Clicky

Olympus E-PL7 vs Panasonic GF1

Portability
86
Imaging
53
Features
81
Overall
64
Olympus PEN E-PL7 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 front
Portability
85
Imaging
47
Features
47
Overall
47

Olympus E-PL7 vs Panasonic GF1 Key Specs

Olympus E-PL7
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 100 - 25600
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 357g - 115 x 67 x 38mm
  • Revealed September 2014
  • Superseded the Olympus E-PL6
  • Successor is Olympus E-PL8
Panasonic GF1
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 3200
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 385g - 119 x 71 x 36mm
  • Launched October 2009
  • Updated by Panasonic GF2
Meta to Introduce 'AI-Generated' Labels for Media starting next month

Olympus E-PL7 vs Panasonic GF1 Overview

Here is a in depth analysis of the Olympus E-PL7 and Panasonic GF1, both Entry-Level Mirrorless cameras by rivals Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a considerable gap among the sensor resolutions of the E-PL7 (16MP) and GF1 (12MP) but they come with the same exact sensor dimensions (Four Thirds).

President Biden pushes bill mandating TikTok sale or ban

The E-PL7 was announced 4 years later than the GF1 and that is a fairly large difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of these cameras offer the identical body type (Rangefinder-style mirrorless).

Before delving in to a thorough comparison, below is a brief summation of how the E-PL7 scores vs the GF1 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Photography Glossary
	
	

Reasons to pick Olympus E-PL7 over the Panasonic GF1

 E-PL7 GF1 
LaunchedSeptember 2014October 2009Fresher by 60 months
Display typeTiltingFixed Tilting display
Display resolution1037k460kCrisper display (+577k dot)
Selfie screen Easy selfies
Touch friendly display Easily navigate

Reasons to pick Panasonic GF1 over the Olympus E-PL7

 GF1 E-PL7 

Common features in the Olympus E-PL7 and Panasonic GF1

 E-PL7 GF1 
Manual focus Very accurate focus
Display sizing3"3"Equivalent display sizing

Olympus E-PL7 vs Panasonic GF1 Physical Comparison

If you're going to carry your camera frequently, you need to take into account its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-PL7 features external measurements of 115mm x 67mm x 38mm (4.5" x 2.6" x 1.5") and a weight of 357 grams (0.79 lbs) while the Panasonic GF1 has measurements of 119mm x 71mm x 36mm (4.7" x 2.8" x 1.4") and a weight of 385 grams (0.85 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-PL7 and Panasonic GF1 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you have chosen at the time. Following is the front view sizing comparison of the E-PL7 vs the GF1.

Olympus E-PL7 vs Panasonic GF1 size comparison

Using dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-PL7 and GF1 is 86 and 85 respectively.

Olympus E-PL7 vs Panasonic GF1 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-PL7 vs Panasonic GF1 Sensor Comparison

Normally, it can be difficult to envision the difference in sensor sizing simply by checking out a spec sheet. The graphic below may give you a far better sense of the sensor sizing in the E-PL7 and GF1.

Clearly, each of these cameras offer the same exact sensor sizing but not the same MP. You can expect to see the Olympus E-PL7 to produce more detail with its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution will allow you to crop photos a little more aggressively. The more modern E-PL7 will have a benefit in sensor tech.

Olympus E-PL7 vs Panasonic GF1 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-PL7 vs Panasonic GF1 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-PL7 vs Panasonic GF1 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
Snapchat Adds Watermarks to AI-Created Images

Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Portrait photography with Olympus E-PL7
Portrait photography with Panasonic GF1
71
manual focus
megapixel count good (16MP)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
comes with face detect autofocus
supports RAW formats
60
focusing manually
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
comes with face detect focusing
exports RAW formats
MP count low (12 megapixels)
Apple Innovates by Creating Next-Level Optical Stabilization for iPhone

Street Comparison

Street photography with Olympus E-PL7
Street photography with Panasonic GF1
84
screen tilts up and down
image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
supports RAW formats
boasts touch to focus
great ISO range (25,600)
64
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
exports RAW formats
screen does not articulate
lack of image stabilization
Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a Landslide

