Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5 vs OM System OM-1

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5 and the OM System OM-1, 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.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5 was introduced in April 2012 and OM System OM-1 was introduced in February 2022. 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 Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5 over OM System OM-1.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose OM System OM-1 over Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5.

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

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5 and OM System OM-1 have 3.0" screens with 920k dot and 1,620k dot resolutions respectively. Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5 has a Fixed screen OM System OM-1 has a Fully Articulated screen which makes it selfie and vlogger friendly and generally very useful for video shooting. Both models feature 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.

Electronic (OLED) Viewfinder on OM System OM-1

OM System OM-1 has a built-in Electronic (OLED) viewfinder with 5,760k dot resolution. It has a 100% coverage and 1.65x (0.83x 35mm equivalent) magnification. There is no built-in or optional viewfinder available on Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5 features a 12.1 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 160 - 12,800. OM System OM-1 features a 20.4 megapixel Micro Four Thirds Stacked Live MOS sensor with dimensions of 17.4 x 13 mm and a total area of 169 mm². Its native ISO range is 200 - 25,600 and expands to 80 - 102,400 in boosted mode.

OM System OM-1 has Stacked Live MOS sensor

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

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5 is equipped with Venus Engine FHD processor and can take pictures up to 4000 x 3000 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4000 x 2672, 4000 x 2248, 2992 x 2992, 2816 x 2112, 2816 x 1880, 2816 x 1584, 2112 x 2112, 2048 x 1536, 2048x1360, 1920 x 1080, 1600 x 1200, 1600 x 1200, 1600 x 1064, 1600 x 904, 1504 x 1504, 1440 x 1440 with 1:1, 4:3, 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios. OM System OM-1 is equipped with TruePic X Dual Quad processor and can take pictures up to 5184 x 3888 resolution.

Lens Mount

Cameras have Micro Four Thirds lens mount. Due to their Micro Four Thirds sensor their crop factor (also called lens multiplier) 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.

No Low-Pass Filter on OM System OM-1

There is no optical low-pass filter (OLPF), also known as an anti-aliasing filter, in front of the sensor on OM System OM-1. This results in a slightly sharper image but may also introduce moiré patterns and aliasing artifacts when photographing subjects with fine, repetitive patterns or details.

In-Body Image Stabilization on OM System OM-1

OM System OM-1 has a built-in 5-Axis Sensor Shift in-body image stabilization (IBIS) with 7 stops of compensation. This means that you are still getting vibration reduction when camera 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 Wi-Fi on OM System OM-1

OM System OM-1 has a built-in Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi 5, 802.11ac/b/g/n, 2.4/5 GHz) which allows to easily transfer photos and videos from the camera to other Wi-Fi-enabled devices, such as smartphones, tablets, printers, or computers. This eliminates the need for cables and allows for quick and convenient media sharing and social media integration. It gives you the ability to control your camera remotely using a smartphone or tablet. This is particularly useful for taking self-portraits, group shots, or capturing images in challenging conditions without having to touch the camera. Firmware updates can also be downloaded and installed wirelessly.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in WiFi.

Bluetooth on OM System OM-1

OM System OM-1 has a built-in Bluetooth (version 4.2 LE) which lets you to connect the camera to a smartphone or a dedicated remote control device. This allows you to remotely trigger the camera, adjust settings and controls remotely through a paired mobile app. While Wi-Fi is generally faster for transferring larger files, Bluetooth can be used for small, selective transfers, it can provide real-time information about your camera's battery status, memory card capacity, and other key settings directly on your paired smartphone or smartwatch.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in Bluetooth.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB inputs for data transfer. Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5 has a Mini TypeC HDMI and OM System OM-1 has a Micro HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

OM System OM-1 comes with BLX-1 battery pack with battery life of 520 shots.

External Storage Slots

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I) card slot. OM System OM-1 has Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II) card slots.

Shutter

OM System OM-1 has Electronic shutter and Mechanical Focal Plane shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/4000 sec on Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5, and up to 1/32000 sec with electronic shutter and up to 1/8000 sec with mechanical shutter on OM System OM-1. Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5 can shoot continuously up to 4.0 fps. OM System OM-1 can shoot continuously up to 120.0 fps with electronic shutter and up to 10.0 fps with mechanical shutter.

Focusing

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5 has 23 focusing points and OM System OM-1 has 1053 (1053 cross-type) focusing points. OM System OM-1 has detection range from -6 to +19 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of OM System OM-1 ranges from -2 to +20 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±3 EV range on Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5 and ±5 EV range on OM System OM-1. You can also do exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5 and exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on OM System OM-1.

Flash

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5 has a built-in flash with maximum range of 6.30 m. OM System OM-1 has no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected via Hot Shoe or PC Terminal. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/160 sec on Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5 and 1/250 sec on OM System OM-1.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5 body has dimensions of 108 x 67 x 37 mm (4.25 x 2.64 x 1.46") and OM System OM-1 body has dimensions of 135 x 92 x 73 mm (5.31 x 3.62 x 2.87"). Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5 weighs 267 g (0.59 lb / 9.42 oz) and OM System OM-1 weighs 599 g (1.32 lb / 21.13 oz).

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5

OM System OM-1

108 mm

67 mm

135 mm

92 mm

67 mm

92 mm

37 mm

73 mm