Size and weight are big decision factors when you are trying to find the ideal camera for your needs.
In this section, we are going to illustrate the Panasonic FZ300 and Olympus E-PL5 side-by-side from the front, back and top in their relative dimensions. Panasonic FZ300 has external dimensions of 132 x 92 x 117 mm (5.2 x 3.62 x 4.61″) and weighs 691 g (including batteries). Olympus E-PL5 has external dimensions of 111 x 64 x 38 mm (4.37 x 2.52 x 1.5″) and weighs 325 g (0.72 lb / 11.46 oz) (including batteries).
Below you can see the front-view size comparison of the Panasonic FZ300 and the Olympus E-PL5. Olympus E-PL5 is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 21mm narrower, 28mm shorter and 79mm thinner than Panasonic FZ300. As you can tell, actually this is not a fair size comparison since Panasonic FZ300 has a built-in lens but Olympus E-PL5 doesn't. Once you put a lens on E-PL5, its thickness will increase significantly.
Here is the back view size comparison of the Panasonic FZ300 and Olympus E-PL5.
Now lets look at the top view comparison of Panasonic FZ300 and Olympus E-PL5.
Weight is another important factor, especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day.
Olympus E-PL5 is significantly lighter (366g ) than the Panasonic FZ300 which may become a big advantage especially on long walking trips.
Again, this comparison may not be very useful in real life as we are comparing the weight of a camera with a built-in lens to the body-only weight of an interchangeable lens camera. Once you put a lens on E-PL5, the total kit will weigh much higher.
Weather Sealing
With its weather-sealed body, we believe that the FZ300 has a big advantage over the E-PL5 which doesn't provide any kind of environmental sealing.
LCD Screen Size and Features
Panasonic FZ300 and Olympus E-PL5's LCD screens have the same diagonal size of 3.00 inches.
Olympus E-PL5 features a
Tilting-only screen which is mostly only good for shooting from waist or over-the-head levels. On the other hand, Panasonic FZ300 sports a
Fully Articulated screen which is more flexible and useful, especially for taking selfies and video.