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Olympus VG-120 vs Panasonic G9

Portability
96
Imaging
37
Features
24
Overall
31
Olympus VG-120 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 front
Portability
62
Imaging
60
Features
90
Overall
72

Olympus VG-120 vs Panasonic G9 Key Specs

Olympus VG-120
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 80 - 1600
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 26-130mm (F2.8-6.5) lens
  • 120g - 96 x 57 x 19mm
  • Introduced January 2011
Panasonic G9
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Fully Articulated Display
  • ISO 200 - 25600
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • No Anti-Alias Filter
  • 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 658g - 137 x 97 x 92mm
  • Released November 2017
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Olympus VG-120 vs Panasonic G9 Overview

On this page, we are evaluating the Olympus VG-120 vs Panasonic G9, former being a Ultracompact while the other is a Pro Mirrorless by manufacturers Olympus and Panasonic. There is a noticeable difference between the resolutions of the VG-120 (14MP) and G9 (20MP) and the VG-120 (1/2.3") and G9 (Four Thirds) provide totally different sensor dimensions.

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The VG-120 was manufactured 7 years before the G9 and that is quite a sizable difference as far as tech is concerned. Both the cameras have different body design with the Olympus VG-120 being a Ultracompact camera and the Panasonic G9 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera.

Before going right into a complete comparison, here is a simple summation of how the VG-120 matches up against the G9 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Photography Glossary
	
	

Reasons to pick Olympus VG-120 over the Panasonic G9

 VG-120 G9 

Reasons to pick Panasonic G9 over the Olympus VG-120

 G9 VG-120 
ReleasedNovember 2017January 2011More recent by 83 months
Manually focus Dial exact focusing
Display typeFully ArticulatedFixed Fully Articulating display
Display resolution1040k230kCrisper display (+810k dot)
Selfie screen Take selfies
Touch friendly display Easily navigate

Common features in the Olympus VG-120 and Panasonic G9

 VG-120 G9 
Display dimensions3"3"Equal display sizing

Olympus VG-120 vs Panasonic G9 Physical Comparison

For anybody who is looking to lug around your camera regularly, you are going to need to think about its weight and dimensions. The Olympus VG-120 comes with outside dimensions of 96mm x 57mm x 19mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.7") having a weight of 120 grams (0.26 lbs) whilst the Panasonic G9 has dimensions of 137mm x 97mm x 92mm (5.4" x 3.8" x 3.6") having a weight of 658 grams (1.45 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus VG-120 vs Panasonic G9 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Always remember, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you are using at the time. Underneath is a front view overall size comparison of the VG-120 versus the G9.

Olympus VG-120 vs Panasonic G9 size comparison

Using size and weight, the portability grade of the VG-120 and G9 is 96 and 62 respectively.

Olympus VG-120 vs Panasonic G9 top view buttons comparison

Olympus VG-120 vs Panasonic G9 Sensor Comparison

Generally, it is very hard to see the difference between sensor measurements only by looking at specs. The graphic underneath may offer you a clearer sense of the sensor sizes in the VG-120 and G9.

As you can plainly see, each of the cameras provide different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The VG-120 because of its tinier sensor will make shooting shallow depth of field more difficult and the Panasonic G9 will resolve greater detail due to its extra 6 Megapixels. Greater resolution will enable you to crop images more aggressively. The older VG-120 is going to be behind in sensor tech.

Olympus VG-120 vs Panasonic G9 sensor size comparison

Olympus VG-120 vs Panasonic G9 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus VG-120 vs Panasonic G9 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus VG-120 as a Portrait photography camera
Panasonic G9 as a Portrait photography camera
33
good MP (14 megapixels)
includes face detect autofocus
manual focus not available
no manual control
cannot use external flash
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
does not have RAW support
76
focusing manually
sensor resolution is decent (20MP)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
comes with face detect focusing
exports RAW files
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Street Comparison

Olympus VG-120 as a Street photography camera
Panasonic G9 as a Street photography camera
48
no articulating screen
no image stabilization
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
does not have RAW support
75
screen articulates fully
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
exports RAW files
offers touch to focus
weather proofing
good high ISO (25,600)
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Sports Comparison

