Panasonic GX8 has a
20.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Venus Engine processor. On the other hand, Olympus E-P3 has a
12.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features TruePic VI processor.
Panasonic GX8's sensor provides 8MP more than Olympus E-P3'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.
Below you can see the GX8 and E-P3 sensor size comparison.
Panasonic GX8 and Olympus E-P3 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-P3 has 65% larger pixel area (18.45µm2 vs 11.16µm2) compared to Panasonic GX8, it has larger pixel area to collect light hence potential to have less noise in low light / High ISO images.
DxOMark Sensor Scores
Both Panasonic GX8 and Olympus E-P3 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, GX8 has scored 75, 24 points higher than E-P3.
Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
Panasonic GX8 |
75 |
23.5 bits |
12.6 Evs |
806 ISO |
Olympus E-P3 |
51 |
20.8 bits |
10.1 Evs |
536 ISO |