Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM1 vs Olympus PEN E-PL5

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM1 and the Olympus PEN E-PL5, 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-GM1 was introduced in December 2013 and Olympus PEN E-PL5 was introduced in September 2012. 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-GM1 over Olympus PEN E-PL5.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Olympus PEN E-PL5 over Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM1.

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-GM1 and Olympus PEN E-PL5 have 3.0" screens with 1,036k dot and 460k dot resolutions respectively. Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM1 has a Fixed screen Olympus PEN E-PL5 has a Tilting screen which makes it very useful for photography purposes but not so 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.

Camera does not have a built-in viewfinder but an optional electronic viewfinder can be attached on Olympus PEN E-PL5.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM1 features a 16 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 and expands to 125 - 25,600 in boosted mode. 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 169 mm². Its native ISO range is 200 - 25,600.

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

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM1 can take pictures up to 4592 x 3448 resolution. 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.

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.

In-Body Image Stabilization on Olympus PEN E-PL5

Olympus PEN E-PL5 has a built-in Sensor Shift in-body image stabilization (IBIS). 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 Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM1

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM1 has a built-in Wi-Fi 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.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) inputs for data transfer. Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM1 has a Micro Type D HDMI and Olympus PEN E-PL5 has a Mini type C HDMI 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

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM1 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I) card slot. Olympus PEN E-PL5 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC card slot.

Shutter

Shutter speed can go up to 1/16000 sec with electronic shutter and up to 1/500 sec with mechanical shutter on Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM1, and up to 1/4000 sec on Olympus PEN E-PL5. Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM1 can shoot continuously up to 5.0 fps. Olympus PEN E-PL5 can shoot continuously up to 8.0 fps.

Flash

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM1 has a built-in flash with maximum range of 4.00 m. 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 1/50 sec on Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM1 and 1/250 sec on Olympus PEN E-PL5.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM1 body has dimensions of 99 x 55 x 30 mm (3.88 x 2.16 x 1.2") and Olympus PEN E-PL5 body has dimensions of 111 x 64 x 38 mm (4.37 x 2.52 x 1.5"). Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM1 weighs 204 g (0.45 lb / 7.20 oz) and Olympus PEN E-PL5 weighs 325 g (0.72 lb / 11.46 oz).

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM1

Olympus PEN E-PL5

99 mm

55 mm

111 mm

64 mm

55 mm

64 mm

30 mm

38 mm