Olympus PEN E-PL5 vs Samsung GX-10

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Olympus PEN E-PL5 and the Samsung GX-10, highlighting the advantages of each over the other, discussing their pros and cons, shared strengths and weaknesses, and providing a rating based on their available features and specifications to assist you in choosing the one that best suits your needs.

Olympus PEN E-PL5 was introduced in September 2012 and Samsung GX-10 was introduced in September 2006. Let us first list highlights of the models.

Now that we've looked at the most essential specifications and gained a basic understanding of these cameras, we can delve into more details and see the differences between them.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Olympus PEN E-PL5 over Samsung GX-10.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Samsung GX-10 over Olympus PEN E-PL5.

We already listed pros and cons of each model. However, you may also find useful to look at their common strengths and weaknesses shown side-by-side.

Screen

Olympus PEN E-PL5 has a 3.0" Tilting screen with 460k dot resolution and Samsung GX-10 has a 2.5" Fixed screen with 210k dot resolution. Tilting screen makes Olympus PEN E-PL5 very useful for photography purposes but not so useful for video shooting. Olympus PEN E-PL5 also features touchscreen which has advantages such as easy menu navigation, intuitive controls, quick setting adjustment and most importantly a Touch-to-Focus functionality allowing users to select a specific point on the screen where they want the camera to focus. This feature can be helpful for achieving precise focus in both photo and video recording.

Viewfinder

Samsung GX-10 has a built-in Optical (pentaprism) viewfinder. It has a 95% coverage and 0.95x (0.63x 35mm equivalent) magnification.Olympus PEN E-PL5 does not have a built-in viewfinder but an optional electronic viewfinder can be attached.

Olympus PEN E-PL5 features a 16.1 megapixel Micro Four Thirds CMOS sensor with dimensions of 17.3 x 13 mm and a total area of 224.9 mm². Its native ISO range is 200 - 25,600. Samsung GX-10 features a 10.75 megapixel APS-C CCD sensor with dimensions of 23.5 x 15.7 mm and a total area of 246.5 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 1,600.

Here is a sensor size comparison chart where you can see how different sensors compare with each other:

Sensor size chart

	Sensor	Dimensions	Area	Aspect Ratio	Crop Factor
	Medium Format	44 x 33 mm	1452 mm2	4:3	0.79x
	Full Frame	36 x 24 mm	864 mm2	3:2	1x
	APS-H	27 x 18 mm	486 mm2	3:2	1.3x
	APS-C	23.6 x 15.6 mm	368.2 mm2	3:2	1.5x
	APS-C (Canon)	22.3 x 14.9 mm	332.3 mm2	3:2	1.6x
	Micro Four Thirds	17.4 x 13 mm	226.2 mm2	4:3	2x
	1-inch	13.2 x 8.8 mm	116.2 mm2	3:2	2.7x
	1/1.7-inch	7.44 x 5.58 mm	41.5 mm2	4:3	4.7x
	1/2.3-inch	6.17 x 4.55 mm	28.1 mm2	4:3	5.6x

Olympus PEN E-PL5 can take pictures up to 4608 x 3456 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 2560 x 1920, 1024 x 768 with 4:3, 16:9 aspect ratios. Samsung GX-10 can take pictures up to 3872 x 2592 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 3008 x 2000, 1824 x 1216 with 3:2 aspect ratios.

Lens Mount

Olympus PEN E-PL5 has Micro Four Thirds lens mount and Samsung GX-10 has Pentax K_AF2 lens mount. Due to Micro Four Thirds sensor in Olympus PEN E-PL5 its crop factor is equal to 2x, this means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 2. Due to APS-C sensor in Samsung GX-10 its crop factor is equal to 1.5x, this means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 1.5.

In-Body Image Stabilization

The cameras have a built-in Sensor Shift in-body image stabilization (IBIS). This means that you are still getting vibration reduction when cameras are paired with non-image stabilizied lenses. It also works with lenses with optical image stabilization and in combination can achieve even better compensation.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) inputs for data transfer. connector for video signal output.

Battery

Olympus PEN E-PL5 comes with BLS-5 battery pack with battery life of 360 shots.

External Storage Slots

Olympus PEN E-PL5 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC card slot. Samsung GX-10 has a single SD/SDHC/MMC card slot.

Shutter

Samsung GX-10 has Electronically controlled vertical-run focal plane shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/4000 sec on Olympus PEN E-PL5, and up to 1/4000 sec on Samsung GX-10. Olympus PEN E-PL5 can shoot continuously up to 8.0 fps. Samsung GX-10 can shoot continuously up to 3.0 fps.

Flash

Samsung GX-10 has a built-in flash and also accepts external flash which can be connected via Hot Shoe. Olympus PEN E-PL5 has no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected via Hot Shoe or Wireless connection. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/250 sec on Olympus PEN E-PL5 and 1/180 sec on Samsung GX-10.

Olympus PEN E-PL5 body has dimensions of 111 x 64 x 38 mm (4.37 x 2.52 x 1.5") and Samsung GX-10 body has dimensions of 142 x 101 x 70 mm (5.59 x 3.98 x 2.76"). Olympus PEN E-PL5 weighs 325 g (0.72 lb / 11.46 oz) and Samsung GX-10 weighs 793 g (1.75 lb / 27.97 oz).

Olympus PEN E-PL5

Samsung GX-10

111 mm

64 mm

142 mm

101 mm

64 mm

101 mm

38 mm

70 mm