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Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic FX78

Portability
88
Imaging
52
Features
72
Overall
60
Olympus PEN E-PL5 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX78 front
Portability
95
Imaging
35
Features
31
Overall
33

Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic FX78 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
  • Launched September 2012
Panasonic FX78
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3.5" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 6400
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 24-120mm (F2.5-5.9) lens
  • 142g - 100 x 55 x 21mm
  • Announced January 2011
  • Additionally referred to as Lumix DMC-FX77
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Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic FX78 Overview

Its time to take a deeper look at the Olympus E-PL5 and Panasonic FX78, one is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the other is a Small Sensor Compact by companies Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a big gap between the image resolutions of the E-PL5 (16MP) and FX78 (12MP) and the E-PL5 (Four Thirds) and FX78 (1/2.3") enjoy totally different sensor size.

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The E-PL5 was brought out 21 months after the FX78 making the cameras a generation away from one another. The two cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-PL5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic FX78 being a Compact camera.

Before getting through a detailed comparison, below is a short summation of how the E-PL5 grades vs the FX78 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-PL5 over the Panasonic FX78

 E-PL5 FX78 
AnnouncedSeptember 2012January 2011Newer by 21 months
Focus manually Dial precise focusing
Display typeTiltingFixed Tilting display
Display resolution460k230kSharper display (+230k dot)
Selfie screen Easy selfies

Reasons to pick Panasonic FX78 over the Olympus E-PL5

 FX78 E-PL5 
Display dimension3.5"3"Larger display (+0.5")

Common features in the Olympus E-PL5 and Panasonic FX78

 E-PL5 FX78 
Touch display Easily navigate

Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic FX78 Physical Comparison

For anyone who is looking to travel with your camera frequently, you're going to have to consider its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-PL5 enjoys external dimensions of 111mm x 64mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.5") having a weight of 325 grams (0.72 lbs) whilst the Panasonic FX78 has dimensions of 100mm x 55mm x 21mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 0.8") along with a weight of 142 grams (0.31 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus E-PL5 and Panasonic FX78 in the latest Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change based on the lens you select at the time. Following is the front view overall size comparison of the E-PL5 and the FX78.

Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic FX78 size comparison

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-PL5 and FX78 is 88 and 95 respectively.

Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic FX78 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic FX78 Sensor Comparison

Normally, its tough to envision the gap between sensor dimensions merely by checking technical specs. The picture here may give you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-PL5 and FX78.

As you have seen, the two cameras posses different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The E-PL5 because of its larger sensor will make getting bokeh easier and the Olympus E-PL5 will give you more detail having its extra 4MP. Greater resolution will also allow you to crop photos somewhat more aggressively. The fresher E-PL5 is going to have a benefit in sensor technology.

Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic FX78 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic FX78 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic FX78 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
Photography Glossary

Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-PL5 Portrait photography info
Panasonic FX78 Portrait photography info
71
has manual focus
decent sensor resolution (16 megapixels)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
has face detection focus
saves RAW files
21
lack of manual focus
manual mode not possible
no external flash support
low megapixels (12MP)
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW support
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-PL5 Street photography details
Panasonic FX78 Street photography details
85
tilting screen
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
saves RAW files
offers focus by touch
good ISO range (25,600)
57
image stabilization (Optical)
no articulating screen
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW support
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-PL5 Sports photography advice
Panasonic FX78 Sports photography advice
66
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor resolution (16MP)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
has tracking autofocus
doesn't have phase detect auto focus
28
image stabilization (Optical)
has tracking focus
low maximum shutter speed (1/1,400s)
max fps very slow (4.0 fps)
no shutter priority mode
low megapixels (12 megapixels)
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
low battery (200 CIPA)
doesn't have phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-PL5 Travel photography highlights
Panasonic FX78 Travel photography highlights
75
offers focus by touch
decent sensor resolution (16 megapixels)
selfie friendly display
missing Time Lapse recording
56
built-in flash
quite wide (24mm)
lack of Time Lapse recording
low battery (200 per charge)
low megapixels (12 megapixels)
doesn't have a selfie friendly display
sluggish maximum aperture (f2.5)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-PL5 as a Landscape photography camera
Panasonic FX78 as a Landscape photography camera
74
has manual focus
change lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
decent sized screen (3 inches)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor resolution (16 megapixels)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
good ISO range (25,600)
saves RAW files
missing Time Lapse recording
36
quite wide (24mm)
bigger than average screen (3.5")
image stabilization (Optical)
lack of manual focus
cannot switch lens (fixed lens mount)
sluggish maximum aperture (f2.5)
manual mode not possible
low megapixels (12MP)
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW support
low battery (200 CIPA)
lack of Time Lapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-PL5 Vlogging highlights
Panasonic FX78 Vlogging highlights
78
selfie friendly display
touchscreen capability
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
has face detection focus
high res video (1920 x 1080 resolution)
missing external mic jack
33
quite wide (24mm)
touchscreen functionality
image stabilization (Optical)
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 pxls)
sluggish maximum aperture (f2.5)
doesn't have a selfie friendly display
lack of mic socket
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Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic FX78 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-PL5 and Panasonic FX78
 Olympus PEN E-PL5Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX78
General Information
Make Olympus Panasonic
Model Olympus PEN E-PL5 Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX78
Otherwise known as - Lumix DMC-FX77
Category Entry-Level Mirrorless Small Sensor Compact
Launched 2012-09-17 2011-01-25
Physical type Rangefinder-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor Information
Processor Chip - Venus Engine FHD
Sensor type CMOS CCD
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 6.08 x 4.56mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 27.7mm²
Sensor resolution 16 megapixels 12 megapixels
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Maximum resolution 4608 x 3456 4000 x 3000
Maximum native ISO 25600 6400
Lowest native ISO 200 100
RAW format
Autofocusing
Manual focus
AF touch
Continuous AF
Single AF
AF tracking
Selective AF
Center weighted AF
AF multi area
AF live view
Face detect AF
Contract detect AF
Phase detect AF
Number of focus points 35 11
Lens
Lens mounting type Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens focal range - 24-120mm (5.0x)
Max aperture - f/2.5-5.9
Macro focus range - 5cm
Total lenses 107 -
Focal length multiplier 2.1 5.9
Screen
Display type Tilting Fixed Type
Display size 3 inches 3.5 inches
Display resolution 460 thousand dots 230 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch capability
Display technology - TFT LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic (optional) None
Features
Slowest shutter speed 60s 60s
Maximum shutter speed 1/4000s 1/1400s
Continuous shooting rate 8.0 frames/s 4.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes -
Change WB
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash range 7.00 m (bundled FL-LM1) 5.60 m
Flash settings Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync, Manual (3 levels) Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow Syncro
Hot shoe
AE bracketing
White balance bracketing
Maximum flash synchronize 1/250s -
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (30 fps), 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1280 x 720 (60, 30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps)
Maximum video resolution 1920x1080 1920x1080
Video data format MPEG-4, H.264, Motion JPEG MPEG-4, AVCHD
Mic port
Headphone port
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
Environmental sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 325 grams (0.72 lbs) 142 grams (0.31 lbs)
Dimensions 111 x 64 x 38mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.5") 100 x 55 x 21mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 0.8")
DXO scores
DXO All around 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 photographs 200 photographs
Type 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
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal
Card slots Single Single
Retail price $400 $210