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Olympus E-PL1 vs Panasonic F5

Portability
86
Imaging
47
Features
43
Overall
45
Olympus PEN E-PL1 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-F5 front
Portability
96
Imaging
38
Features
23
Overall
32

Olympus E-PL1 vs Panasonic F5 Key Specs

Olympus E-PL1
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 3200
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 334g - 115 x 72 x 42mm
  • Revealed May 2010
  • Renewed by Olympus E-PL1s
Panasonic F5
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 6400
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 28-140mm (F3.2-6.5) lens
  • 121g - 97 x 58 x 22mm
  • Released January 2013
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Olympus E-PL1 vs Panasonic F5 Overview

Below is a thorough overview of the Olympus E-PL1 vs Panasonic F5, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Small Sensor Compact by rivals Olympus and Panasonic. The sensor resolution of the E-PL1 (12MP) and the F5 (14MP) is fairly close but the E-PL1 (Four Thirds) and F5 (1/2.3") come with totally different sensor sizing.

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The E-PL1 was brought out 3 years earlier than the F5 and that is a fairly large difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of these cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-PL1 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic F5 being a Compact camera.

Before going through a in-depth comparison, below is a short view of how the E-PL1 grades against the F5 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Photography Glossary
	
	

Reasons to pick Olympus E-PL1 over the Panasonic F5

 E-PL1 F5 
Manually focus Very exact focusing

Reasons to pick Panasonic F5 over the Olympus E-PL1

 F5 E-PL1 
ReleasedJanuary 2013May 2010More recent by 32 months

Common features in the Olympus E-PL1 and Panasonic F5

 E-PL1 F5 
Display typeFixed Fixed Fixed display
Display dimension2.7"2.7"Identical display measurement
Display resolution230k230kIdentical display resolution
Selfie screen Absent selfie screen
Touch display Absent Touch display

Olympus E-PL1 vs Panasonic F5 Physical Comparison

For anybody who is aiming to lug around your camera, you're going to have to factor its weight and size. The Olympus E-PL1 has outer dimensions of 115mm x 72mm x 42mm (4.5" x 2.8" x 1.7") having a weight of 334 grams (0.74 lbs) and the Panasonic F5 has specifications of 97mm x 58mm x 22mm (3.8" x 2.3" x 0.9") accompanied by a weight of 121 grams (0.27 lbs).

Look at the Olympus E-PL1 vs Panasonic F5 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you have chosen at that moment. Here is the front view overall size comparison of the E-PL1 compared to the F5.

Olympus E-PL1 vs Panasonic F5 size comparison

Using dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-PL1 and F5 is 86 and 96 respectively.

Olympus E-PL1 vs Panasonic F5 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-PL1 vs Panasonic F5 Sensor Comparison

More often than not, it's difficult to see the contrast in sensor measurements just by researching technical specs. The visual here will give you a better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-PL1 and F5.

As you have seen, both the cameras have got different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The E-PL1 featuring a larger sensor will make getting shallower depth of field easier and the Panasonic F5 will result in more detail having its extra 2 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also enable you to crop photos much more aggressively. The older E-PL1 will be behind in sensor technology.

