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Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic GF1

Portability
81
Imaging
52
Features
70
Overall
59
Olympus OM-D E-M5 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 front
Portability
85
Imaging
47
Features
47
Overall
47

Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic GF1 Key Specs

Olympus E-M5
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • 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
  • Later Model is Olympus E-M5 II
Panasonic GF1
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 3200
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 385g - 119 x 71 x 36mm
  • Released October 2009
  • Updated by Panasonic GF2
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Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic GF1 Overview

Let's take a more detailed look at the Olympus E-M5 versus Panasonic GF1, one being a Advanced Mirrorless and the other is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by rivals Olympus and Panasonic. There is a crucial difference between the sensor resolutions of the E-M5 (16MP) and GF1 (12MP) but they come with the exact same sensor size (Four Thirds).

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The E-M5 was brought out 2 years later than the GF1 and that is quite a serious gap as far as tech is concerned. Both the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-M5 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic GF1 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before going straight into a step-by-step comparison, below is a concise highlight of how the E-M5 grades versus the GF1 for portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Photography Glossary
	
	

Reasons to pick Olympus E-M5 over the Panasonic GF1

 E-M5 GF1 
ReleasedApril 2012October 2009More recent by 31 months
Display typeTiltingFixed Tilting display
Display resolution610k460kClearer display (+150k dot)
Touch friendly display Easily navigate

Reasons to pick Panasonic GF1 over the Olympus E-M5

 GF1 E-M5 

Common features in the Olympus E-M5 and Panasonic GF1

 E-M5 GF1 
Focus manually More precise focusing
Display dimension3"3"Identical display size
Selfie screen Missing selfie screen

Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic GF1 Physical Comparison

For those who are planning to lug around your camera, you have to think about its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-M5 enjoys outside dimensions of 122mm x 89mm x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") with a weight of 425 grams (0.94 lbs) and the Panasonic GF1 has proportions of 119mm x 71mm x 36mm (4.7" x 2.8" x 1.4") accompanied by a weight of 385 grams (0.85 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-M5 versus Panasonic GF1 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change depending on the lens you have chosen at the time. Here is the front view measurement comparison of the E-M5 vs the GF1.

Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic GF1 size comparison

Taking into account size and weight, the portability rating of the E-M5 and GF1 is 81 and 85 respectively.

Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic GF1 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic GF1 Sensor Comparison

Oftentimes, it's tough to see the contrast between sensor measurements only by going over a spec sheet. The photograph below may offer you a stronger sense of the sensor sizes in the E-M5 and GF1.

Clearly, the 2 cameras posses the exact same sensor measurements but not the same megapixels. You should expect to see the Olympus E-M5 to offer greater detail having its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also help you crop photos somewhat more aggressively. The more recent E-M5 will have an edge in sensor innovation.

Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic GF1 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic GF1 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic GF1 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Portrait photography highlights
Panasonic GF1 Portrait photography highlights
71
you can focus manually
MP count good (16MP)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
provides face detection autofocus
exports RAW files
60
focusing manually
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
offers face detection focus
exports RAW formats
sensor resolution not great (12 megapixels)
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Olympus E-M5
Street photography with Panasonic GF1
82
screen tilts up and down
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
exports RAW files
offers touch to focus
weather proofing
very good high ISO (25,600)
64
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
exports RAW formats
no moving screen
no image stabilization
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Sports photography info
Panasonic GF1 Sports photography info
67
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
MP count good (16MP)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
provides tracking autofocus
weather proofing
lacks phase detect autofocus
44
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
offers tracking autofocus
good battery power (380 per charge)
continuous shooting slow (3.0 fps)
no image stabilization
sensor resolution not great (12 megapixels)
has no phase detect auto focus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Travel photography information
Panasonic GF1 Travel photography information
66
weather proofing
offers touch to focus
MP count good (16MP)
no Time Lapse mode
doesn't feature selfie friendly display
59
good battery power (380 CIPA)
built-in flash
missing Time Lapse recording
sensor resolution not great (12 megapixels)
doesn't feature selfie friendly screen
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-M5 as a Landscape photography camera
Panasonic GF1 as a Landscape photography camera
73
you can focus manually
interchangeable lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
nice screen size (3 inch)
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
MP count good (16MP)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
very good high ISO (25,600)
exports RAW files
weather proofing
no Time Lapse mode
60
focusing manually
change lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
nice screen size (3 inches)
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
exports RAW formats
good battery power (380 per charge)
no image stabilization
sensor resolution not great (12MP)
missing Time Lapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Vlogging highlights
Panasonic GF1 Vlogging highlights
34
touchscreen
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
provides face detection autofocus
video res high (1920 x 1080 pxls)
doesn't feature selfie friendly display
no external mic port
25
offers face detection focus
doesn't feature selfie friendly screen
no image stabilization
video resolution low (1280 x 720 pixels)
missing external mic port
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Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic GF1 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-M5 and Panasonic GF1
 Olympus OM-D E-M5Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1
General Information
Make Olympus Panasonic
Model type Olympus OM-D E-M5 Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1
Category Advanced Mirrorless Entry-Level Mirrorless
Revealed 2012-04-30 2009-10-14
Body design SLR-style mirrorless Rangefinder-style mirrorless
Sensor Information
Powered by TruePic VI Venus Engine HD
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds Four Thirds
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 17.3 x 13mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 224.9mm²
Sensor resolution 16 megapixel 12 megapixel
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Full resolution 4608 x 3456 4000 x 3000
Max native ISO 25600 3200
Lowest native ISO 200 100
RAW support
Lowest boosted ISO 100 -
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
AF touch
AF continuous
AF single
Tracking AF
Selective AF
Center weighted AF
Multi area AF
AF live view
Face detection AF
Contract detection AF
Phase detection AF
Total focus points 35 23
Lens
Lens support Micro Four Thirds Micro Four Thirds
Number of lenses 107 107
Crop factor 2.1 2.1
Screen
Range of screen Tilting Fixed Type
Screen diagonal 3 inch 3 inch
Resolution of screen 610 thousand dot 460 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch function
Screen technology Touch control in electrostatic capacitance type OLED monitor TFT Color LCD with wide-viewing angle
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic None
Viewfinder resolution 1,440 thousand dot -
Viewfinder coverage 100% -
Viewfinder magnification 0.58x -
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60 seconds 60 seconds
Highest shutter speed 1/4000 seconds 1/4000 seconds
Continuous shooting speed 9.0fps 3.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Set WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash distance no built-in flash 6.00 m
Flash settings Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync (2), Manual (3 levels) Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync
Hot shoe
Auto exposure bracketing
WB bracketing
Highest flash sync 1/250 seconds 1/160 seconds
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1280 x 720 (60, 30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 848 x 480 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps)
Max video resolution 1920x1080 1280x720
Video data format H.264, Motion JPEG AVCHD Lite
Mic jack
Headphone jack
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
Environment seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 425 grams (0.94 lb) 385 grams (0.85 lb)
Dimensions 122 x 89 x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") 119 x 71 x 36mm (4.7" x 2.8" x 1.4")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating 71 54
DXO Color Depth rating 22.8 21.2
DXO Dynamic range rating 12.3 10.3
DXO Low light rating 826 513
Other
Battery life 360 photos 380 photos
Battery form Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID BLN-1 -
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec, 10 sec (3 images))
Time lapse shooting
Storage media SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/MMC
Storage slots One One
Pricing at launch $799 $400