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 Panasonic G9 and Olympus E-M5 side-by-side from the front, back and top in their relative dimensions. Panasonic G9 has external dimensions of 137 x 97 x 92 mm (5.39 x 3.82 x 3.62″) and weighs 658 g (1.45 lb / 23.21 oz) (including batteries). Olympus E-M5 has external dimensions of 122 x 89 x 43 mm (4.8 x 3.5 x 1.69″) and weighs 425 g (0.94 lb / 14.99 oz) (including batteries).
Below you can see the front view size comparison of Panasonic G9 and Olympus E-M5. Olympus E-M5 is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 15mm narrower, 8mm shorter and 49mm thinner than Panasonic G9.
![Panasonic G9 vs Olympus E-M5 Camera Size Comparison - Front View]()
Comparison image of Panasonic G9 and Olympus E-M5 Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View
Here is the back view size comparison of Panasonic G9 and Olympus E-M5.
![Panasonic G9 vs Olympus E-M5 Camera Size Comparison - Back View]()
Comparison image of Panasonic G9 and Olympus E-M5 Size and Weight - Back View
Now lets look at the top view comparison of Panasonic G9 and Olympus E-M5.
![Panasonic G9 vs Olympus E-M5 Camera Size Comparison - Top View]()
Top View Comparison image of Panasonic G9 and Olympus E-M5 Size
Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day.
Olympus E-M5 is significantly lighter (233g ) than the Panasonic G9 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 Panasonic G9 and Olympus E-M5 have the same Micro Four Thirds lens mount and Four Thirds sized sensors, lenses will not be a differentiator on total size of the system.
Weight Comparison
Mirrorless Cameras
Thickness Comparison
Mirrorless Cameras
Weather Sealing
Both G9 and E-M5 have weather sealings in their body, making them resistant to water and dust.
LCD Screen Size and Features
Panasonic G9 and Olympus E-M5's LCD screens has the same diagonal size of 3".
Olympus E-M5 features a
Tilting only screen which is mostly only good for shooting from waist or over the head levels. On the other hand, Panasonic G9 sports a
Fully Articulated screen which is more flexible and useful especially for taking Selfie shots and video.
Panasonic G9 has a 20.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor . On the other hand, Olympus E-M5 has a 16.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features TruePic VI 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 moire occurring in certain scenes.
Below you can see the G9 and E-M5 sensor size comparison.
![Panasonic G9 vs Olympus E-M5 Sensor Size Comparison]()
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Panasonic G9 and Olympus E-M5 Cameras
Panasonic G9 and Olympus E-M5 have 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-M5 has 26% larger pixel area (14.12µm2 vs 11.16µm2) compared to Panasonic G9, it has larger pixel area to collect light hence potential to have less noise in low light / High ISO images.
Number of available lenses is a big decision factor while choosing your interchangeable lens camera. Panasonic G9 and Olympus E-M5 have the same Micro Four Thirds and have total of 107 lenses to choose from.
Another important factor is the availability of image stabilization. Both Panasonic G9 and Olympus E-M5 has Sensor based Image stabilization which means that all the lenses will be stabilized in these bodies. G9's built-in Image stabilization system is effective to compensate vibration up to 6.5-stops according to CIPA standards.
| Lens Type |
# of Panasonic G9 Lenses |
# of Olympus E-M5 Lenses |
| Standard Zoom |
15 |
15 |
| Standard Prime |
13 |
13 |
| Wideangle Zoom |
5 |
5 |
| Wideangle Prime |
29 |
29 |
| Telephoto Zoom |
18 |
18 |
| Telephoto Prime |
9 |
9 |
| 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 |
107 |
107 |
Here are some of the most popular Micro Four Thirds Mount Lenses on Camera Decision:
Popular Micro Four Thirds Mount Lenses for G9 and E-M5
Now let's compare some sample lenses from each mount with typical Focal ranges for Panasonic G9 and Olympus E-M5 to see how these lenses compares:
Fast Standard Zoom Lenses
Fast Tele Zoom Equivalent Lenses
Fast Normal Prime Equivalent Lenses
Fast Wideangle Zoom Equivalent Lenses
24-105mm f4 Equivalent Lenses
Super-Tele Zoom Equivalent Lenses
In this section, we rank and compare Panasonic G9 and Olympus E-M5 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.
