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Olympus E-M5 vs Pentax WG-1 GPS

Portability
81
Imaging
52
Features
70
Overall
59
Olympus OM-D E-M5 front
 
Pentax Optio WG-1 GPS front
Portability
93
Imaging
37
Features
31
Overall
34

Olympus E-M5 vs Pentax WG-1 GPS 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
  • Refreshed by Olympus E-M5 II
Pentax WG-1 GPS
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Display
  • ISO 80 - 6400
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 28-140mm (F3.5-5.5) lens
  • 167g - 116 x 59 x 29mm
  • Revealed August 2011
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Olympus E-M5 vs Pentax WG-1 GPS Overview

Its time to examine more in depth at the Olympus E-M5 and Pentax WG-1 GPS, former is a Advanced Mirrorless while the other is a Waterproof by rivals Olympus and Pentax. The sensor resolution of the E-M5 (16MP) and the WG-1 GPS (14MP) is very comparable but the E-M5 (Four Thirds) and WG-1 GPS (1/2.3") use totally different sensor sizes.

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The E-M5 was introduced 9 months after the WG-1 GPS and they are of a similar age. Each of the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-M5 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Pentax WG-1 GPS being a Compact camera.

Before going straight into a detailed comparison, below is a concise summary of how the E-M5 grades vs the WG-1 GPS when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-M5 over the Pentax WG-1 GPS

 E-M5 WG-1 GPS 
RevealedApril 2012August 2011More modern by 9 months
Display typeTiltingFixed Tilting display
Display dimension3"2.7"Larger display (+0.3")
Display resolution610k230kSharper display (+380k dot)
Touch display Easily navigate

Reasons to pick Pentax WG-1 GPS over the Olympus E-M5

 WG-1 GPS E-M5 

Common features in the Olympus E-M5 and Pentax WG-1 GPS

 E-M5 WG-1 GPS 
Focus manually Very precise focus
Selfie screen Neither includes selfie screen

Olympus E-M5 vs Pentax WG-1 GPS Physical Comparison

For anyone who is intending to carry around your camera, you'll have to consider its weight and size. The Olympus E-M5 features external measurements of 122mm x 89mm x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") accompanied by a weight of 425 grams (0.94 lbs) whilst the Pentax WG-1 GPS has specifications of 116mm x 59mm x 29mm (4.6" x 2.3" x 1.1") with a weight of 167 grams (0.37 lbs).

See the Olympus E-M5 and Pentax WG-1 GPS in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you have at the time. Below is the front view scale comparison of the E-M5 compared to the WG-1 GPS.

Olympus E-M5 vs Pentax WG-1 GPS size comparison

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-M5 and WG-1 GPS is 81 and 93 respectively.

Olympus E-M5 vs Pentax WG-1 GPS top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-M5 vs Pentax WG-1 GPS Sensor Comparison

Sometimes, it's hard to visualise the difference in sensor sizes simply by checking out technical specs. The image here might give you a far better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-M5 and WG-1 GPS.

As you can tell, each of these cameras have got different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The E-M5 having a larger sensor will make shooting shallower depth of field simpler and the Olympus E-M5 will produce more detail using its extra 2MP. Greater resolution can also let you crop pics much more aggressively. The younger E-M5 is going to have an advantage with regard to sensor tech.

Olympus E-M5 vs Pentax WG-1 GPS sensor size comparison

Olympus E-M5 vs Pentax WG-1 GPS Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-M5 vs Pentax WG-1 GPS Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Portrait photography advice
Pentax WG-1 GPS Portrait photography advice
71
you can focus manually
good resolution (16 megapixels)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
provides face detect autofocus
exports RAW formats
35
manual focus
decent MP (14 megapixels)
manual exposure not available
can't use external flash
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
does not have RAW format
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Street photography advice
Pentax WG-1 GPS Street photography advice
82
screen tilts up and down
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
exports RAW formats
comes with touch to focus
weather sealing
good high ISO (25,600)
54
weather sealing
no moving screen
lack of image stabilization
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
does not have RAW format
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Sports Comparison

