Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM5 vs Olympus PEN E-PL5

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM5 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-GM5 was introduced in September 2014 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-GM5 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-GM5.

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-GM5 and Olympus PEN E-PL5 have 3.0" screens with 921k dot and 460k dot resolutions respectively. Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM5 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.

Viewfinder

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM5 has a built-in Electronic viewfinder with 1,166k dot resolution. It has a 100% coverage and 0.92x (0.46x 35mm equivalent) magnification.Olympus PEN E-PL5 does not have a built-in viewfinder but an optional electronic viewfinder can be attached.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM5 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 100 - 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-GM5 is equipped with Venus Engine processor and can take pictures up to 4592 x 3448 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4592 x 3064, 4592 x 2584, 3424 x 3424, 3232 x 2424, 3232 x 2160, 3840 x 2160, 2416 x 2416, 2272 x 1704, 2272 x 1520, 1920 x 1080, 1712 x 1712, 1824 x 1368, 1824 x 1216, 1824 x 1024 with 1:1, 4:3, 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios. 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-GM5

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM5 has a built-in Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n, 2.4 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.

NFC on Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM5

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM5 has Near Field Communication (NFC) technology which simplifies the process of pairing it with other NFC-enabled devices like smartphones or tablets. It allows to quickly transfer photos and videos or remotely control the camera from compatible device. NFC can also be used for authentication and security purposes. It can verify your identity before accessing certain features or transferring sensitive data. It can be used with NFC-enabled accessories as well, such as lenses, flashes and GPS devices.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) inputs for data transfer. Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM5 has a Micro HDMI and Olympus PEN E-PL5 has a Mini type C HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM5 comes with DMW-BLH7 battery pack with battery life of 220 shots and Olympus PEN E-PL5 comes with BLS-5 battery pack with battery life of 360 shots.

External Storage Slots

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM5 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-GM5, and up to 1/4000 sec on Olympus PEN E-PL5. Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM5 can shoot continuously up to 5.8 fps. Olympus PEN E-PL5 can shoot continuously up to 8.0 fps.

Flash

Cameras have no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected to both of them via Hot Shoe to Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM5 and via Hot Shoe or Wireless connection to Olympus PEN E-PL5. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/250 sec on Olympus PEN E-PL5.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM5 body has dimensions of 99 x 60 x 36 mm (3.9 x 2.36 x 1.42") 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-GM5 weighs 211 g (0.47 lb / 7.44 oz) and Olympus PEN E-PL5 weighs 325 g (0.72 lb / 11.46 oz).

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM5

Olympus PEN E-PL5

99 mm

60 mm

111 mm

64 mm

60 mm

64 mm

36 mm

38 mm