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Olympus VR-320 vs Panasonic GM5

Portability
94
Imaging
37
Features
35
Overall
36
Olympus VR-320 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM5 front
Portability
91
Imaging
53
Features
62
Overall
56

Olympus VR-320 vs Panasonic GM5 Key Specs

Olympus VR-320
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 80 - 1600
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 24-300mm (F3.0-5.9) lens
  • 158g - 101 x 58 x 29mm
  • Announced July 2011
  • Updated by Olympus VR-330
Panasonic GM5
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 200 - 25600
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 211g - 99 x 60 x 36mm
  • Released September 2014
  • Replaced the Panasonic GM1
Photography Glossary

Olympus VR-320 vs Panasonic GM5 Overview

Lets look a little more closely at the Olympus VR-320 vs Panasonic GM5, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the other is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by manufacturers Olympus and Panasonic. The resolution of the VR-320 (14MP) and the GM5 (16MP) is very similar but the VR-320 (1/2.3") and GM5 (Four Thirds) boast different sensor sizing.

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The VR-320 was announced 4 years earlier than the GM5 and that is quite a large difference as far as technology is concerned. Each of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus VR-320 being a Compact camera and the Panasonic GM5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before we go right into a detailed comparison, here is a simple overview of how the VR-320 scores vs the GM5 for portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Olympus VR-320 over the Panasonic GM5

 VR-320 GM5 

Reasons to pick Panasonic GM5 over the Olympus VR-320

 GM5 VR-320 
ReleasedSeptember 2014July 2011Fresher by 38 months
Focus manually Dial accurate focus
Display resolution921k230kSharper display (+691k dot)
Touch friendly display Easily navigate

Common features in the Olympus VR-320 and Panasonic GM5

 VR-320 GM5 
Display typeFixed Fixed Fixed display
Display dimensions3"3"Equal display measurement
Selfie screen Lacking selfie screen

Olympus VR-320 vs Panasonic GM5 Physical Comparison

If you are intending to carry your camera frequently, you will want to consider its weight and proportions. The Olympus VR-320 provides outside measurements of 101mm x 58mm x 29mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.1") with a weight of 158 grams (0.35 lbs) whilst the Panasonic GM5 has measurements of 99mm x 60mm x 36mm (3.9" x 2.4" x 1.4") and a weight of 211 grams (0.47 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus VR-320 vs Panasonic GM5 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you use at the time. The following is a front view overall size comparison of the VR-320 vs the GM5.

Olympus VR-320 vs Panasonic GM5 size comparison

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the VR-320 and GM5 is 94 and 91 respectively.

Olympus VR-320 vs Panasonic GM5 top view buttons comparison

Olympus VR-320 vs Panasonic GM5 Sensor Comparison

More often than not, it is difficult to picture the contrast between sensor sizing simply by reviewing a spec sheet. The visual here may provide you a clearer sense of the sensor sizing in the VR-320 and GM5.

As you can see, both the cameras have different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The VR-320 having a tinier sensor is going to make achieving shallow DOF harder and the Panasonic GM5 will offer more detail with its extra 2 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also enable you to crop photos a bit more aggressively. The older VR-320 is going to be behind in sensor tech.

Olympus VR-320 vs Panasonic GM5 sensor size comparison

Olympus VR-320 vs Panasonic GM5 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus VR-320 vs Panasonic GM5 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus VR-320 Portrait photography highlights
Panasonic GM5 Portrait photography highlights
33
megapixel count good (14MP)
supports face detection focus
no manual focus
lack of manual exposure
cannot use external flash
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
no RAW support
71
focusing manually
MP count good (16MP)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
supports face detect autofocus
saves RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Olympus VR-320 Street photography factors
Panasonic GM5 Street photography factors
62
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
lighter than competitors in class (158g)
fixed screen
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
no RAW support
76
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
features touch focus
lighter than competition in class (211 grams)
very good ISO range (25,600)
no articulating screen
lack of image stabilization
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Sports Comparison

