Panasonic and Olympus have a reputation in the market for their high-end micro-four-thirds cameras. Among many of their cameras, the Panasonic gh5 mark 2 and Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark 3 have a distinctive place among camera lovers for their impressive video features, faster performance, and so on. As both of the cameras share almost the same price range, we have decided to put these two superb cameras against each other to determine which one stands out.
Panasonic GH5 Mark ii vs Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III
If you’re confused between Panasonic GH5 Mark ii and Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III and struggling to determine which one to get, then check out this comparison.
Sensor and Video Specs
The Panasonic GH5 mark 2 features a 20.3-megapixel micro four-thirds Live MOS sensor. On the other hand, Olympus EM1 mark 3 offers a 20.4 megapixel Live MOS micro four-thirds sensor. Though both the cameras have the same type of sensor with almost the same resolution, their performance is quite different.
Starting with Panasonic, the GH5 mark 2 can record full-width UHD and DCI 4k videos at 60 frames per second with 4:2:0 10 bit. Besides, 4k 10 bit 4:2:2 is also available if you choose to decrease the frame rate to 30fps. Moreover, there is no recording time limit, which makes it a pretty impressive camera for videos. On the other hand, Olympus EM1 mark 3 can record UHD 4k videos at 30 frames per second and DCI 4k videos at 24 frames per second. So if you are into high-quality slow-motion videos, Panasonic offers more frames in 4k videos. But those extra frames come at the cost of a rolling shutter effect. To measure the rolling shutter, let’s take the DCI 4k 24p as our base.
It has been found that GH5 mark 2 has a sensor readout speed of about 13.7 milliseconds while Olympus offers a readout speed of 10.9 milliseconds. So if you want a minimal rolling shutter effect and faster sensor readout, Olympus EM1 mark 3 is faster than the Panasonic GH5 mark 2.
Image Specs
As for images, Panasonic lets you take 6k and 4k images. You can capture 6k images at 30fps and 4k images at 60fps. Apart from that, this camera also allows for shooting 12 continuous images in single-shot autofocus mode and 9 images in continuous autofocus mode. Meanwhile, the Olympus EM1 mark 3, though being a 20-megapixel camera, offers you to capture 16 stills of the scene to combine them into a 50-megapixel image. Besides, it also lets you shoot 60 images in burst mode with its electronic shutter and 15 images with its mechanical shutter.
Autofocus and Stabilization
One of the aspects the Panasonic gh5 mark 2 suffers is the autofocus technology. It features a 225-Area DFD contrast-detection Autofocus, which is definitely an improved version of its predecessor, but not as efficient as the phase detection or hybrid autofocus. Particularly, when your subject is moving, you might face trouble with continuous autofocus. As for the stabilization, this camera includes a 5-axis in-body image stabilization. Additionally, you can also sync lens-based stabilization with the camera to get even smoother footage upto 6.5 stops.
On the other hand, one of the most striking features of the Olympus EM1 Mark 3 is the autofocus. It comes with hybrid autofocus that includes cross-type 121 points phase-detection and contrast-detection autofocus. Besides, it has face detection autofocus which effectively recognizes your subject even in challenging situations. And with the Starry sky mode, you can also get yourself into astrophotography with this camera. And if you know about Olympus, almost all the Olympus cameras have incredible stabilization, and EM1 mark 3 is no exception. Its 5-axis image stabilization can smooth out your footage upto 7 stops. And if you want more stabilization, you can use a compatible lens with the camera to get 7.5 stops of smoother footage.
Viewfinder and Display
The Panasonic GH5 mark 2 features a 3.68 million-Dot OLED Viewfinder with 0.76 times magnification. The high-res viewfinder offers you a bright and almost lag-free view of your composition. Besides, there is also a 3.0 inch fully articulating 1.84 million-Dot Touchscreen, which is not as bright and also lags sometimes, but the fully articulating screen is helpful for front-facing shooting. On the other hand, the Olympus EM1 Mark 3 is equipped with a 3 inch fully articulating LCD monitor with just 1.037 million dots resolution. So on a bright sunny day, you might struggle with the screen. There is also a 2.36 million-dot electronic viewfinder with 0.74 times maximum magnification, which works adequately well.
Final Say
So that was all about the comparison between Panasonic gh5 mark 2 vs. Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark 3. Both share some similar features, while there are some performance-wise differences to serve your different photography and videography needs. So which one do you prefer?
