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Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic FH6

Portability
88
Imaging
52
Features
72
Overall
60
Olympus PEN E-PL5 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH6 front
Portability
96
Imaging
37
Features
29
Overall
33

Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic FH6 Key Specs

Olympus E-PL5
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Display
  • ISO 200 - 25600
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 325g - 111 x 64 x 38mm
  • Announced September 2012
Panasonic FH6
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 6400
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 24-120mm (F2.5-6.4) lens
  • 119g - 96 x 56 x 20mm
  • Released January 2012
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Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic FH6 Overview

In this article, we will be comparing the Olympus E-PL5 versus Panasonic FH6, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by companies Olympus and Panasonic. The sensor resolution of the E-PL5 (16MP) and the FH6 (14MP) is pretty comparable but the E-PL5 (Four Thirds) and FH6 (1/2.3") enjoy totally different sensor dimensions.

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The E-PL5 was manufactured 9 months later than the FH6 so they are both of a similar age. Both of the cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-PL5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic FH6 being a Compact camera.

Before we go through a thorough comparison, below is a short overview of how the E-PL5 grades versus the FH6 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-PL5 over the Panasonic FH6

 E-PL5 FH6 
ReleasedSeptember 2012January 2012Fresher by 9 months
Manual focus Very accurate focusing
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen sizing3"2.7"Bigger screen (+0.3")
Screen resolution460k230kCrisper screen (+230k dot)
Selfie screen Easy selfies
Touch screen Quickly navigate

Reasons to pick Panasonic FH6 over the Olympus E-PL5

 FH6 E-PL5 

Common features in the Olympus E-PL5 and Panasonic FH6

 E-PL5 FH6 

Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic FH6 Physical Comparison

For those who are aiming to carry your camera, you need to take into account its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-PL5 enjoys outside dimensions of 111mm x 64mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.5") with a weight of 325 grams (0.72 lbs) whilst the Panasonic FH6 has measurements of 96mm x 56mm x 20mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.8") along with a weight of 119 grams (0.26 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus E-PL5 versus Panasonic FH6 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Always remember, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you use during that time. Following is the front view scale comparison of the E-PL5 against the FH6.

Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic FH6 size comparison

Looking at size and weight, the portability score of the E-PL5 and FH6 is 88 and 96 respectively.

Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic FH6 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic FH6 Sensor Comparison

Generally, it's hard to envision the gap in sensor sizing simply by seeing technical specs. The photograph underneath will help offer you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-PL5 and FH6.

As you can tell, both of the cameras offer different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The E-PL5 featuring a bigger sensor will make getting shallow DOF easier and the Olympus E-PL5 will show more detail due to its extra 2 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also make it easier to crop pictures a little more aggressively. The more recent E-PL5 is going to have an edge when it comes to sensor tech.

Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic FH6 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic FH6 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic FH6 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Portrait photography with Olympus E-PL5
Portrait photography with Panasonic FH6
71
has manual focus
megapixel count decent (16MP)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
offers face detection focus
supports RAW files
33
MP count good (14 megapixels)
has face detect focusing
no manual focus
no manual control
external flash not possible
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW format
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-PL5 Street photography factors
Panasonic FH6 Street photography factors
85
screen tilts
image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
supports RAW files
has focus via touch
good ISO range (25,600)
63
built in image stabilization (Optical)
lighter than others (119g)
fixed screen
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW format
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-PL5 as a Sports photography camera
Panasonic FH6 as a Sports photography camera
66
image stabilization (Sensor based)
megapixel count decent (16MP)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
offers tracking autofocus
lack of phase detect auto focus
39
built in image stabilization (Optical)
MP count good (14MP)
good battery pack (280 shots)
slow frames per second (2.0 frames/s)
lack of shutter priority mode
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
doesn't have phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Olympus E-PL5
Travel photography with Panasonic FH6
75
has focus via touch
megapixel count decent (16MP)
selfie friendly screen
doesn't have Timelapse function
70
good battery pack (280 per charge)
lighter than others (119 grams)
MP count good (14MP)
has built in flash
relatively wide (24mm)
missing Timelapse recording
does not feature selfie friendly display
somewhat slow max aperture (f2.5)
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Olympus E-PL5
Landscape photography with Panasonic FH6
74
has manual focus
change lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
pretty good screen size (3")
image stabilization (Sensor based)
megapixel count decent (16 megapixels)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
good ISO range (25,600)
supports RAW files
doesn't have Timelapse function
41
relatively wide (24mm)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
MP count good (14 megapixels)
good battery pack (280 shots)
no manual focus
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow max aperture (f2.5)
tiny screen (2.7 inches)
no manual control
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW format
missing Timelapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-PL5 Vlogging features
Panasonic FH6 Vlogging features
78
selfie friendly screen
screen is touchscreen
image stabilization (Sensor based)
offers face detection focus
good video quality (1920 x 1080 resolution)
doesn't have external microphone jack
32
relatively wide (24mm)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
has face detect focusing
lighter than others (119 grams)
somewhat slow max aperture (f2.5)
does not feature selfie friendly display
video res low (1280 x 720 pxls)
missing microphone jack
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Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic FH6 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-PL5 and Panasonic FH6
 Olympus PEN E-PL5Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH6
General Information
Company Olympus Panasonic
Model Olympus PEN E-PL5 Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH6
Type Entry-Level Mirrorless Small Sensor Compact
Announced 2012-09-17 2012-01-09
Body design Rangefinder-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor Information
Sensor type CMOS CCD
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 6.08 x 4.56mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 27.7mm²
Sensor resolution 16MP 14MP
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 4:3 and 16:9
Peak resolution 4608 x 3456 4320 x 3240
Highest native ISO 25600 6400
Lowest native ISO 200 100
RAW support
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch focus
Continuous AF
Single AF
Tracking AF
AF selectice
AF center weighted
AF multi area
Live view AF
Face detect focusing
Contract detect focusing
Phase detect focusing
Number of focus points 35 9
Lens
Lens mounting type Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens focal range - 24-120mm (5.0x)
Maximum aperture - f/2.5-6.4
Macro focus distance - 5cm
Total lenses 107 -
Crop factor 2.1 5.9
Screen
Range of display Tilting Fixed Type
Display size 3 inch 2.7 inch
Resolution of display 460 thousand dot 230 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch screen
Display tech - TFT Color LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Electronic (optional) None
Features
Min shutter speed 60 seconds 8 seconds
Max shutter speed 1/4000 seconds 1/1600 seconds
Continuous shutter speed 8.0fps 2.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes -
Set WB
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash range 7.00 m (bundled FL-LM1) 4.60 m
Flash settings Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync, Manual (3 levels) Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye reduction
External flash
AEB
White balance bracketing
Max flash sync 1/250 seconds -
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (30 fps), 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps)
Highest video resolution 1920x1080 1280x720
Video format MPEG-4, H.264, Motion JPEG Motion JPEG
Microphone input
Headphone input
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 proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 325 grams (0.72 lbs) 119 grams (0.26 lbs)
Dimensions 111 x 64 x 38mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.5") 96 x 56 x 20mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.8")
DXO scores
DXO Overall score 72 not tested
DXO Color Depth score 22.8 not tested
DXO Dynamic range score 12.3 not tested
DXO Low light score 889 not tested
Other
Battery life 360 shots 280 shots
Form of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model BLS-5 -
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse feature
Storage media SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal
Storage slots 1 1
Pricing at release $400 $129