Clicky

Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic TS1

Portability
88
Imaging
52
Features
72
Overall
60
Olympus PEN E-PL5 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS1 front
Portability
93
Imaging
34
Features
24
Overall
30

Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic TS1 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 TS1
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 80 - 6400
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 28-128mm (F3.3-5.9) lens
  • 189g - 98 x 63 x 23mm
  • Released January 2009
  • Other Name is Lumix DMC-FT1
  • Later Model is Panasonic TS2
Japan-exclusive Leica Leitz Phone 3 features big sensor and new modes

Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic TS1 Overview

In this write-up, we will be looking at the Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic TS1, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Waterproof by companies Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a considerable gap between the resolutions of the E-PL5 (16MP) and TS1 (12MP) and the E-PL5 (Four Thirds) and TS1 (1/2.3") feature totally different sensor dimensions.

President Biden pushes bill mandating TikTok sale or ban

The E-PL5 was announced 3 years later than the TS1 and that is quite a large difference as far as technology is concerned. Both of these cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-PL5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic TS1 being a Compact camera.

Before diving through a complete comparison, below is a short summation of how the E-PL5 matches up against the TS1 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Apple Innovates by Creating Next-Level Optical Stabilization for iPhone
	
	

Reasons to pick Olympus E-PL5 over the Panasonic TS1

 E-PL5 TS1 
ReleasedSeptember 2012January 2009More recent by 45 months
Manual focus Very exact focus
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen sizing3"2.7"Bigger screen (+0.3")
Screen resolution460k230kClearer screen (+230k dot)
Selfie screen Easy selfies
Touch friendly screen Quickly navigate

Reasons to pick Panasonic TS1 over the Olympus E-PL5

 TS1 E-PL5 

Common features in the Olympus E-PL5 and Panasonic TS1

 E-PL5 TS1 

Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic TS1 Physical Comparison

If you are aiming to lug around your camera often, you'll need to take into account its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-PL5 comes with physical measurements 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 TS1 has measurements of 98mm x 63mm x 23mm (3.9" x 2.5" x 0.9") accompanied by a weight of 189 grams (0.42 lbs).

Check the Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic TS1 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Always remember, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you use at that time. Underneath is the front view scale comparison of the E-PL5 vs the TS1.

Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic TS1 size comparison

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-PL5 and TS1 is 88 and 93 respectively.

Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic TS1 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic TS1 Sensor Comparison

Normally, its tough to see the difference between sensor measurements simply by looking at specs. The graphic below will help give you a much better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-PL5 and TS1.

All in all, both of these cameras enjoy different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The E-PL5 using its bigger sensor will make achieving bokeh less difficult and the Olympus E-PL5 will resolve extra detail with its extra 4MP. Higher resolution will also let you crop shots far more aggressively. The more recent E-PL5 is going to have an advantage with regard to sensor technology.

Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic TS1 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic TS1 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic TS1 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
Sora from OpenAI releases its first ever music video

Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Portrait photography with Olympus E-PL5
Portrait photography with Panasonic TS1
71
manual focus
MP count decent (16MP)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
comes with face detect focusing
supports RAW files
20
manual focus not available
manual mode not available
resolution not great (12MP)
sensor is small (1/2.3")
lacks RAW support
Photobucket discusses licensing 13 billion images with AI firms

Street Comparison

Olympus E-PL5 Street photography highlights
Panasonic TS1 Street photography highlights
85
screen tilts up and down
image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
supports RAW files
comes with touch to focus
above average high ISO (25,600)
61
image stabilization (Optical)
environment sealing
fixed screen
sensor is small (1/2.3")
lacks RAW support
Meta to Introduce 'AI-Generated' Labels for Media starting next month

Sports Comparison

Olympus E-PL5 Sports photography information
Panasonic TS1 Sports photography information
66
image stabilization (Sensor based)
MP count decent (16 megapixels)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
comes with tracking focus
does not have phase detect AF
29
image stabilization (Optical)
environment sealing
low max shutter speed (1/1,300 seconds)
max frames per second very slow (2.0 frames per second)
lack of shutter priority mode
resolution not great (12 megapixels)
sensor is small (1/2.3")
lacks phase detect autofocus
Photography Glossary

