Olympus PEN E-PM1 vs Ricoh WG-5 GPS

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Olympus PEN E-PM1 and the Ricoh WG-5 GPS, 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-PM1 was introduced in November 2011 and Ricoh WG-5 GPS was introduced in February 2015. 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-PM1 over Ricoh WG-5 GPS.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Ricoh WG-5 GPS over Olympus PEN E-PM1.

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-PM1 and Ricoh WG-5 GPS have 3.0" Fixed screens with 460k dot resolution.

Camera does not have a built-in viewfinder but an optional electronic viewfinder can be attached on Olympus PEN E-PM1.

Olympus PEN E-PM1 features a 12.3 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 100 - 12,800. Ricoh WG-5 GPS features a 16 megapixel 1/2.3-inch BSI-CMOS sensor with dimensions of 6.17 x 4.55 mm and a total area of 20.7 mm². Its native ISO range is 125 - 6,400.

Ricoh WG-5 GPS has BSI-CMOS sensor, short for Backside Illuminated Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor sensor. In traditional CMOS sensors, the wiring and circuitry are located on the front side of the sensor, which can block some of the incoming light. BSI technology flips this design by placing the photosensitive elements (pixels) on the backside of the sensor, allowing more light to reach the pixels. This significantly enhances light sensitivity and improves low-light performance. BSI-CMOS sensors are particularly effective in low-light conditions, as they can capture more light, resulting in brighter and less noisy images. This makes them well-suited for indoor and night photography. BSI-CMOS sensors deliver a higher SNR and reduced cross-talk.

Olympus PEN E-PM1 is equipped with TruePic VI processor and can take pictures up to 4032 x 3024 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 3200 x 2400, 2560 x 1920, 1600 x 1200, 1280 x 960, 1024 x 768, 640 x 480 with 4:3, 16:9 aspect ratios. Ricoh WG-5 GPS can take pictures up to 4608 x 3456 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4608 x 2592, 3456 x 3456, 3072 x 2304, 3072 x 1728, 2592 x 1464, 2048 x 1536, 1920 x 1080, 640 x 480 with 1:1, 4:3, 16:9 aspect ratios.

Image Stabilization

The cameras have a built-in image stabilization. On Olympus PEN E-PM1 it means that you are still getting vibration reduction when it is paired with non-image stabilizied lenses. It also works with lenses with optical image stabilization and in combination can achieve even better compensation.

Built-in GPS on Ricoh WG-5 GPS

Ricoh WG-5 GPS has a built-in GPS (Global Positioning System) technology which allows you to automatically tag the location where you took your photos. You can later categorize, organize, and search for photos based on location. This is very useful for travel and outdoor photographers for documenting the locations where images were captured.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in GPS.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) inputs for data transfer. Olympus PEN E-PM1 has a Mini type C HDMI and Ricoh WG-5 GPS has a Micro HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Olympus PEN E-PM1 comes with BLS-5 battery pack with battery life of 330 shots and Ricoh WG-5 GPS comes with D-LI92 battery pack with battery life of 240 shots.

External Storage Slots

Cameras have a single SD/SDHC/SDXC card slot.

Shutter

Shutter speed can go up to 1/4000 sec on Olympus PEN E-PM1, and up to 1/4000 sec on Ricoh WG-5 GPS. Olympus PEN E-PM1 can shoot continuously up to 5.5 fps. Ricoh WG-5 GPS can shoot continuously up to 14.0 fps.

Flash

Ricoh WG-5 GPS has a built-in flash with maximum range of 10.40 m at Auto ISO. Olympus PEN E-PM1 has no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected via Hot Shoe. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/160 sec on Olympus PEN E-PM1.

Olympus PEN E-PM1 body has dimensions of 110 x 64 x 34 mm (4.33 x 2.52 x 1.34") and Ricoh WG-5 GPS body has dimensions of 125 x 65 x 32 mm (4.92 x 2.56 x 1.26"). Olympus PEN E-PM1 weighs 265 g (0.58 lb / 9.35 oz) and Ricoh WG-5 GPS weighs 236 g (0.52 lb / 8.32 oz).

Olympus PEN E-PM1

Ricoh WG-5 GPS

110 mm

64 mm

125 mm

65 mm