Panasonic S5 has a 24.0MP Full frame (35.6 x 23.8 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Venus Engine processor. On the other hand, Olympus E-PM1 has a 12.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features TruePic VI processor.
Panasonic S5's sensor provides 12MP more than Olympus E-PM1'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.
Another difference between these two cameras is that Panasonic S5'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 S5 and E-PM1 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Panasonic S5 and Olympus E-PM1 Cameras
As seen above, Panasonic S5 has a 3.8x Larger sensor area than Olympus E-PM1. Larger sensors give photographer more control on the depth of field and blurry background compared to smaller sensor when shot in same focal length and aperture.
DxOMark Sensor Scores
Both Panasonic S5 and Olympus E-PM1 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, S5 has scored 94, 42 points higher than E-PM1.
| Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
|
Panasonic S5 |
94 |
25.1 bits |
14.5 Evs |
2697 ISO |
|
Olympus E-PM1 |
52 |
21.0 bits |
10.3 Evs |
499 ISO |