Olympus E-420 has a
10.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features TruePic III processor. On the other hand, Panasonic GX1 has a
16.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Venus Engine FHD processor.
Panasonic GX1's sensor provides 6MP more than Olympus E-420's sensor, which gives a significant advantage in real life. You can print your images larger or crop more freely.
On the other hand, please keep in mind that Max sensor resolution is not the only determinant of resolving power. Factors such as the optical elements, low pass filter, pixel size and sensor technology also affects the final resolution of the captured image.
Below you can see the E-420 and GX1 sensor size comparison.
Olympus E-420 and Panasonic GX1 have the same sensor sizes so they will provide same level of control over the depth of field when used with same focal length and aperture. On the other hand, since Olympus E-420 has 58% larger pixel area compared to Panasonic GX1, it has potential to collect more light on pixel level hence have less noise in low light / High ISO images.
DxOMark Sensor Scores
Both Olympus E-420 and Panasonic GX1 sensors have been tested by DxoMark. DxoMark scores camera sensors for color depth (DXO Portrait), dynamic range (DXO Landscape) and low-light sensitivity (DXO Sports), and also gives them an overall score. Of the two cameras that we are comparing, E-420 has scored 56, 1 points higher than GX1.
Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
Olympus E-420 |
56 |
21.5 bits |
10.4 Evs |
527 ISO |
Panasonic GX1 |
55 |
20.8 bits |
10.6 Evs |
703 ISO |