Panasonic G9 has a
20.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized Live MOS sensor . On the other hand, Olympus E-M1 has a
16.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features TruePIC VII processor.
Another difference between these two cameras is that Panasonic G9's sensor lacks anti-alias (Low-Pass) filter. Removing anti-alias filter increases the sharpness and level of detail but at the same time, it increases the chance of moiré occurring in certain scenes.
Below you can see the G9 and E-M1 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Panasonic G9 and Olympus E-M1 Cameras
Panasonic G9 and Olympus E-M1 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-M1 has 26% larger pixel area (14.12µm 2 vs 11.16µm 2 ) compared to Panasonic G9, it has larger pixel area to collect light hence potential to have less noise in low light / High ISO images.
Sensor size sets the circle of confusion, so it drives how much depth of field each
of these bodies gives you at a given aperture. You can calculate it exactly for the
Panasonic G9
or the
Olympus E-M1 ,
including hyperfocal distance.