Sports Comparison

Olympus E-PL7 Sports photography info
Panasonic GF1 Sports photography info
66
image stabilization (Sensor based)
megapixel count good (16MP)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
comes with tracking focus
doesn't have phase detect autofocus
44
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
comes with tracking focus
great battery power (380 CIPA)
continuous shooting slow (3.0 fps)
lack of image stabilization
MP count low (12 megapixels)
lacks phase detect AF
Sora from OpenAI releases its first ever music video

Travel Comparison

Olympus E-PL7 Travel photography highlights
Panasonic GF1 Travel photography highlights
85
boasts touch to focus
megapixel count good (16MP)
selfie friendly display
59
great battery power (380 shots)
flash built-in
doesn't have Time Lapse mode
MP count low (12MP)
doesn't have a selfie friendly screen
Samsung Releases Faster Versions of EVO MicroSD Cards

Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-PL7 as a Landscape photography camera
Panasonic GF1 as a Landscape photography camera
79
manual focus
interchangeable lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
screen size is good (3")
image stabilization (Sensor based)
megapixel count good (16MP)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
great ISO range (25,600)
supports RAW formats
60
focusing manually
change lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
screen size is good (3")
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
exports RAW formats
great battery power (380 per charge)
lack of image stabilization
MP count low (12 megapixels)
doesn't have Time Lapse mode
Photobucket discusses licensing 13 billion images with AI firms

Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-PL7 Vlogging info
Panasonic GF1 Vlogging info
78
selfie friendly display
touchscreen
image stabilization (Sensor based)
comes with face detect autofocus
high res video (1920 x 1080 pxls)
no mic support
25
comes with face detect focusing
doesn't have a selfie friendly screen
lack of image stabilization
video resolution low (1280 x 720 pixels)
doesn't have mic socket
Japan-exclusive Leica Leitz Phone 3 features big sensor and new modes

Olympus E-PL7 vs Panasonic GF1 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-PL7 and Panasonic GF1
 Olympus PEN E-PL7Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1
General Information
Company Olympus Panasonic
Model type Olympus PEN E-PL7 Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1
Type Entry-Level Mirrorless Entry-Level Mirrorless
Revealed 2014-09-01 2009-10-14
Physical type Rangefinder-style mirrorless Rangefinder-style mirrorless
Sensor Information
Processor TruePic VII Venus Engine HD
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds Four Thirds
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 17.3 x 13mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 224.9mm²
Sensor resolution 16 megapixel 12 megapixel
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Maximum resolution 4608 x 3456 4000 x 3000
Maximum native ISO 25600 3200
Minimum native ISO 100 100
RAW format
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch focus
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 81 23
Lens
Lens mount type Micro Four Thirds Micro Four Thirds
Available lenses 107 107
Crop factor 2.1 2.1
Screen
Screen type Tilting Fixed Type
Screen diagonal 3" 3"
Resolution of screen 1,037k dots 460k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch friendly
Screen technology - TFT Color LCD with wide-viewing angle
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Electronic (optional) None
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60 seconds 60 seconds
Highest shutter speed 1/4000 seconds 1/4000 seconds
Continuous shooting rate 8.0 frames/s 3.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Set white balance
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash distance no built-in flash 6.00 m
Flash options no built-in flash Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync
External flash
AE bracketing
White balance bracketing
Highest flash synchronize - 1/160 seconds
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (30p), 1280 x 720 (30p), 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)
Maximum video resolution 1920x1080 1280x720
Video format H.264, Motion JPEG AVCHD Lite
Mic port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless Built-In None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 357 gr (0.79 lbs) 385 gr (0.85 lbs)
Dimensions 115 x 67 x 38mm (4.5" x 2.6" x 1.5") 119 x 71 x 36mm (4.7" x 2.8" x 1.4")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating 72 54
DXO Color Depth rating 22.7 21.2
DXO Dynamic range rating 12.4 10.3
DXO Low light rating 873 513
Other
Battery life 350 images 380 images
Type of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID BLS-50 -
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec, custom) Yes (2 or 10 sec, 10 sec (3 images))
Time lapse shooting
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC card SD/SDHC/MMC
Card slots Single Single
Launch pricing $499 $400