Olympus PEN E-PL5 vs. Canon PowerShot G1 X

Comparison

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PEN E-PL5 image
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PowerShot G1 X image
Olympus PEN E-PL5 Canon PowerShot G1 X
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Megapixels
16.10
14.30
Max. image resolution
4608 x 3456
4352 x 3264

Sensor

Sensor type
CMOS
CMOS
Sensor size
Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm)
1.5" (~ 18.7 x 14 mm)
Sensor resolution
4627 x 3479
4378 x 3267
Diagonal
21.64 mm
23.36 mm
Sensor size comparison
Sensor size is generally a good indicator of the quality of the camera. Sensors can vary greatly in size. As a general rule, the bigger the sensor, the better the image quality.

Bigger sensors are more effective because they have more surface area to capture light. An important factor when comparing digital cameras is also camera generation. Generally, newer sensors will outperform the older.

Learn more about sensor sizes »

Actual sensor size

Note: Actual size is set to screen → change »
vs
1 : 1.16
(ratio)
Olympus PEN E-PL5 Canon PowerShot G1 X
Surface area:
224.90 mm² vs 261.80 mm²
Difference: 36.9 mm² (16%)
G1 X sensor is approx. 1.16x bigger than PEN E-PL5 sensor.
Pixel pitch
3.74 µm
4.27 µm
Pixel pitch tells you the distance from the center of one pixel (photosite) to the center of the next. It tells you how close the pixels are to each other.

The bigger the pixel pitch, the further apart they are and the bigger each pixel is. Bigger pixels tend to have better signal to noise ratio and greater dynamic range.
Difference: 0.53 µm (14%)
Pixel pitch of G1 X is approx. 14% higher than pixel pitch of PEN E-PL5.
Pixel area
13.99 µm²
18.23 µm²
Pixel or photosite area affects how much light per pixel can be gathered. The larger it is the more light can be collected by a single pixel.

Larger pixels have the potential to collect more photons, resulting in greater dynamic range, while smaller pixels provide higher resolutions (more detail) for a given sensor size.
Relative pixel sizes:
vs
Pixel area difference: 4.24 µm² (30%)
A pixel on Canon G1 X sensor is approx. 30% bigger than a pixel on Olympus PEN E-PL5.
Pixel density
7.15 MP/cm²
5.48 MP/cm²
Pixel density tells you how many million pixels fit or would fit in one square cm of the sensor.

Higher pixel density means smaller pixels and lower pixel density means larger pixels.
Difference: 1.67 µm (30%)
Olympus PEN E-PL5 has approx. 30% higher pixel density than Canon G1 X.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Olympus PEN E-PL5
Canon G1 X
Crop factor
2
1.85
Total megapixels
17.20
15.00
Effective megapixels
16.10
14.30
Optical zoom
4x
Digital zoom
No
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 200 - 25600
Auto, 100, 125, 160, 200, 250, 320, 400, 500, 640, 800, 50, 1600, 2000, 2500, 3200, 4000, 5000, 6400, 8000, 10000, 12800
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
40 cm
Macro focus range
20 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
28 - 112 mm
Aperture priority
Yes
Yes
Max. aperture
f2.8 - f5.8
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
n/a
f5.2 - f10.7
Metering
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Centre weighted, Evaluative, Spot
Exposure compensation
±3 EV (in 1/3 EV, 1/2 EV, 1 EV steps)
±3 EV (in 1/3 EV, 1/2 EV steps)
Shutter priority
Yes
Yes
Min. shutter speed
60 sec
60 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/4000 sec
1/4000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Electronic (optional)
Optical (tunnel)
White balance presets
8
7
Screen size
3"
3"
Screen resolution
460,000 dots
920,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
1920x1080 (30p)
1920x1080 (24p)
Storage types
SD/SDHC/SDXC
SDHC, SDXC, Secure Digital
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Lithium-Ion BLS-5 rechargeable battery
Lithium-Ion NB-10L rechargeable battery
Weight
325 g
534 g
Dimensions
110.5 x 63.7 x 38.2 mm
116.7 x 80.5 x 64.7 mm
Year
2012
2012




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Diagonal

Diagonal is calculated by the use of Pythagorean theorem:
Diagonal =  w² + h²
where w = sensor width and h = sensor height

Olympus PEN E-PL5 diagonal

w = 17.30 mm
h = 13.00 mm
Diagonal =  17.30² + 13.00²   = 21.64 mm

Canon G1 X diagonal

The diagonal of G1 X sensor is not 1.5" (38.1 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 23.36 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 18.70 mm
h = 14.00 mm
Diagonal =  18.70² + 14.00²   = 23.36 mm


Surface area

Surface area is calculated by multiplying the width and the height of a sensor.

