Panasonic Lumix GH3 vs Olympus OM-D E-M5 Comparison

We have a brief look at the new Panasonic Lumix GH3, and compare it to the Olympus OM-D E-M5, both Micro Four Thirds cameras, both with a 16 megapixel sensor, and both with a weather sealed SLR styled body, although one with more retro styling. The sensor in the GH3 is strongly rumoured to be the same 16 megapixel Sony sensor as used in the Olympus OM-D E-M5, so it will be interesting to see how the two cameras perform.

Panasonic Lumix GH3	Olympus OM-D E-M5
16 megapixel sensor	16 megapixel sensor
3 inch OLED 614k dot screen	3 inch OLED 610k dot screen
Swivelling / Rotating to face front	Tilting up and down
6fps continuous shooting	9fps continuous shooting
Full HD, 72mbps, AVCHD, MOV, MP4	Full HD, Options
Stereo mics, mic socket, headphone socket	Stereo mics, accessory port for microphone etc
ISO range (extended to 125 + 25600)	ISO range (Lowest ISO200)
1.744 million dot EVF	1.44 million dot EVF
HDR shooting, Multi-exposure	Multi-exposure
Wi-Fi built in	N/A
£1200 - £1549 body only	£999 body only

Size difference: The GH3 is larger than the GH2 it replaces, and features weather sealing like the OM-D. The size difference is quite noticeable, with the GH3 having a larger grip with a more DSLR styled look and design.

	Panasonic Lumix GH3	Olympus OM-D E-M5
Width	132.9mm	121mm
Height	93.4mm	89.6mm
Depth	82mm	41.9mm
Weight	550g	373g

EVF and screen differences - both cameras feature a 3 inch OLED touch screen, with VGA equivalent resolution (610k dots on the Olympus, 614k dots on the Panasonic). They both feature an EVF (electronic viewfinder), with the Olympus featuring a 1.44 million dot resolution viewfinder made by Epson, while the Panasonic features a 1.74 million dot OLED viewfinder.



The Panasonic Lumix GH3 features 5 physical function buttons that can be customised, as well as two "soft" function buttons that can be setup on the touch screen. In addition to this, the GH3 has theee other buttons behind the shutter to set WB, ISO, Exposure, and a built in pop-up flash (something the E-M5 lacks). The GH3 has a front and rear control wheel as well as a scroll wheel on the back. The Olympus OM-D E-M5 has two function buttons, as well as customisable 4-way directional buttons on the back. Additional function buttons can be added with the optional battery grip.



The Panasonic Lumix GH3 offers 6fps continuous shooting at full resolution, while the Olympus OM-D E-M5 offers 9fps continuous shooting at full resolution. The Olympus OM-D E-M5 features an in-body 5-axis image stabilisation system that moves the sensor - this means it benefits any lens attached to the camera, and is effective in video recording even with 3rd party lenses attached with an adapter (with the latest firmware). The Panasonic Lumix GH3 instead, relies on in-lens image stabilisation, which is currently only in Panasonic Lumix lenses.


Battery life difference: The Panasonic Lumix GH3 offers a battery life rating of 540 shots, while the Olympus OM-D E-M5 offers 330 shots. Both have an optional battery grip available to increase battery life, although the OM-D is a two part grip so you can add just the first part for an improved handgrip, without adding too much to the weight and size of the camera.



Sample photos - Due to the short time we had with the Panasonic Lumix GH3, we are posting a none scientific comparison. Also due to the GH3 being pre-production and the poor weather conditions, the cameras were using different lenses for some of the shots. However, we feel it still provides an interesting comparison in that it shows the different colours the cameras produce, and have since published updated comparisons, in the studio, and in outdoor shoots. As the camera is a pre-production model, we have re-sized the Panasonic Lumix GH3 images to 5 megapixels.

Read our full review of the Panasonic Lumix GH3.

Panasonic Lumix GH3 (Pre-production - 5mp)	Olympus OM-D E-M5
PP | 1/125 sec | f/2.8 | 35.0 mm | ISO 200 (12-35)	1/80 sec | f/5.6 | 35.0 mm | ISO 400 (14-45)
PP | 1/160 sec | f/3.2 | 35.0 mm | ISO 200 (12-35)	1/80 sec | f/5.6 | 35.0 mm | ISO 400 (14-45)
PP | 1/160 sec | f/3.5 | 21.0 mm | ISO 200 (12-35)	1/80 sec | f/5.0 | 21.0 mm | ISO 200 (14-45)
PP | 1/60 sec | f/2.8 | 12.0 mm | ISO 1000 (12-35)	1/60 sec | f/3.2 | 12.0 mm | ISO 1250 (12-35)

Full HD Sample videos: Starting with the Panasonic Lumix GH3 with the 12-35mm f/2.8 lens using Optical Image Stabilisation. When we have the full production camera available we plan to post more videos.

Olympus OM-D E-M5 with Panasonic 14-45mm lens (not optimised for video), optical IS switched off, in-body IS used, -1EV. Both videos were hand-held and here it looks like the in-built image stabilisation has done a good job keeping the frame steady.

For more sample photos, have a look at the Pansonic Lumix GH3 sample photos, and for more on the Olympus OM-D E-M5 read our full review.