Olympus VR-320 Sports photography advice
Panasonic GM5 Sports photography advice
47
amazing zoom range (24-300mm 12.5 x zoom)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
megapixel count good (14 megapixels)
supports tracking autofocus
no shutter priority
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
no phase detect auto focus
48
quiet shooting (1/16,000s)
MP count good (16MP)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
supports tracking focus
low maximum shutter speed (1/500s)
slow continuous shooting (5.8 frames per second)
lack of image stabilization
not so great battery (220 CIPA)
doesn't have phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Olympus VR-320
Travel photography with Panasonic GM5
70
lighter than competitors in class (158g)
megapixel count good (14MP)
built-in flash
decently wide (24mm)
long reach (300mm)
no Timelapse function
display is not selfie friendly
slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
71
lighter than competition in class (211g)
features touch focus
MP count good (16 megapixels)
not so great battery (220 per charge)
doesn't have selfie friendly display
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus VR-320 Landscape photography details
Panasonic GM5 Landscape photography details
42
decently wide (24mm)
screen size is good (3 inches)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
megapixel count good (14MP)
no manual focus
can't swap lens (fixed lens mount)
slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
lack of manual exposure
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
no RAW support
no Timelapse function
69
focusing manually
switch lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
screen size is good (3 inch)
MP count good (16 megapixels)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
very good ISO range (25,600)
saves RAW formats
lack of image stabilization
not so great battery (220 shots)
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus VR-320 Vlogging factors
Panasonic GM5 Vlogging factors
32
decently wide (24mm)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
supports face detection focus
lighter than competitors in class (158 grams)
slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
display is not selfie friendly
video quality not great (1280 x 720 pixels)
no external microphone jack
34
touchscreen functionality
supports face detect autofocus
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 pixels)
lighter than competition in class (211g)
doesn't have selfie friendly display
lack of image stabilization
does not have microphone port
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Olympus VR-320 vs Panasonic GM5 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus VR-320 and Panasonic GM5
 Olympus VR-320Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM5
General Information
Manufacturer Olympus Panasonic
Model type Olympus VR-320 Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM5
Class Small Sensor Superzoom Entry-Level Mirrorless
Announced 2011-07-19 2014-09-15
Body design Compact Rangefinder-style mirrorless
Sensor Information
Processor Chip TruePic III Venus Engine
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 14MP 16MP
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Highest resolution 4288 x 3216 4592 x 3448
Highest native ISO 1600 25600
Lowest native ISO 80 200
RAW format
Lowest boosted ISO - 100
Autofocusing
Focus manually
AF touch
Continuous AF
Single AF
AF tracking
AF selectice
AF center weighted
AF multi area
Live view AF
Face detect focusing
Contract detect focusing
Phase detect focusing
Total focus points - 23
Lens
Lens support fixed lens Micro Four Thirds
Lens zoom range 24-300mm (12.5x) -
Max aperture f/3.0-5.9 -
Macro focusing distance 1cm -
Total lenses - 107
Focal length multiplier 5.8 2.1
Screen
Range of display Fixed Type Fixed Type
Display sizing 3 inch 3 inch
Resolution of display 230k dot 921k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch capability
Display tech TFT Color LCD -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type None Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 1,166k dot
Viewfinder coverage - 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification - 0.46x
Features
Slowest shutter speed 4 seconds 60 seconds
Maximum shutter speed 1/2000 seconds 1/500 seconds
Maximum quiet shutter speed - 1/16000 seconds
Continuous shooting speed - 5.8 frames per sec
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual exposure
Exposure compensation - Yes
Custom WB
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash distance 4.70 m no built-in flash
Flash settings Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in Auto, auto w/redeye reduction, on, on w/redeye reduction, slow sync, slow sync w/redeye reduction, off
Hot shoe
AE 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) 1920 x 1080 (60p, 60i, 50p, 50i, 25p, 24p), 1280 x 720 (30p, 25p), 640 x 480 (30p, 25p)
Highest video resolution 1280x720 1920x1080
Video file format Motion JPEG MPEG-4, AVCHD
Microphone jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 158g (0.35 lb) 211g (0.47 lb)
Physical dimensions 101 x 58 x 29mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.1") 99 x 60 x 36mm (3.9" x 2.4" x 1.4")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating not tested 66
DXO Color Depth rating not tested 22.1
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested 11.7
DXO Low light rating not tested 721
Other
Battery life - 220 photos
Battery form - Battery Pack
Battery ID LI-42B DMW-BLH7
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec, 10 sec (3 images))
Time lapse shooting
Type of storage SD/SDHC SD/SDHC/SDXC
Storage slots 1 1
Cost at launch $179 $966