Panasonic FX48 vs Olympus E-PL1 Comparison

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Panasonic FX48

12 MP | 1/2.33" (6.08 x 4.56 mm) CCD Sensor

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Olympus E-PL1

12 MP | Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) CMOS Sensor

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Panasonic FX48 vs Olympus E-PL1 Comparison Overview

Here we are comparing two cameras with different body types: Panasonic FX48, which was introduced in January 2009 is a Small Sensor Compact camera with a 12.0MP 1/2.3-inch sensor whereas Olympus E-PL1, which was introduced in May 2010 is a Entry-Level Mirrorless camera with a 12.0MP Four Thirds sensor. There is 16 months difference between FX48 and E-PL1 so we don't expect to see a huge technology difference between these two cameras but it would still give an advantage to younger E-PL1, especially in sensor tech.

Comparing an interchangeble lens camera to a fixed lens camera is a bit tricky but we will do our best to make this a fair comparison.

Here is a brief look at the main features of Panasonic FX48 and Olympus E-PL1 before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Panasonic FX48 Key Specs

Announcement Date: 2009-01-27

12MP - 1/2.3-inch CCD Sensor

ISO 80 - 3200 ( expands to 6400)

25-125 mm F2.8-5.9 Zoom Lens

Optical Image Stabilization

2.5" Fixed Type Screen

2 fps continuous shooting

- 640 x 480 video resolution

150g. 95 x 53 x 22 mm

Also known as Lumix DMC-FX40

Olympus E-PL1 Key Specs

Announcement Date: 2010-05-17

12MP - Four Thirds CMOS Sensor

ISO 100 - 3200

Micro Four Thirds Mount

Sensor-shift Image Stabilization

2.7" Fixed Type Screen

3 fps continuous shooting

HD - 1280 x 720 video resolution

334g. 115 x 72 x 42 mm

Olympus E-PL1 was replaced by Olympus PEN E-PL1s. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Olympus PEN E-PL1s vs Olympus PEN E-PL1
Olympus PEN E-PL1s vs Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX48 (Lumix DMC-FX40)

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Panasonic FX48 and Olympus E-PL1 compares and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one is better for you.

Reasons to choose Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX48 over Olympus PEN E-PL1

Max Mech. Shutter	1/3000s vs 1/2000s	faster mechanical shutter
Weight	150 g vs 334 g	184 g lighter

Reasons to choose Olympus PEN E-PL1 over Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX48

External Flash Shoe	Yes vs No	Better for flash photography
RAW Support	Yes vs No	Better image quality
LCD Screen Size	2.7" vs 2.5"	0.2 inches larger display
Continuous Shooting	3.0fps vs 2.0fps	1 fps faster
Flash Coverage	10.0m vs 6.0m	4m longer range
Sensor Pixel Area	18.45µm² vs 2.31µm²	698% larger pixel area
Max Video Resolution	1280 x 720 vs 640 x 480	Higher Resolution Video
AE Bracketing	Yes vs No	Useful for tough lighting conditions and HDR

Common Strengths of Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX48 and Olympus PEN E-PL1

Image Stabilization	Optical vs Sensor-shift	Sharper images at longer focal lengths and long exposures
Built-in Flash	Yes vs Yes	Useful in low-light
Face Detection Focus	Yes vs Yes	very handy for portraits

Common Weaknesses of Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX48 and Olympus PEN E-PL1

Fixed Screen	Fixed Type vs No	No flexible viewing angles
LCD Screen Size	2.5" vs 2.7"	Small display
LCD Screen Resolution	230k dots vs 230k dots	Low resolution screens
Environmental Sealing	No vs No	not suitable for tough conditions

Panasonic FX48 vs Olympus E-PL1: Physical Specs and Body features Comparison

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 FX48 and Olympus E-PL1 side-by-side from the front, back and top in their relative dimensions. Panasonic FX48 has external dimensions of 95 x 53 x 22 mm (3.74 x 2.09 x 0.87″) and weighs 150 g (0.33 lb / 5.29 oz) (including batteries). Olympus E-PL1 has external dimensions of 115 x 72 x 42 mm (4.53 x 2.83 x 1.65″) and weighs 334 g (0.74 lb / 11.78 oz) (including batteries).

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Panasonic FX48 and Olympus E-PL1. Panasonic FX48 is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 20mm narrower, 19mm shorter and 20mm thinner than Olympus E-PL1. As you can tell, actually this is not a fair size comparison since Panasonic FX48 has a built-in lens but Olympus E-PL1 doesn't. Once you put a lens on E-PL1, its thickness will increase significantly.

Comparison image of Panasonic FX48 and Olympus E-PL1 Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View

Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day. Panasonic FX48 is significantly lighter (184g ) than the Olympus E-PL1 which may become a big advantage especially on long walking trips.

Again, this comparison may not be very useful in real life as we are comparing the weight of a camera with a built-in lens to the body-only weight of an interchangeable lens camera. Once you put a lens on E-PL1, the total kit will weigh much higher.

Weather Sealing

Unfortunately neither Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX48 (Lumix DMC-FX40) nor Olympus PEN E-PL1 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 Compact Cameras with Weather Sealing
Top Mirrorless Cameras with Weather Sealing

LCD Screen Size and Features

Olympus E-PL1's 2.7" LCD screen is slightly larger than Panasonic FX48's 2.5" screen.

Unfortunately, both cameras has fixed screens so they don't tilt or flip in directions.

Panasonic FX48 vs Olympus E-PL1: Sensor Comparison

Both Panasonic FX48 and Olympus E-PL1 have 12.0 MP resolution sensors but Panasonic FX48's sensor is 1/2.3-inch (6.08 x 4.56 mm ) and Olympus E-PL1's sensor is Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ).

