Olympus E-PL7 vs Panasonic FH5

The following is a comprehensive overview of the Olympus E-PL7 and Panasonic FH5, former is a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by competitors Olympus and Panasonic. The image resolution of the E-PL7 (16MP) and the FH5 (16MP) is relatively comparable but the E-PL7 (Four Thirds) and FH5 (1/2.3") posses different sensor sizes.

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The E-PL7 was introduced 3 years after the FH5 which is a fairly big difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Each of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-PL7 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic FH5 being a Compact camera.

Before delving right into a thorough comparison, here is a simple view of how the E-PL7 scores against the FH5 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Following is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus PEN E-PL7 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH5. The whole galleries are provided at Olympus E-PL7 Gallery & Panasonic FH5 Gallery.

For those who are looking to travel with your camera often, you'll have to factor in its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-PL7 provides physical dimensions of 115mm x 67mm x 38mm (4.5" x 2.6" x 1.5") along with a weight of 357 grams (0.79 lbs) and the Panasonic FH5 has measurements of 94mm x 54mm x 19mm (3.7" x 2.1" x 0.7") along with a weight of 121 grams (0.27 lbs).

Compare the Olympus E-PL7 and Panasonic FH5 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you have during that time. Here is a front view sizing comparison of the E-PL7 versus the FH5.

Looking at size and weight, the portability score of the E-PL7 and FH5 is 86 and 96 respectively.

In many cases, it is very tough to picture the gap in sensor dimensions just by going through specs. The pic below will help provide you a much better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-PL7 and FH5.

As you can plainly see, both of those cameras have the same MP albeit different sensor dimensions. The E-PL7 provides the bigger sensor which is going to make obtaining shallower depth of field less difficult. The more recent E-PL7 provides an advantage in sensor innovation.