Olympus E-P2 vs. Panasonic GF1

Written by: SparkKD • Edited by: Rhonda Callow
Published Apr 26, 2010

This article compares and contrasts two DSLR's based on the Micro Four Thirds system, namely the Olympus E-P2 and the Panasonic GF1.

Introduction

Micro Four Thirds cameras provide many advantages over compact cameras such as greater control over depth of field and are smaller when compared to regular D-SLR's due to the absence of a mirror box, which makes the final camera smaller and lighter.

This head-to-head comparison of Olympus E-P2 and Panasonic GF1 analyzes these cameras across various parameters such as Design & Build Quality, Ergonomics, Performance and Price to Value comparison.

Design & Build Quality

In terms of design, the Olympus E-P2 is based on the legendary PEN series of cameras from Olympus. The Panasonic GF1 on the other hand, is a Lumix series camera and has an aluminum body which is finished to a high extent typical of the Lumix series.

The GF1 is significantly lighter at 285g when compared to the Olympus E-P2 at 335g which has a nice solid feel to it.

Key Features of the Olympus E-P2

click to enlarge

Higher ISO speed (6400) when compared ot the GF1
Electronic viewfinder which can be angled to 90 degrees

Key Features of the Panasonic Lumix GF1

Brighter LCD monitor when compared to E-P2
Better autofocussing system (23 points)
Built-in flash (which is missing in the Olympus E-P2)

Ergonomics

The LCD screen on the Panasonic GF1 is brighter and has greater clarity. Also, the built-in flash provides more shooting options. The GF1 autofocusses faster when compared to the Olympus E-P2.

The Olympus E-P2 has a finger rest on the front panel which makes it very comfortable to use. The Olympus E-P2 also has many art filters which will appeal to the more creatively inclined.

Performance

Both the cameras offer similar performance across most parameters and some of the differences are highlighted here.

Autofocussing

The Olympus E-P2 has significantly improved when compared to its predecessor and one important feature is autofocus tracking. However, it is still slightly slower than the Panasonic GF1.

Metering

The Olympus E-P2 has better metering options with features such as highlight metering and shadow spot metering which are not present in the Panasonic GF1.

Noise

Up to ISO 800, both the cameras performed similarly. Beyond that setting, the Olympus E-P2 performed better in terms of image noise.

Price to Value

In the above comparison of the Olympus E-P2 vs. Panasonic GF1, both the cameras are close in terms of performance, with the Panasonic GF1 showing some advantages.

The Panasonic Lumix GF1 offers a better price to value proposition because of the following factors:

Presence of a Built-In flash
Brighter LCD and faster focussing
Cheaper than the Olympus E-P2 by about 33%

The Panasonic GF1 can be obtained from Amazon. At the time of writing this article, it was available for $754.94.

As described above, the Olympus E-P2 is very alluring to fans of the PEN series. Also, certain other factors in favour of the E-P2 are:

Art filters
Additional metering options (highlights and shadow spot metering)
Better performance on the image noise front

The Olympus E-P2 can be obtained from Amazon. The Olympus E-P2 cost $998.95 at the time of writing this article.

Bart van Leeuwen May 16, 2010 2:03 PM

Image stabilisation

Your review misses a few pretty important points:

- E-P2 has in-body image stabilization whereas the GF1 depends on lenses providing OIS. Not all lenses do, in fact most don't, and one of the kit lenses for the GF1 doesn't. This gives the E-P2 a pretty significant advantage (and that just gets better when you want to use classic lenses with one of the many available adapters)

- E-P2 supports auto focus with every 4/3 lens (with adapter) whereas the GF1 only supports this with a very limited subset of 4/3 lenses.

- GF1 has much better correction of lens induced chromatic aberrations (when used with micro 4/3 lenses)

Then, update the E-P2 to the latest firmware and you'll notice the difference between the E-P2 and GF1 in focusing speed (when using the same lens, lens is a very big factor in focus speed) is pretty much gone.

There are more things, but esp. image stabilization is a very big difference, even more so when considering the gf1 is available as a kit with the 20mm f1.7 prime lens, which does not have OIS.