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Olympus PEN-F vs Panasonic GF1

Portability
84
Imaging
59
Features
79
Overall
67
Olympus PEN-F front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 front
Portability
85
Imaging
47
Features
47
Overall
47

Olympus PEN-F vs Panasonic GF1 Key Specs

Olympus PEN-F
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Fully Articulated Screen
  • ISO 200 - 25600
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 427g - 125 x 72 x 37mm
  • Announced January 2016
Panasonic GF1
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 3200
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 385g - 119 x 71 x 36mm
  • Revealed October 2009
  • Later Model is Panasonic GF2
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Olympus PEN-F vs Panasonic GF1 Overview

Below is a extended review of the Olympus PEN-F versus Panasonic GF1, former being a Advanced Mirrorless while the latter is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by competitors Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a considerable gap between the sensor resolutions of the PEN-F (20MP) and GF1 (12MP) but both cameras provide the same sensor measurements (Four Thirds).

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The PEN-F was revealed 6 years later than the GF1 and that is quite a large difference as far as technology is concerned. Both of these cameras have the same body design (Rangefinder-style mirrorless).

Before going straight to a complete comparison, here is a concise overview of how the PEN-F matches up vs the GF1 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Olympus PEN-F over the Panasonic GF1

 PEN-F GF1 
RevealedJanuary 2016October 2009More recent by 77 months
Screen typeFully ArticulatedFixed Fully Articulating screen
Screen resolution1037k460kCrisper screen (+577k dot)
Selfie screen Take selfies
Touch screen Quickly navigate

Reasons to pick Panasonic GF1 over the Olympus PEN-F

 GF1 PEN-F 

Common features in the Olympus PEN-F and Panasonic GF1

 PEN-F GF1 
Manually focus Very accurate focus
Screen dimensions3"3"Equal screen measurements

Olympus PEN-F vs Panasonic GF1 Physical Comparison

If you are going to lug around your camera regularly, you will want to factor in its weight and size. The Olympus PEN-F offers external measurements of 125mm x 72mm x 37mm (4.9" x 2.8" x 1.5") with a weight of 427 grams (0.94 lbs) while the Panasonic GF1 has specifications of 119mm x 71mm x 36mm (4.7" x 2.8" x 1.4") accompanied by a weight of 385 grams (0.85 lbs).

Compare the Olympus PEN-F versus Panasonic GF1 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you choose at that time. Following is a front view overall size comparison of the PEN-F compared to the GF1.

Olympus PEN-F vs Panasonic GF1 size comparison

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the PEN-F and GF1 is 84 and 85 respectively.

Olympus PEN-F vs Panasonic GF1 top view buttons comparison

Olympus PEN-F vs Panasonic GF1 Sensor Comparison

Sometimes, its difficult to see the contrast between sensor measurements only by reading through technical specs. The visual here should provide you a greater sense of the sensor measurements in the PEN-F and GF1.

As you can tell, each of these cameras provide the same sensor dimensions albeit not the same resolution. You can count on the Olympus PEN-F to resolve extra detail because of its extra 8MP. Higher resolution can also enable you to crop pictures more aggressively. The more modern PEN-F will have an advantage in sensor technology.

Olympus PEN-F vs Panasonic GF1 sensor size comparison

Olympus PEN-F vs Panasonic GF1 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus PEN-F vs Panasonic GF1 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
Photography Glossary

Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus PEN-F Portrait photography details
Panasonic GF1 Portrait photography details
75
you can focus manually
good resolution (20MP)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports face detection focus
supports RAW formats
60
manual focus
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
provides face detection focusing
saves RAW files
low megapixels (12MP)
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Street Comparison

Olympus PEN-F Street photography details
Panasonic GF1 Street photography details
84
fully articulated screen
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports RAW formats
features focus by touch
great ISO range (25,600)
64
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
saves RAW files
screen does not articulate
lack of image stabilization
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Sports Comparison

