Olympus E-PL9 vs Panasonic LX5

Below is a extensive comparison of the Olympus E-PL9 vs Panasonic LX5, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by manufacturers Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a substantial gap between the image resolutions of the E-PL9 (16MP) and LX5 (10MP) and the E-PL9 (Four Thirds) and LX5 (1/1.63") boast different sensor dimensions.

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The E-PL9 was unveiled 6 years later than the LX5 and that is quite a big difference as far as technology is concerned. Each of these cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-PL9 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic LX5 being a Compact camera.

Before going into a complete comparison, here is a short overview of how the E-PL9 grades vs the LX5 for portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

The following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus PEN E-PL9 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5. The full galleries are provided at Olympus E-PL9 Gallery & Panasonic LX5 Gallery.

For anyone who is aiming to lug around your camera regularly, you will need to think about its weight and size. The Olympus E-PL9 enjoys external dimensions of 117mm x 68mm x 39mm (4.6" x 2.7" x 1.5") having a weight of 380 grams (0.84 lbs) and the Panasonic LX5 has specifications of 110mm x 65mm x 43mm (4.3" x 2.6" x 1.7") accompanied by a weight of 271 grams (0.60 lbs).

See the Olympus E-PL9 vs Panasonic LX5 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you have at the time. The following is a front view sizing comparison of the E-PL9 vs the LX5.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-PL9 and LX5 is 85 and 88 respectively.

Normally, it is hard to imagine the difference between sensor measurements purely by going over a spec sheet. The graphic below should offer you a stronger sense of the sensor sizes in the E-PL9 and LX5.

Clearly, both of those cameras feature different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The E-PL9 with its bigger sensor is going to make shooting shallow depth of field simpler and the Olympus E-PL9 will offer you extra detail having an extra 6 Megapixels. Higher resolution will let you crop shots way more aggressively. The newer E-PL9 should have a benefit when it comes to sensor technology.