Olympus Tough-3000 vs Panasonic GM1

Let's take a more detailed look at the Olympus Tough-3000 and Panasonic GM1, one being a Waterproof and the other is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by competitors Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a huge gap between the sensor resolutions of the Tough-3000 (12MP) and GM1 (16MP) and the Tough-3000 (1/2.3") and GM1 (Four Thirds) feature different sensor measurements.

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The Tough-3000 was unveiled 5 years before the GM1 and that is quite a significant gap as far as technology is concerned. Each of these cameras offer different body type with the Olympus Tough-3000 being a Compact camera and the Panasonic GM1 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before we go in to a step-by-step comparison, below is a brief introduction of how the Tough-3000 scores vs the GM1 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Here is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus Stylus Tough-3000 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM1. The full galleries are provided at Olympus Tough-3000 Gallery and Panasonic GM1 Gallery.

For anybody who is going to carry your camera often, you should factor in its weight and proportions. The Olympus Tough-3000 provides outer measurements of 96mm x 65mm x 23mm (3.8" x 2.6" x 0.9") accompanied by a weight of 159 grams (0.35 lbs) while the Panasonic GM1 has measurements of 99mm x 55mm x 30mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 1.2") accompanied by a weight of 204 grams (0.45 lbs).

See the Olympus Tough-3000 and Panasonic GM1 in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary depending on the lens you have during that time. The following is the front view sizing comparison of the Tough-3000 vs the GM1.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability score of the Tough-3000 and GM1 is 94 and 93 respectively.

Normally, it's tough to imagine the gap between sensor sizing merely by checking specs. The photograph below may provide you a stronger sense of the sensor measurements in the Tough-3000 and GM1.

As you can plainly see, each of the cameras offer different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The Tough-3000 using its tinier sensor is going to make getting shallow DOF more challenging and the Panasonic GM1 will resolve greater detail having an extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also allow you to crop photos a little more aggressively. The older Tough-3000 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor innovation.