Since Olympus E-PL1's has a larger sensor area with the same resolution, this means that it also has a larger pixel area hence better light collecting capacity for a given aperture compared to Panasonic FX48.

Below you can see the FX48 and E-PL1 sensor size comparison.

Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Panasonic FX48 and Olympus E-PL1 Cameras

As seen above, Olympus E-PL1 has a 8.1x Larger sensor area than Panasonic FX48. 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.

What types of Photography are Panasonic FX48 and Olympus E-PL1 Good for?

In this section, we rank and compare Panasonic FX48 and Olympus E-PL1 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 FX48 for Portrait Photography

POOR

Olympus E-PL1 for Portrait Photography

AVERAGE

Image Stabilization
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
Small 1/2.33" (6.08 x 4.56 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
No External Flash Shoe
No Built-in Viewfinder
No Manual Focus Mode
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details

Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
Optional External Viewfinder
Average Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details

Panasonic FX48 for Street Photography

AVERAGE

Olympus E-PL1 for Street Photography

EXCELLENT

Image Stabilization
Small Body
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Fast Lens at Wide: f2.80
25 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
Small 1/2.33" (6.08 x 4.56 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
No Built-in Viewfinder
No Manual Focus Mode
Read the details

Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Optional External Viewfinder
Medium sized Body
Read the details

Panasonic FX48 for Sports Photography

POOR

Olympus E-PL1 for Sports Photography

AVERAGE

Image Stabilization
11 Focus Points
Average Max shutter speed: 1/3000s
125 mm Tele Lens
No RAW shooting capability
No External Flash Shoe
No Built-in Viewfinder
No Manual Focus Mode
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
Slow Continuous Shooting: 2.0fps
Environmental Sealings
Slow Lens at Tele: f5.90
Read the details

Image Stabilization
11 Focus Points
Optional External Viewfinder
Average Ergonomics&Handling
Average Max shutter speed: 1/2000s
Slow Continuous Shooting: 3.0fps
Environmental Sealings
Poor Battery Life: 290 shots
Read the details

Panasonic FX48 for Daily Photography

AVERAGE

Olympus E-PL1 for Daily Photography

GOOD

Compact Body
150g
Body Thickness 22mm
5.0X Optical Zoom
Small 1/2.33" (6.08 x 4.56 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
Read the details

Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Medium size Body
334g
Body Thickness 42mm
Read the details

Panasonic FX48 for Landscape Photography

POOR

Olympus E-PL1 for Landscape Photography

POOR

25 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
Small 1/2.33" (6.08 x 4.56 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
No Manual Focus Mode
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Live-view
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Panasonic FX48 vs Olympus E-PL1: OUR DECISION

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 FX48 and Olympus E-PL1, 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 FX48 and Olympus E-PL1 scores compare:

Panasonic FX48

Imaging

Features

Value

Portability

Overall

Ranked #299 out of 475 in Compact cameras
Ranked #930 out of 1223 in all Cameras

Olympus E-PL1

Imaging

Features

Value

Portability

Overall

Ranked #85 out of 127 in Rangefinder-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked #376 out of 1223 in all Cameras

Olympus E-PL1 is the overall winner of this comparison. It has a higher Overall Score and beats Panasonic FX48 in all criteria except one: Portability.
If small size and light body is a big priority for you, choose Panasonic FX48. Otherwise, Olympus E-PL1 is the better camera overall.

Olympus E-PL1 vs Panasonic FX48 Specs Table

Detailed comparison of specifications

General	Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX48	Olympus PEN E-PL1
Brand	Panasonic	Olympus
Announced	2009-01-27	2010-05-17
Body Type	Compact	Rangefinder-style mirrorless
Sensor
Type	CCD	CMOS
Size	1/2.3-inch	Four Thirds
Dimensions	6.08 x 4.56 mm	17.3 x 13 mm
Area	27.72mm²	224.90mm²
Megapixels	12 megapixels	12 megapixels
Max Resolution	4000 x 3000	4032 x 3024
Max Native Light sensitivity	3,200 ISO	3,200 ISO
Max Boosted Light Sensitivity	6400 ISO	-
Min Native Light sensitivity	80 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	11	11
Lens
Manual Focus
Lens Mount	fixed lens	Micro Four Thirds
Lens Focal Range	25-125 mm (5×)	no lens
Max Aperture	F2.8-5.9	no lens
Macro Focus Range	5cm	no lens
Screen
Type	Fixed type	Fixed type
Size	2.5"	2.7"
Resolution	230k dots	230k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder	None	Electronic (optional)
Photography Features
Max Mechanical Shutter	1/3000s	1/2000s
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Custom White Balance
Image Stabilization	Optical	Sensor-shift
Built-in Flash
Flash Range	6.00 m	10.00 m
Max Flash Sync	n/a	1/160s
External Flash
Continuous Shooting	2.0 fps	3.0 fps
Multi-Segment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF-Area
Center Weighted
AE Bracketing
WB Bracketing
Video Features
Max Video Resolution	640 x 480	1280 x 720
Video Formats	Motion JPEG	Motion JPEG
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Connectivity
Wireless Connectivity	None	None
HDMI
Physical
Environmental Sealing
Weight	150g	334g
Dimensions	95 x 53 x 22mm	115 x 72 x 42mm
Battery Life	n/a	290 shots
Other Features
Timelapse Recording
GPS	None	None
DxO Sensor Scores
DxO Overall Score	not tested	54
DxO Color Depth	not tested	21.5
DxO Dynamic Range	not tested	10.1
DxO Low Light ISO	not tested	487
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