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Olympus E-PL3 vs Panasonic F5

Portability
88
Imaging
48
Features
52
Overall
49
Olympus PEN E-PL3 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-F5 front
Portability
96
Imaging
38
Features
23
Overall
32

Olympus E-PL3 vs Panasonic F5 Key Specs

Olympus E-PL3
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 200 - 12800
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 313g - 110 x 64 x 37mm
  • Announced September 2011
  • Older Model is Olympus E-PL2
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
  • Launched January 2013
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Olympus E-PL3 vs Panasonic F5 Overview

In this article, we are reviewing the Olympus E-PL3 and Panasonic F5, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Small Sensor Compact by manufacturers Olympus and Panasonic. The image resolution of the E-PL3 (12MP) and the F5 (14MP) is fairly comparable but the E-PL3 (Four Thirds) and F5 (1/2.3") use totally different sensor measurements.

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The E-PL3 was brought out 15 months earlier than the F5 making the cameras a generation apart from one another. The two cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-PL3 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic F5 being a Compact camera.

Before we go straight into a step-by-step comparison, below is a short highlight of how the E-PL3 matches up versus the F5 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-PL3 over the Panasonic F5

 E-PL3 F5 
Manually focus More accurate focusing
Display typeTiltingFixed Tilting display
Display sizing3"2.7"Larger display (+0.3")
Display resolution460k230kClearer display (+230k dot)

Reasons to pick Panasonic F5 over the Olympus E-PL3

 F5 E-PL3 
LaunchedJanuary 2013September 2011More recent by 15 months

Common features in the Olympus E-PL3 and Panasonic F5

 E-PL3 F5 
Selfie screen Neither offers selfie screen
Touch display Neither offers Touch display

Olympus E-PL3 vs Panasonic F5 Physical Comparison

For anybody who is intending to lug around your camera regularly, you will want to take into account its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-PL3 offers outside dimensions of 110mm x 64mm x 37mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.5") accompanied by a weight of 313 grams (0.69 lbs) while the Panasonic F5 has dimensions of 97mm x 58mm x 22mm (3.8" x 2.3" x 0.9") with a weight of 121 grams (0.27 lbs).

Check the Olympus E-PL3 and Panasonic F5 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you select at that time. Below is the front view size comparison of the E-PL3 and the F5.

Olympus E-PL3 vs Panasonic F5 size comparison

Using dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-PL3 and F5 is 88 and 96 respectively.

Olympus E-PL3 vs Panasonic F5 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-PL3 vs Panasonic F5 Sensor Comparison

More often than not, it's hard to envision the gap in sensor measurements merely by going through technical specs. The photograph here should give you a stronger sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-PL3 and F5.

As you have seen, both of the cameras offer different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-PL3 due to its larger sensor will make getting shallow depth of field simpler and the Panasonic F5 will produce more detail having its extra 2MP. Greater resolution can also allow you to crop images a little more aggressively. The older E-PL3 will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor technology.

Olympus E-PL3 vs Panasonic F5 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-PL3 vs Panasonic F5 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-PL3 vs Panasonic F5 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-PL3 Portrait photography details
Panasonic F5 Portrait photography details
60
focusing manually
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
has face detect focusing
exports RAW files
MP count low (12MP)
29
sensor resolution is decent (14MP)
focusing manually not possible
lack of manual exposure
no external flash support
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
no RAW support
Photography Glossary

Street Comparison

Street photography with Olympus E-PL3
Street photography with Panasonic F5
84
screen tilts up and down
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
exports RAW files
56
lighter than competition in class (121g)
screen does not articulate
does not have image stabilization
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
no RAW support
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Sports Comparison

Sports photography with Olympus E-PL3
Sports photography with Panasonic F5
45
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
has tracking focus
painfully slow continuous shooting (6.0 fps)
MP count low (12 megapixels)
not so great battery power (300 per charge)
no phase detect AF
33
sensor resolution is decent (14MP)
offers tracking autofocus
slow fps (1.0 frames per second)
no shutter priority mode
does not have image stabilization
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
no phase detect auto focus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-PL3 as a Travel photography camera
Panasonic F5 as a Travel photography camera
44
doesn't have Time Lapse mode
not so great battery power (300 CIPA)
MP count low (12MP)
doesn't offer selfie friendly screen
68
lighter than competition in class (121 grams)
sensor resolution is decent (14MP)
has built in flash
pretty wide (28mm)
lack of Timelapse recording
screen is not selfie friendly
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.2)
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Olympus E-PL3
Landscape photography with Panasonic F5
61
focusing manually
change lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
screen size is good (3")
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
exports RAW files
MP count low (12 megapixels)
not so great battery power (300 shots)
doesn't have Time Lapse mode
33
pretty wide (28mm)
sensor resolution is decent (14MP)
focusing manually not possible
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.2)
screen is small (2.7")
lack of manual exposure
does not have image stabilization
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
no RAW support
lack of Timelapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-PL3 Vlogging features
Panasonic F5 Vlogging features
34
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
has face detect focusing
high res video (1920 x 1080 pixels)
doesn't offer selfie friendly screen
doesn't have mic socket
28
pretty wide (28mm)
lighter than competition in class (121 grams)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.2)
screen is not selfie friendly
does not have image stabilization
video quality not great (1280 x 720 pixels)
lack of external microphone port
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Olympus E-PL3 vs Panasonic F5 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-PL3 and Panasonic F5
 Olympus PEN E-PL3Panasonic Lumix DMC-F5
General Information
Company Olympus Panasonic
Model type Olympus PEN E-PL3 Panasonic Lumix DMC-F5
Category Entry-Level Mirrorless Small Sensor Compact
Announced 2011-09-20 2013-01-07
Body design Rangefinder-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor Information
Chip Truepic VI -
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 -
Full resolution 4032 x 3024 4320 x 3240
Max native ISO 12800 6400
Lowest native ISO 200 100
RAW support
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Autofocus touch
Autofocus continuous
Single autofocus
Autofocus tracking
Selective autofocus
Center weighted autofocus
Multi area autofocus
Autofocus live view
Face detection autofocus
Contract detection autofocus
Phase detection autofocus
Total focus points 35 -
Cross type focus points - -
Lens
Lens support Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 28-140mm (5.0x)
Largest aperture - f/3.2-6.5
Macro focusing distance - 5cm
Amount of lenses 107 -
Crop factor 2.1 5.9
Screen
Screen type Tilting Fixed Type
Screen diagonal 3 inches 2.7 inches
Screen resolution 460k dot 230k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch operation
Screen tech HyperCrystal LCD AR(Anti-Reflective) coating TFT LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic (optional) None
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60s 8s
Highest shutter speed 1/4000s 1/2000s
Continuous shooting speed 6.0 frames per second 1.0 frames per second
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual exposure
Exposure compensation Yes -
Change white balance
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash distance no built-in flash 5.70 m
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync, Manual (3 levels) Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow Syncro
Hot shoe
Auto exposure bracketing
White balance bracketing
Highest flash sync 1/160s -
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1280 x 720 (60, 30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Max video resolution 1920x1080 1280x720
Video file format AVCHD, Motion JPEG Motion JPEG
Microphone jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless None 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 313g (0.69 lb) 121g (0.27 lb)
Dimensions 110 x 64 x 37mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.5") 97 x 58 x 22mm (3.8" x 2.3" x 0.9")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating 52 not tested
DXO Color Depth rating 20.9 not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating 10.3 not tested
DXO Low light rating 499 not tested
Other
Battery life 300 images 250 images
Type of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID BLS-5 -
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse feature
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal
Storage slots 1 1
Cost at launch $399 $100