Size and weight is a big decision factor when you are trying to find the ideal camera for your needs.
In this section, We are going to illustrate Olympus E-PL9 and Panasonic GM5 side-by-side from the front, back and top in their relative dimensions.
Below you can see the front view size comparison of Olympus E-PL9 and Panasonic GM5. Panasonic GM5 is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 18mm narrower, 8mm shorter and 3mm thinner than Olympus E-PL9.
Here is the back view size comparison of Olympus E-PL9 and Panasonic GM5.
Now lets look at the top view comparison of Olympus E-PL9 and Panasonic GM5.
Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day.
Panasonic GM5 is significantly lighter (169g ) than the Olympus E-PL9 which may become a big advantage especially on long walking trips.
Also keep in mind that body weight is not the only deciding factor when comparing two interchangeable camera bodies, you have to also take into account the lenses that you will be using with these bodies. Since both Olympus E-PL9 and Panasonic GM5 have the same Four Thirds sized sensor, their lenses for a similar focal length and aperture will be similar in size and weight.
Weight Comparison
Mirrorless Cameras
Thickness Comparison
Mirrorless Cameras
Weather Sealing
Unfortunately neither Olympus PEN E-PL9 nor Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM5 provides any type of weather sealing in their body, so you have to give extra care especially when you are shooting outdoors. If weather sealing is a must-have feature for you, check these sections: Top Mirrorless Cameras with Weather Sealing
LCD Screen Size and Features
Olympus E-PL9 and Panasonic GM5's LCD screens has the same diagonal size of 3".
On the other hand, Olympus E-PL9 features a
Tilting screen where you can change the angle of the screen to make it easier to shoot from waist or over the head levels whereas the Panasonic GM5 has a fixed type screen which provides less flexibility in shooting positions compared to E-PL9.
Both Olympus E-PL9 and Panasonic GM5 have Four Thirds sized 16.0 MP resolution sensors so sensor size and resolution is not a differentiator between these two cameras.
Below you can see the E-PL9 and GM5 sensor size comparison.
Olympus E-PL9 and Panasonic GM5 have sensor sizes so they will provide same level of control over the depth of field when used with same focal length and aperture.
In this section, we rank and compare Olympus E-PL9 and Panasonic GM5 for five different photography types in order to make your decision process easier in case you are specifically interested in one or more of these areas.
Olympus E-PL9 for Portrait Photography
Panasonic GM5 for Portrait Photography
Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Average Resolution Sensor: 16.0MP
Optional External Viewfinder
Average Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details
Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Average Resolution Sensor: 16.0MP
Average Ergonomics&Handling
No Image Stabilization
Read the details
Olympus E-PL9 for Street Photography
Panasonic GM5 for Street Photography
Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Tilting LCD Screen
Optional External Viewfinder
Medium sized Body
Read the details
Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Medium sized Body
No Image Stabilization
Read the details
Olympus E-PL9 for Sports Photography
Panasonic GM5 for Sports Photography
Image Stabilization
Fast Continuous Shooting: 8.6fps
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
121 Focus Points
Wireless Connection
Optional External Viewfinder
Average Ergonomics&Handling
Environmental Sealings
Read the details
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
23 Focus Points
Wireless Connection
Average Ergonomics&Handling
Average Continuous Shooting: 5.8fps
No Image Stabilization
Environmental Sealings
Slow Max shutter speed: 1/500s
Poor Battery Life: 220 shots
Read the details
Olympus E-PL9 for Daily Photography
Panasonic GM5 for Daily Photography
Olympus E-PL9 for Landscape Photography
Panasonic GM5 for Landscape Photography
Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Live-view
Average Resolution Sensor: 16.0MP
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details
Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Live-view
Average Resolution Sensor: 16.0MP
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details
Number of available lenses is a big decision factor while choosing your interchangeable lens camera. Olympus E-PL9 and Panasonic GM5 have the same Micro Four Thirds and have total of 103 lenses to choose from.
Another important factor is the availability of image stabilization. Olympus E-PL9 has a big advantage in this regard because it has a sensor based image stabilization which means that all the lenses mounted to this body will be stabilized. On the other hand, Panasonic GM5 doesn't have this feature so you have to buy a lens with optical stabilization feature. Currently there are 31 lenses for Micro Four Thirds mount with Optical Image Stabilization features.
| Lens Type |
# of Olympus E-PL9 Lenses |
# of Panasonic GM5 Lenses |
| Standard Zoom |
15 |
15 |
| Standard Prime |
12 |
12 |
| Wideangle Zoom |
5 |
5 |
| Wideangle Prime |
28 |
28 |
| Telephoto Zoom |
17 |
17 |
| Telephoto Prime |
8 |
8 |
| SuperZoom |
8 |
8 |
| Wideangle Fisheye Prime |
5 |
5 |
| Macro Prime |
4 |
4 |
| Perspective Control Prime |
n/a |
n/a |
| Telephoto Mirror Prime |
1 |
1 |
| TOTAL |
103 |
103 |
You may have already made your decision about which camera suits better for your needs and your budget so far but in case you wonder how we rated Olympus E-PL9 and Panasonic GM5, below you can find their scores in five different aspects.