Sports photography with Olympus E-M5
Sports photography with Pentax WG-1 GPS
67
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
good resolution (16MP)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
provides tracking focus
weather sealing
lacks phase detect autofocus
37
decent MP (14 megapixels)
includes tracking autofocus
weather sealing
slow frames per second (1.0 frames per second)
no shutter priority mode
lack of image stabilization
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
does not have phase detect auto focus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-M5 as a Travel photography camera
Pentax WG-1 GPS as a Travel photography camera
66
weather sealing
comes with touch to focus
good resolution (16MP)
lack of Timelapse recording
display is not selfie friendly
71
weather sealing
decent MP (14 megapixels)
flash built-in
rather wide (28mm)
screen is not selfie friendly
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.5)
Photography Glossary

Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-M5 as a Landscape photography camera
Pentax WG-1 GPS as a Landscape photography camera
73
you can focus manually
interchangeable lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
screen is a good size (3 inch)
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
good resolution (16MP)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
good high ISO (25,600)
exports RAW formats
weather sealing
lack of Timelapse recording
42
manual focus
rather wide (28mm)
decent MP (14MP)
weather sealing
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.5)
small screen (2.7 inch)
manual exposure not available
lack of image stabilization
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
does not have RAW format
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-M5 as a Vlogging camera
Pentax WG-1 GPS as a Vlogging camera
34
touchscreen
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
provides face detect autofocus
video res high (1920 x 1080 pixels)
display is not selfie friendly
lack of microphone jack
25
rather wide (28mm)
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.5)
screen is not selfie friendly
lack of image stabilization
low res video (1280 x 720 pxls)
missing external microphone jack
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Olympus E-M5 vs Pentax WG-1 GPS Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-M5 and Pentax WG-1 GPS
 Olympus OM-D E-M5Pentax Optio WG-1 GPS
General Information
Make Olympus Pentax
Model type Olympus OM-D E-M5 Pentax Optio WG-1 GPS
Class Advanced Mirrorless Waterproof
Revealed 2012-04-30 2011-08-16
Body design SLR-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor Information
Powered by TruePic VI -
Sensor type CMOS CCD
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 16 megapixel 14 megapixel
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 -
Maximum resolution 4608 x 3456 4288 x 3216
Maximum native ISO 25600 6400
Min native ISO 200 80
RAW format
Min boosted ISO 100 -
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
Touch to focus
Continuous autofocus
Autofocus single
Autofocus tracking
Selective autofocus
Center weighted autofocus
Autofocus multi area
Autofocus live view
Face detection autofocus
Contract detection autofocus
Phase detection autofocus
Total focus points 35 9
Lens
Lens mount type Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 28-140mm (5.0x)
Maximum aperture - f/3.5-5.5
Macro focusing distance - 1cm
Number of lenses 107 -
Crop factor 2.1 5.8
Screen
Range of screen Tilting Fixed Type
Screen diagonal 3 inch 2.7 inch
Screen resolution 610 thousand dot 230 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch functionality
Screen tech Touch control in electrostatic capacitance type OLED monitor TFT color LCD with Anti-reflective coating
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic None
Viewfinder resolution 1,440 thousand dot -
Viewfinder coverage 100% -
Viewfinder magnification 0.58x -
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60s 4s
Highest shutter speed 1/4000s 1/1500s
Continuous shooting speed 9.0fps 1.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual exposure
Exposure compensation Yes -
Set white balance
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash distance no built-in flash 3.90 m
Flash options Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync (2), Manual (3 levels) Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Soft
External flash
Auto exposure bracketing
White balance bracketing
Highest flash sync 1/250s -
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
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, 15 fps), 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 240 (30, 15 fps)
Maximum video resolution 1920x1080 1280x720
Video file format H.264, Motion JPEG Motion JPEG
Microphone input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless Eye-Fi Connected Eye-Fi Connected
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None BuiltIn
Physical
Environment seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 425 gr (0.94 lbs) 167 gr (0.37 lbs)
Dimensions 122 x 89 x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") 116 x 59 x 29mm (4.6" x 2.3" x 1.1")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating 71 not tested
DXO Color Depth rating 22.8 not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating 12.3 not tested
DXO Low light rating 826 not tested
Other
Battery life 360 pictures 260 pictures
Form of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID BLN-1 D-LI92
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse feature
Storage media SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/SDXC card, Internal
Storage slots One One
Price at launch $799 $350