Olympus E-PL1 vs Panasonic F5 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-PL1 vs Panasonic F5 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-PL1 vs Panasonic F5 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-PL1 Portrait photography info
Panasonic F5 Portrait photography info
60
you can focus manually
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
provides face detection focus
exports RAW formats
megapixel count low (12 megapixels)
29
resolution is good (14 megapixels)
no manual focus
manual mode not available
can't use external flash
sensor is small (1/2.3")
lack of RAW format
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-PL1 as a Street photography camera
Panasonic F5 as a Street photography camera
74
image stabilization (Sensor based)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
exports RAW formats
no moving screen
56
lighter than competition in class (121 grams)
no moving screen
lack of image stabilization
sensor is small (1/2.3")
lack of RAW format
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-PL1 Sports photography info
Panasonic F5 Sports photography info
44
image stabilization (Sensor based)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
provides tracking autofocus
low fps (3.0 fps)
megapixel count low (12 megapixels)
terrible battery power (290 shots)
no phase detect auto focus
33
resolution is good (14 megapixels)
provides tracking autofocus
max frames per second low (1.0 frames per second)
lack of shutter priority mode
lack of image stabilization
sensor is small (1/2.3")
lack of phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-PL1 Travel photography information
Panasonic F5 Travel photography information
51
built-in flash
does not have Timelapse recording
terrible battery power (290 per charge)
megapixel count low (12 megapixels)
doesn't posses selfie friendly screen
68
lighter than competition in class (121 grams)
resolution is good (14MP)
flash built-in
relatively wide (28mm)
lack of Timelapse function
does not posses selfie friendly display
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.2)
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Olympus E-PL1
Landscape photography with Panasonic F5
55
you can focus manually
swap lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
exports RAW formats
tiny screen (2.7")
megapixel count low (12MP)
terrible battery power (290 per charge)
does not have Timelapse recording
33
relatively wide (28mm)
resolution is good (14MP)
no manual focus
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.2)
screen is somewhat small (2.7 inches)
manual mode not available
lack of image stabilization
sensor is small (1/2.3")
lack of RAW format
lack of Timelapse function
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-PL1 as a Vlogging camera
Panasonic F5 as a Vlogging camera
29
image stabilization (Sensor based)
provides face detection focus
doesn't posses selfie friendly screen
video quality not great (1280 x 720 pxls)
does not have external microphone support
28
relatively wide (28mm)
lighter than competition in class (121g)
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.2)
does not posses selfie friendly display
lack of image stabilization
video quality not great (1280 x 720 resolution)
lack of external microphone socket
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Olympus E-PL1 vs Panasonic F5 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-PL1 and Panasonic F5
 Olympus PEN E-PL1Panasonic Lumix DMC-F5
General Information
Company Olympus Panasonic
Model type Olympus PEN E-PL1 Panasonic Lumix DMC-F5
Category Entry-Level Mirrorless Small Sensor Compact
Revealed 2010-05-17 2013-01-07
Physical type Rangefinder-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor Information
Powered by Truepic V -
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 12 megapixels 14 megapixels
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 -
Peak resolution 4032 x 3024 4320 x 3240
Highest native ISO 3200 6400
Min native ISO 100 100
RAW support
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
AF touch
Continuous AF
AF single
AF tracking
Selective AF
AF center weighted
AF multi area
AF live view
Face detect focusing
Contract detect focusing
Phase detect focusing
Total focus points 11 -
Cross type focus points - -
Lens
Lens mount type Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 28-140mm (5.0x)
Largest aperture - f/3.2-6.5
Macro focusing range - 5cm
Number of lenses 107 -
Focal length multiplier 2.1 5.9
Screen
Type of display Fixed Type Fixed Type
Display size 2.7" 2.7"
Resolution of display 230 thousand dots 230 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch function
Display tech HyperCrystal LCD AR (Anti-Reflective) coating TFT LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic (optional) None
Features
Min shutter speed 60s 8s
Max shutter speed 1/2000s 1/2000s
Continuous shutter rate 3.0 frames/s 1.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes -
Custom WB
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash distance 10.00 m 5.70 m
Flash options Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync, Manual (3 levels) Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow Syncro
Hot shoe
AEB
White balance bracketing
Max flash synchronize 1/160s -
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Highest video resolution 1280x720 1280x720
Video file format Motion JPEG Motion JPEG
Microphone port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless None None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 334g (0.74 lb) 121g (0.27 lb)
Dimensions 115 x 72 x 42mm (4.5" x 2.8" x 1.7") 97 x 58 x 22mm (3.8" x 2.3" x 0.9")
DXO scores
DXO Overall rating 54 not tested
DXO Color Depth rating 21.5 not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating 10.1 not tested
DXO Low light rating 487 not tested
Other
Battery life 290 photographs 250 photographs
Battery type Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID BLS-1 -
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse recording
Storage type SD/SDHC card SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal
Card slots One One
Retail cost $288 $100