Olympus E-PL1 vs Panasonic F5

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.

Photography Glossary

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.

The following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus PEN E-PL1 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-F5. The entire galleries are viewable at Olympus E-PL1 Gallery & Panasonic F5 Gallery.

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.

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.

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

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.