Olympus PEN-F vs Panasonic S5

Below, we will be looking at the Olympus PEN-F versus Panasonic S5, one being a Advanced Mirrorless and the latter is a Pro Mirrorless by companies Olympus and Panasonic. The sensor resolution of the PEN-F (20MP) and the S5 (24MP) is pretty well matched but the PEN-F (Four Thirds) and S5 (Full frame) feature different sensor size.

Photography Glossary

The PEN-F was released 5 years earlier than the S5 and that is quite a large gap as far as tech is concerned. Both cameras come with different body type with the Olympus PEN-F being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic S5 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera.

Before delving straight into a more detailed comparison, below is a simple view of how the PEN-F matches up vs the S5 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

The following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus PEN-F and Panasonic Lumix DC-S5. The complete galleries are available at Olympus PEN-F Gallery and Panasonic S5 Gallery.

For those who are intending to lug around your camera frequently, you have to factor in its weight and volume. The Olympus PEN-F provides external measurements of 125mm x 72mm x 37mm (4.9" x 2.8" x 1.5") and a weight of 427 grams (0.94 lbs) whilst the Panasonic S5 has sizing of 133mm x 97mm x 82mm (5.2" x 3.8" x 3.2") having a weight of 714 grams (1.57 lbs).

See the Olympus PEN-F versus Panasonic S5 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change depending on the lens you have during that time. Underneath is the front view measurements comparison of the PEN-F versus the S5.

Using size and weight, the portability grade of the PEN-F and S5 is 84 and 60 respectively.

In many cases, it can be tough to picture the contrast between sensor measurements just by reading through specs. The graphic here may give you a much better sense of the sensor sizing in the PEN-F and S5.

As you can plainly see, both of the cameras posses different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The PEN-F due to its tinier sensor is going to make achieving shallow DOF harder and the Panasonic S5 will give extra detail as a result of its extra 4MP. Higher resolution will also make it easier to crop photographs somewhat more aggressively. The older PEN-F is going to be behind in sensor technology.