Panasonic G9 for Portrait Photography
Olympus E-M5 for Portrait Photography
Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 20.0MP
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details
Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Average Resolution Sensor: 16.0MP
Read the details
Panasonic G9 for Street Photography
Olympus E-M5 for Street Photography
Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Fully Articulated LCD Screen
Medium sized Body
Read the details
Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Tilting LCD Screen
Medium sized Body
Read the details
Panasonic G9 for Sports Photography
Olympus E-M5 for Sports Photography
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Fast Continuous Shooting: 20.0fps
Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/8000s
225 Focus Points
Wireless Connection
Read the details
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Fast Continuous Shooting: 9.0fps
Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
35 Focus Points
Read the details
Panasonic G9 for Daily Photography
Olympus E-M5 for Daily Photography
Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Medium size Body
658g
Body Thickness 92mm
Read the details
Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Medium size Body
425g
Body Thickness 43mm
Read the details
Panasonic G9 for Landscape Photography
Olympus E-M5 for Landscape Photography
Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 20.0MP
Environmental Sealings
Live-view
Read the details
Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Live-view
Average Resolution Sensor: 16.0MP
Read the details
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 Panasonic G9 and Olympus E-M5, 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 Panasonic G9 and Olympus E-M5 scores compare:
Panasonic G9
Ranked
#35 out of 85 in SLR-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked
#59 out of 1219 in all Cameras
Olympus E-M5
Ranked
#70 out of 85 in SLR-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked
#206 out of 1219 in all Cameras
Panasonic G9 is the overall winner of this comparison. It has a higher Overall Score and beats Olympus E-M5 in all criteria except one: Portability. Olympus E-M5 is significantly smaller than Panasonic G9. If small size and light body is a big priority for you, choose Olympus E-M5. Otherwise, Panasonic G9 is the better camera overall.
| General |
Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 |
Olympus OM-D E-M5 |
| Brand |
Panasonic |
Olympus |
| Announced |
2017-11-08 |
2012-04-30 |
| Body Type |
SLR-style mirrorless |
SLR-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 |
20 megapixels |
16 megapixels |
| Max Resolution |
5184 x 3888 |
4608 x 3456 |
| Max Native Light sensitivity |
25,600 ISO |
25,600 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 |
225 |
35 |
Lens |
|
|
| Manual Focus |
|
|
| Lens Mount |
Micro Four Thirds |
Micro Four Thirds |
| Number of Available Lenses |
107 |
107 |
Screen |
|
|
| Type |
Fully Articulated |
Tilting |
| Size |
3" |
3" |
| Resolution |
1,040k dots |
610k dots |
| Touch Screen |
|
|
Viewfinder |
|
|
| Viewfinder |
Electronic |
Electronic |
| Viewfinder Resolution |
3,680k dots |
1,440k dots |
| Viewfinder Coverage |
100% |
100% |
| Viewfinder Magnification |
0.83x |
0.58x |
Photography Features |
|
|
| Max Mechanical Shutter |
1/8000s |
1/4000s |
| Max Electronic Shutter |
1/32000s |
n/a |
| Shutter Priority |
|
|
| Aperture Priority |
|
|
| Manual Exposure Mode |
|
|
| Custom White Balance |
|
|
| Image Stabilization |
Sensor-shift |
Sensor-shift |
| Built-in Flash |
|
|
| Max Flash Sync |
n/a |
1/250s |
| External Flash |
|
|
| Continuous Shooting |
20.0 fps |
9.0 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, AVCHD, H.264 |
H.264, Motion JPEG |
| Microphone Port |
|
|
| Headphone Port |
|
|
Connectivity |
|
|
| Wireless Connectivity |
Built-In |
Eye-Fi Connected |
| HDMI |
|
|
Physical |
|
|
| Environmental Sealing |
|
|
| Weight |
658g |
425g |
| Dimensions |
137 x 97 x 92mm |
122 x 89 x 43mm |
| Battery Life |
400 shots |
360 shots |
Other Features |
|
|
| Timelapse Recording |
|
|
| GPS |
None |
None |
DxO Sensor Scores |
|
|
| DxO Overall Score |
not tested |
71 |
| DxO Color Depth |
not tested |
22.8 |
| DxO Dynamic Range |
not tested |
12.3 |
| DxO Low Light ISO |
not tested |
826 |
|
Report a correction |
Report a correction |