Olympus PEN-F Sports photography highlights
Panasonic GF1 Sports photography highlights
67
great max shutter speed (1/8,000s)
quiet mode (1/16,000s)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
good resolution (20MP)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports tracking autofocus
bad battery pack (330 shots)
doesn't have phase detect auto focus
44
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
provides tracking autofocus
great battery (380 CIPA)
continuous shooting slow (3.0 frames/s)
lack of image stabilization
low megapixels (12 megapixels)
has no phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Olympus PEN-F as a Travel photography camera
Panasonic GF1 as a Travel photography camera
75
features focus by touch
good resolution (20MP)
display is selfie friendly
bad battery pack (330 per charge)
59
great battery (380 shots)
built-in flash
does not have Timelapse function
low megapixels (12MP)
screen isn't selfie friendly
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Olympus PEN-F
Landscape photography with Panasonic GF1
76
you can focus manually
switch lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
pretty good screen size (3 inches)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
good resolution (20MP)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
great ISO range (25,600)
supports RAW formats
bad battery pack (330 shots)
60
manual focus
swap lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
screen size is decent (3 inches)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
saves RAW files
great battery (380 CIPA)
lack of image stabilization
low megapixels (12 megapixels)
does not have Timelapse function
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Olympus PEN-F
Vlogging with Panasonic GF1
78
display is selfie friendly
touchscreen
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
supports face detection focus
good video quality (1920 x 1080 resolution)
lack of external mic support
25
provides face detection focusing
screen isn't selfie friendly
lack of image stabilization
video res low (1280 x 720 pixels)
does not have external microphone support
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Olympus PEN-F vs Panasonic GF1 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus PEN-F and Panasonic GF1
 Olympus PEN-FPanasonic Lumix DMC-GF1
General Information
Make Olympus Panasonic
Model Olympus PEN-F Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1
Type Advanced Mirrorless Entry-Level Mirrorless
Announced 2016-01-27 2009-10-14
Physical type Rangefinder-style mirrorless Rangefinder-style mirrorless
Sensor Information
Powered by TruePic VII Venus Engine HD
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds Four Thirds
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 17.3 x 13mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 224.9mm²
Sensor resolution 20 megapixels 12 megapixels
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Full resolution 5184 x 3888 4000 x 3000
Max native ISO 25600 3200
Lowest native ISO 200 100
RAW files
Lowest boosted ISO 80 -
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch focus
Continuous AF
AF single
Tracking AF
AF selectice
AF center weighted
AF multi area
Live view AF
Face detection focusing
Contract detection focusing
Phase detection focusing
Number of focus points 81 23
Lens
Lens mounting type Micro Four Thirds Micro Four Thirds
Number of lenses 107 107
Crop factor 2.1 2.1
Screen
Type of screen Fully Articulated Fixed Type
Screen diagonal 3" 3"
Screen resolution 1,037 thousand dots 460 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch friendly
Screen tech - TFT Color LCD with wide-viewing angle
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Electronic None
Viewfinder resolution 2,360 thousand dots -
Viewfinder coverage 100% -
Viewfinder magnification 0.62x -
Features
Slowest shutter speed 60 seconds 60 seconds
Maximum shutter speed 1/8000 seconds 1/4000 seconds
Maximum silent shutter speed 1/16000 seconds -
Continuous shooting rate 10.0 frames/s 3.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Custom WB
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash range no built-in flash 6.00 m
Flash modes Flash Auto, Redeye, Fill-in, Flash Off, Red-eye Slow sync (1st curtain), Slow sync (1st curtain), Slow sync (2nd curtain) Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync
Hot shoe
AE bracketing
White balance bracketing
Maximum flash synchronize - 1/160 seconds
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, 24p), 1280 x 720 (60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, 24p) 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 format MPEG-4, H.264, Motion JPEG AVCHD Lite
Microphone support
Headphone support
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 proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 427g (0.94 lb) 385g (0.85 lb)
Physical dimensions 125 x 72 x 37mm (4.9" x 2.8" x 1.5") 119 x 71 x 36mm (4.7" x 2.8" x 1.4")
DXO scores
DXO All around score 74 54
DXO Color Depth score 23.1 21.2
DXO Dynamic range score 12.4 10.3
DXO Low light score 894 513
Other
Battery life 330 images 380 images
Battery style Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model BLN-1 -
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 seconds, custom) Yes (2 or 10 sec, 10 sec (3 images))
Time lapse feature
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/MMC
Card slots Single Single
Price at launch $1,000 $400