Our Decision Algorithm dynamically scores cameras using 63 different specs, current price and DxO Mark scores (where possible) in order to make a more objective and consistent comparison.
Here is a summary of how Olympus E-PL9 and Panasonic GM5 scores compare:
Olympus E-PL9
Ranked
#24 out of 125 in Rangefinder-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked
#152 out of 1199 in all Cameras
Panasonic GM5
Ranked
#50 out of 125 in Rangefinder-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked
#257 out of 1199 in all Cameras
Olympus E-PL9 is the overall winner of this comparison. It has a higher Overall Score and beats Panasonic GM5 in all criteria except one: Portability. But the size difference between these cameras are negligible in real world so it is not a big disadvantage for Olympus E-PL9.
| General |
Olympus PEN E-PL9 |
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM5 |
| Brand |
Olympus |
Panasonic |
| Announced |
2018-02-08 |
2014-09-15 |
| Body Type |
Rangefinder-style mirrorless |
Rangefinder-style mirrorless |
Sensor |
|
|
| Type |
CMOS |
CMOS |
| Size |
Four Thirds |
Four Thirds |
| Dimensions |
17.3 x 13 mm |
17.3 x 13 mm |
| Area |
224.90mm2 |
224.90mm2 |
| Megapixels |
16 megapixels |
16 megapixels |
| Max Resolution |
4608 x 3456 |
4592 x 3448 |
| Max Native Light sensitivity |
6,400 ISO |
25,600 ISO |
| Max Boosted Light Sensitivity |
25600 ISO |
- |
| Min Native Light sensitivity |
200 ISO |
200 ISO |
| Min Boosted Light Sensitivity |
100 ISO |
100 ISO |
| RAW Support |
|
|
Autofocus |
|
|
| AF Touch |
|
|
| AF Continuous |
|
|
| AF Single |
|
|
| AF Tracking |
|
|
| AF Selective |
|
|
| AF Center |
|
|
| AF Multi Area |
|
|
| AF Live View |
|
|
| AF Face Detection |
|
|
| AF Contrast Detection |
|
|
| AF Phase Detection |
|
|
| Number of Focus Points |
121 |
23 |
Lens |
|
|
| Manual Focus |
|
|
| Lens Mount |
Micro Four Thirds |
Micro Four Thirds |
| Number of Available Lenses |
103 |
103 |
Screen |
|
|
| Type |
Tilting |
Fixed type |
| Size |
3" |
3" |
| Resolution |
1,040k dots |
921k dots |
| Touch Screen |
|
|
Viewfinder |
|
|
| Viewfinder |
Electronic (optional) |
Electronic |
| Viewfinder Resolution |
no electronic viewfinder |
1,166k dots |
| Viewfinder Coverage |
n/a |
100% |
| Viewfinder Magnification |
n/a |
0.46 |
Photography Features |
|
|
| Max Shutter Speed |
1/4000s |
1/500s |
| Shutter Priority |
|
|
| Aperture Priority |
|
|
| Manual Exposure Mode |
|
|
| Custom White Balance |
|
|
| Image Stabilization |
Sensor-shift |
No |
| Built-in Flash |
|
|
| Flash Range |
7.60 m (at ISO 200) |
no built-in flash |
| External Flash |
|
|
| Continuous Shooting |
8.6 fps |
5.8 fps |
| Multi-Segment |
|
|
| Average |
|
|
| Spot |
|
|
| Partial |
|
|
| AF-Area |
|
|
| Center Weighted |
|
|
| AE Bracketing |
|
|
| WB Bracketing |
|
|
Video Features |
|
|
| Max Video Resolution |
3840 x 2160 |
1920 x 1080 |
| Video Formats |
MPEG-4, H.264 |
MPEG-4, AVCHD |
| Microphone Port |
|
|
| Headphone Port |
|
|
Connectivity |
|
|
| Wireless Connectivity |
Built-In |
Built-In |
| HDMI |
|
|
Physical |
|
|
| Environmental Sealing |
|
|
| Weight |
380g |
211g |
| Dimensions |
117 x 68 x 39mm |
99 x 60 x 36mm |
| Battery Life |
350 shots |
220 shots |
Other Features |
|
|
| Timelapse Recording |
|
|
| GPS |
None |
None |
DxO Sensor Scores |
|
|
| DxO Overall Score |
not tested |
66 |
| DxO Color Depth |
not tested |
22.1 |
| DxO Dynamic Range |
not tested |
11.7 |
| DxO Low Light ISO |
not tested |
721 |
|
Report a correction |
Report a correction |