Sports photography with Olympus VG-120
Sports photography with Panasonic G9
26
good MP (14MP)
no shutter priority
no image stabilization
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
low battery pack (160 per charge)
does not have phase detect autofocus
70
maximum shutter speed is high (1/8,000s)
silent mode (1/32,000s)
fast shooting (20.0 frames/s)
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor resolution is decent (20 megapixels)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
comes with tracking focus
weather proofing
not so great battery power (400 shots)
does not have phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Olympus VG-120 Travel photography features
Panasonic G9 Travel photography features
62
good MP (14 megapixels)
built-in flash
quite wide (26mm)
lack of Timelapse mode
low battery pack (160 CIPA)
does not offer selfie friendly display
sluggish max aperture (f2.8)
70
weather proofing
supports bluetooth
offers touch to focus
sensor resolution is decent (20MP)
selfie friendly display
not so great battery power (400 CIPA)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus VG-120 as a Landscape photography camera
Panasonic G9 as a Landscape photography camera
36
quite wide (26mm)
screen size is good (3 inches)
good MP (14MP)
manual focus not available
can't switch lens (fixed lens mount)
sluggish max aperture (f2.8)
no manual control
no image stabilization
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
does not have RAW support
low battery pack (160 CIPA)
lack of Timelapse mode
76
focusing manually
swap lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
screen size is decent (3 inch)
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor resolution is decent (20MP)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
does not have low pass filter
good high ISO (25,600)
exports RAW files
weather proofing
has dual storage slots
not so great battery power (400 per charge)
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus VG-120 Vlogging details
Panasonic G9 Vlogging details
28
quite wide (26mm)
includes face detect autofocus
sluggish max aperture (f2.8)
does not offer selfie friendly display
no image stabilization
video resolution low (1280 x 720 pixels)
lack of microphone support
76
selfie friendly display
touchscreen capability
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
comes with face detect focusing
video res high (3840 x 2160 resolution)
includes microphone jack
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Olympus VG-120 vs Panasonic G9 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus VG-120 and Panasonic G9
 Olympus VG-120Panasonic Lumix DC-G9
General Information
Brand Name Olympus Panasonic
Model Olympus VG-120 Panasonic Lumix DC-G9
Type Ultracompact Pro Mirrorless
Introduced 2011-01-06 2017-11-08
Body design Ultracompact SLR-style mirrorless
Sensor Information
Processor Chip TruePic III -
Sensor type CCD CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" Four Thirds
Sensor measurements 6.17 x 4.55mm 17.3 x 13mm
Sensor surface area 28.1mm² 224.9mm²
Sensor resolution 14 megapixel 20 megapixel
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Full resolution 4288 x 3216 5184 x 3888
Max native ISO 1600 25600
Min native ISO 80 200
RAW files
Min boosted ISO - 100
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch focus
Autofocus continuous
Single autofocus
Autofocus tracking
Autofocus selectice
Autofocus center weighted
Multi area autofocus
Live view autofocus
Face detection autofocus
Contract detection autofocus
Phase detection autofocus
Number of focus points - 225
Lens
Lens mount fixed lens Micro Four Thirds
Lens focal range 26-130mm (5.0x) -
Highest aperture f/2.8-6.5 -
Macro focus distance 7cm -
Total lenses - 107
Crop factor 5.8 2.1
Screen
Screen type Fixed Type Fully Articulated
Screen diagonal 3 inches 3 inches
Resolution of screen 230k dot 1,040k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch display
Screen tech TFT Color LCD -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder None Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 3,680k dot
Viewfinder coverage - 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification - 0.83x
Features
Lowest shutter speed 4s 60s
Highest shutter speed 1/2000s 1/8000s
Highest silent shutter speed - 1/32000s
Continuous shooting speed - 20.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation - Yes
Custom white balance
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash range 4.40 m no built-in flash
Flash settings Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Forced On/Red-eye Reduction, Slow Sync., Slow Sync./Red-eye Reduction, Forced Off
External flash
Auto exposure bracketing
White balance bracketing
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30, 15fps), 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 240 (30, 15fps) 3840 x 2160 @ 60p / 150 Mbps, MP4, H.264, Linear PCM
Max video resolution 1280x720 3840x2160
Video file format Motion JPEG MPEG-4, AVCHD, H.264
Microphone input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 3.0 (5 GBit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 120g (0.26 lbs) 658g (1.45 lbs)
Physical dimensions 96 x 57 x 19mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.7") 137 x 97 x 92mm (5.4" x 3.8" x 3.6")
DXO scores
DXO All around score not tested not tested
DXO Color Depth score not tested not tested
DXO Dynamic range score not tested not tested
DXO Low light score not tested not tested
Other
Battery life 160 pictures 400 pictures
Type of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model LI-70B DMW-BLF19
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes
Time lapse feature
Type of storage SD/SDHC Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC slots (UHS-II supported)
Storage slots Single Two
Pricing at launch $190 $1,500