Travel Comparison

Olympus E-PL5 as a Travel photography camera
Panasonic TS1 as a Travel photography camera
75
comes with touch to focus
MP count decent (16 megapixels)
screen is selfie friendly
lack of Timelapse mode
61
environment sealing
built-in flash
quite wide (28mm)
doesn't have Time Lapse function
resolution not great (12MP)
doesn't have a selfie friendly display
sluggish max aperture (f3.3)
Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a Landslide

Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-PL5 Landscape photography information
Panasonic TS1 Landscape photography information
74
manual focus
change lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
decent sized screen (3 inches)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
MP count decent (16 megapixels)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
above average high ISO (25,600)
supports RAW files
lack of Timelapse mode
35
quite wide (28mm)
image stabilization (Optical)
environment sealing
manual focus not available
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
sluggish max aperture (f3.3)
screen is small (2.7 inches)
manual mode not available
resolution not great (12 megapixels)
sensor is small (1/2.3")
lacks RAW support
doesn't have Time Lapse function
Snapchat Adds Watermarks to AI-Created Images

Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Olympus E-PL5
Vlogging with Panasonic TS1
78
screen is selfie friendly
touchscreen capability
image stabilization (Sensor based)
comes with face detect focusing
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 pixels)
lack of microphone socket
28
quite wide (28mm)
image stabilization (Optical)
sluggish max aperture (f3.3)
doesn't have a selfie friendly display
video res low (1280 x 720 resolution)
doesn't have mic socket
Samsung Releases Faster Versions of EVO MicroSD Cards

Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic TS1 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-PL5 and Panasonic TS1
 Olympus PEN E-PL5Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS1
General Information
Company Olympus Panasonic
Model type Olympus PEN E-PL5 Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS1
Other name - Lumix DMC-FT1
Class Entry-Level Mirrorless Waterproof
Announced 2012-09-17 2009-01-27
Physical type Rangefinder-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor Information
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 alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Full resolution 4608 x 3456 4000 x 3000
Max native ISO 25600 6400
Minimum native ISO 200 80
RAW pictures
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
Autofocus touch
Autofocus continuous
Single autofocus
Autofocus tracking
Selective autofocus
Center weighted autofocus
Multi area autofocus
Autofocus live view
Face detect focus
Contract detect focus
Phase detect focus
Total focus points 35 11
Lens
Lens mount type Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 28-128mm (4.6x)
Largest aperture - f/3.3-5.9
Macro focusing range - 5cm
Available lenses 107 -
Focal length multiplier 2.1 5.9
Screen
Type of display Tilting Fixed Type
Display sizing 3 inch 2.7 inch
Resolution of display 460 thousand dots 230 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch function
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Electronic (optional) None
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60 seconds 60 seconds
Highest shutter speed 1/4000 seconds 1/1300 seconds
Continuous shooting rate 8.0fps 2.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes -
Custom white balance
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash distance 7.00 m (bundled FL-LM1) -
Flash settings 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
Highest flash synchronize 1/250 seconds -
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
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), 848 x 480 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps)
Max video resolution 1920x1080 1280x720
Video data format MPEG-4, H.264, Motion JPEG AVCHD Lite
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 proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 325 grams (0.72 lb) 189 grams (0.42 lb)
Dimensions 111 x 64 x 38mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.5") 98 x 63 x 23mm (3.9" x 2.5" x 0.9")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating 72 not tested
DXO Color Depth rating 22.8 not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating 12.3 not tested
DXO Low light rating 889 not tested
Other
Battery life 360 photos -
Battery type Battery Pack -
Battery ID BLS-5 -
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse recording
Storage type SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/MMC/SDHC, Internal
Card slots 1 1
Retail price $400 $380