1000

 E-M5 FZ1000 
Manual focus More accurate focus
Screen dimensions3"3"Equal screen measurements

Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic FZ1000 Physical Comparison

For anybody who is going to lug around your camera regularly, you need to factor in its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-M5 offers outer dimensions of 122mm x 89mm x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") along with a weight of 425 grams (0.94 lbs) whilst the Panasonic FZ1000 has proportions of 137mm x 99mm x 131mm (5.4" x 3.9" x 5.2") with a weight of 831 grams (1.83 lbs).

Look at the Olympus E-M5 versus Panasonic FZ1000 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Always remember, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you are utilising during that time. Following is a front view measurements comparison of the E-M5 compared to the FZ1000.

Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic FZ1000 size comparison

Taking into account size and weight, the portability score of the E-M5 and FZ1000 is 81 and 55 respectively.

Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic FZ1000 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic FZ1000 Sensor Comparison

Generally, its hard to imagine the contrast in sensor measurements merely by researching specs. The photograph here may give you a clearer sense of the sensor sizes in the E-M5 and FZ1000.

All in all, both the cameras provide different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-M5 with its bigger sensor is going to make achieving bokeh less difficult and the Panasonic FZ1000 will provide you with extra detail using its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will allow you to crop shots more aggressively. The older E-M5 will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor innovation.

Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic FZ1000 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic FZ1000 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic FZ1000 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Portrait photography advice
Panasonic FZ1000 Portrait photography advice
71
focusing manually
MP count good (16MP)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
offers face detect focus
saves RAW formats
71
has manual focus
megapixel count good (20 megapixels)
sensor size is decent (1")
offers face detection focusing
supports RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-M5 as a Street photography camera
Panasonic FZ1000 as a Street photography camera
82
screen tilts
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
supports focus via touch
weather sealing
very good ISO range (25,600)
71
screen articulates
image stabilization (Optical)
sensor size is decent (1")
supports RAW formats
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Sports photography info
Panasonic FZ1000 Sports photography info
67
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
MP count good (16MP)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
offers tracking focus
weather sealing
doesn't have phase detect auto focus
67
excellent zoom range (25-400mm 16.0 x zoom)
image stabilization (Optical)
megapixel count good (20 megapixels)
sensor size is decent (1")
offers tracking autofocus
no phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-M5 as a Travel photography camera
Panasonic FZ1000 as a Travel photography camera
66
weather sealing
supports focus via touch
MP count good (16MP)
missing Timelapse mode
display is not selfie friendly
65
megapixel count good (20 megapixels)
built-in flash
selfie friendly screen
relatively wide (25mm)
very long reach (400mm)
sluggish max aperture (f2.8)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Landscape photography highlights
Panasonic FZ1000 Landscape photography highlights
73
focusing manually
interchangeable lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
pretty good screen size (3 inches)
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
MP count good (16 megapixels)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
very good ISO range (25,600)
saves RAW formats
weather sealing
missing Timelapse mode
65
has manual focus
relatively wide (25mm)
screen size is good (3")
image stabilization (Optical)
megapixel count good (20 megapixels)
sensor size is decent (1")
supports RAW formats
can't change lens (fixed lens mount)
sluggish max aperture (f2.8)
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Olympus E-M5
Vlogging with Panasonic FZ1000
34
touch screen
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
offers face detect focus
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 pixels)
display is not selfie friendly
missing microphone port
66
relatively wide (25mm)
selfie friendly screen
image stabilization (Optical)
offers face detection focusing
video res high (3840 x 2160 pixels)
comes with external microphone port
sluggish max aperture (f2.8)
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Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic FZ1000 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-M5 and Panasonic FZ1000
 Olympus OM-D E-M5Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000
General Information
Brand Name Olympus Panasonic
Model type Olympus OM-D E-M5 Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000
Type Advanced Mirrorless Large Sensor Superzoom
Revealed 2012-04-30 2014-06-12
Body design SLR-style mirrorless SLR-like (bridge)
Sensor Information
Chip TruePic VI Venus Engine
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds 1"
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 13.2 x 8.8mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 116.2mm²
Sensor resolution 16MP 20MP
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Max resolution 4608 x 3456 5472 x 3648
Max native ISO 25600 12800
Max enhanced ISO - 25600
Min native ISO 200 125
RAW images
Min enhanced ISO 100 80
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch to focus
Autofocus continuous
Autofocus single
Autofocus tracking
Autofocus selectice
Autofocus center weighted
Multi area autofocus
Live view autofocus
Face detect autofocus
Contract detect autofocus
Phase detect autofocus
Total focus points 35 49
Lens
Lens mount type Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 25-400mm (16.0x)
Max aperture - f/2.8-4.0
Macro focusing distance - 3cm
Amount of lenses 107 -
Focal length multiplier 2.1 2.7
Screen
Display type Tilting Fully Articulated
Display sizing 3" 3"
Resolution of display 610k dot 921k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch operation
Display tech Touch control in electrostatic capacitance type OLED monitor -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic Electronic
Viewfinder resolution 1,440k dot 2,359k dot
Viewfinder coverage 100 percent 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification 0.58x 0.7x
Features
Min shutter speed 60s 60s
Max shutter speed 1/4000s 1/4000s
Continuous shutter speed 9.0 frames/s 12.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Change white balance
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash distance no built-in flash 13.50 m (at Auto ISO)
Flash settings Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync (2), Manual (3 levels) Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Forced On/Red-eye Reduction, Slow Sync, Slow Sync/Red-eye Reduction, Forced Off
External flash
Auto exposure bracketing
WB bracketing
Max flash sync 1/250s -
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1280 x 720 (60, 30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 3840x2160 (30p), 1920 x 1080 (60p, 60i, 30p, 24p) 1280x720 (30p), 640 x 480 (30p)
Max video resolution 1920x1080 3840x2160
Video file format H.264, Motion JPEG MPEG-4, AVCHD
Microphone jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless Eye-Fi Connected Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 425 gr (0.94 pounds) 831 gr (1.83 pounds)
Physical dimensions 122 x 89 x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") 137 x 99 x 131mm (5.4" x 3.9" x 5.2")
DXO scores
DXO Overall rating 71 64
DXO Color Depth rating 22.8 22.1
DXO Dynamic range rating 12.3 11.7
DXO Low light rating 826 517
Other
Battery life 360 images 360 images
Type of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID BLN-1 DMW-BLC12PP
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes
Time lapse shooting
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC -
Storage slots One One
Price at release $799 $800