PEN E-PL5 sensor area

Width = 17.30 mm
Height = 13.00 mm

Surface area = 17.30 × 13.00 = 224.90 mm²

G1 X sensor area

Width = 18.70 mm
Height = 14.00 mm

Surface area = 18.70 × 14.00 = 261.80 mm²


Pixel pitch

Pixel pitch is the distance from the center of one pixel to the center of the next measured in micrometers (µm). It can be calculated with the following formula:
Pixel pitch =   sensor width in mm  × 1000
sensor resolution width in pixels

PEN E-PL5 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 17.30 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4627 pixels
Pixel pitch =   17.30  × 1000  = 3.74 µm
4627

G1 X pixel pitch

Sensor width = 18.70 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4378 pixels
Pixel pitch =   18.70  × 1000  = 4.27 µm
4378


Pixel area

The area of one pixel can be calculated by simply squaring the pixel pitch:
Pixel area = pixel pitch²

You could also divide sensor surface area with effective megapixels:
Pixel area =   sensor surface area in mm²
effective megapixels

PEN E-PL5 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 3.74 µm

Pixel area = 3.74² = 13.99 µm²

G1 X pixel area

Pixel pitch = 4.27 µm

Pixel area = 4.27² = 18.23 µm²


Pixel density

Pixel density can be calculated with the following formula:
Pixel density =  ( sensor resolution width in pixels )² / 1000000
sensor width in cm

One could also use this formula:
Pixel density =   effective megapixels × 1000000  / 10000
sensor surface area in mm²

PEN E-PL5 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4627 pixels
Sensor width = 1.73 cm

Pixel density = (4627 / 1.73)² / 1000000 = 7.15 MP/cm²

G1 X pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4378 pixels
Sensor width = 1.87 cm

Pixel density = (4378 / 1.87)² / 1000000 = 5.48 MP/cm²


Sensor resolution

Sensor resolution is calculated from sensor size and effective megapixels. It's slightly higher than maximum (not interpolated) image resolution which is usually stated on camera specifications. Sensor resolution is used in pixel pitch, pixel area, and pixel density formula. For sake of simplicity, we're going to calculate it in 3 stages.

1. First we need to find the ratio between horizontal and vertical length by dividing the former with the latter (aspect ratio). It's usually 1.33 (4:3) or 1.5 (3:2), but not always.

2. With the ratio (r) known we can calculate the X from the formula below, where X is a vertical number of pixels:
(X × r) × X = effective megapixels × 1000000    →   
X =  effective megapixels × 1000000
r
3. To get sensor resolution we then multiply X with the corresponding ratio:

Resolution horizontal: X × r
Resolution vertical: X

PEN E-PL5 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 17.30 mm
Sensor height = 13.00 mm
Effective megapixels = 16.10
r = 17.30/13.00 = 1.33
X =  16.10 × 1000000  = 3479
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3479 × 1.33 = 4627
Resolution vertical: X = 3479

Sensor resolution = 4627 x 3479

G1 X sensor resolution

Sensor width = 18.70 mm
Sensor height = 14.00 mm
Effective megapixels = 14.30
r = 18.70/14.00 = 1.34
X =  14.30 × 1000000  = 3267
1.34
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3267 × 1.34 = 4378
Resolution vertical: X = 3267

Sensor resolution = 4378 x 3267


Crop factor

Crop factor or focal length multiplier is calculated by dividing the diagonal of 35 mm film (43.27 mm) with the diagonal of the sensor.
Crop factor =   43.27 mm
sensor diagonal in mm


PEN E-PL5 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 21.64 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 2
21.64

G1 X crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 23.36 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 1.85
23.36

35 mm equivalent aperture

Equivalent aperture (in 135 film terms) is calculated by multiplying lens aperture with crop factor (a.k.a. focal length multiplier).

PEN E-PL5 equivalent aperture

Aperture is a lens characteristic, so it's calculated only for fixed lens cameras. If you want to know the equivalent aperture for Olympus PEN E-PL5, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Crop factor for Olympus PEN E-PL5 is 2

G1 X equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 1.85
Aperture = f2.8 - f5.8

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f5.8) × 1.85 = f5.2 - f10.7

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