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We are used to read comparisons between “our” Panasonic Four Thirds sensor versus other larger APS-C sensors from Samsung, Sony or Fuji. Now for the first time we can see the Micro Four Thirds sensor compared with the very similar sized Canon Four Thirds sensor. DxOmark (Click here) just published their Canon G1X test. As usual with DxOmark tests keep in mind that they don’t take into account the resolution as variable for their scores. The test shows that the Canon Sensor is more or less on par with the Panasonic. A tack better than the [shoplink 26836]GX1[/shoplink] and a tack worse than the still best result from the “old” [shoplink 14826]GH1[/shoplink]. Soon DxO will post the [shoplink 29074]E-m5[/shoplink] results and I am curious to see if it really will surpass the GH1.

Reminder: David Parry, from Canon UK explained at Techradar (Click here) why they didn’t opt for the APS-C sensor: “We managed to create a four times zoom in a very compact body, and really it has the biggest sensor that we could use and also get decent coverage from the lens. If you made the sensor any bigger, the lens would have to be a lot bigger and it would be much more difficult and expensive to produce.”

I am wondering if the upcoming Canon interchangeable mirrorles system will use the same Four Thirds sized sensor! Would be once again the confirmation that the sensor size Olympus and Panasonic have chosen is the right one for the mirrorless system. Sony has the impressive APS-C sensor but the lenses are much larger and the corner quality of the image mostly suffers with the NEX lenses.

P.S:: The Canon G1X is a fixed lens camera and costs $799 at Amazon (Click here). Probably too expensive to compete against the [shoplink 26836]Panasonic GX1[/shoplink].

The image on top (Click on it to enlarge) is another comparison made by the Japanese DSRLcheck website. These are in camera JPEGS with NR off and maximal quality taken with the [shoplink 29074]Olympus E-M5[/shoplink] and the also very new Canon 5DmarkIII (full frame camera that costs $2400 more than the E-M5). The google translation tool doesn’t help me a lot but here is what I hope to have understood from the article. This is an 18mm focal length comparison. The images have been taken at the ideal aperture of the lens (f/4.0 for the E-M5 and f/5.6 for the markIII). The best lens on the E-M5 is the Four Thirds 7-14mm ZD lens ($1799 here at Amazon). The best m43 lens is the Panasonic 7-14mm.

As usual with those testings be aware that there are many subjective variables the tester has to set. But the overall impression I get from these images is that the image quality difference between the two camera is pretty much negligible in real world conditions. That’s a good achievement for that tiny m43 sensor! If you really don’t need the 5DmarkIII buy the E-M5 and spend the money on good quality lenses! Or even better, buy the $149 E-PL1 (here via Cameta) and put a top quality lens like a [shoplink 30452 ebay]17.5mm f/0.95 Nokton (hee on eBay)[/shoplink] on it :)

More E-M5 reviews:
Steve Huff (Click here) compared the E-M5 and X PRO 1 video quality and it is definitely not a surprise that the E-M5 beats the Fuji by miles! Fuji didnt’ make the camera with video in mind. P.S.: New firmware is out for the X PRO 1 (via Fujirumors).
Admiringlight (Click here) posted an E-M5 preview: “So, one more thing I feel needs mentioning from my brief time with the camera.  The shutter is QUIET.  Very quiet. It is far quieter than any other Micro 4/3 body, and quieter than any SLR I’ve ever used.  It is almost approaching leaf shutter quiet.  Needless to say, if you shoot in quiet environments and need to maintain stealth, this camera deserves a hard look from you.”
The first three user reviews are up at Amazon (Click here). Also the German Amazon (Click here to read their interesting opinion) has three reviews. All six reviewers are super satisfied with their E-M5 camera! A good start :)

The first batch of E-M5 (mostly with the 14-42mm kit lens) is now shipping in Europe and USA. And it clearly shows in the rankings that the E-M5 is now climbing on top! Today E-M5 Rankings (changes hourly!):
USA: E-M5 on position 2/7/11/13 (Click here)
UK: E-M5 is on position 7/12 (Click here).
Germany: The E-M5 is on position 1/4/5 (Click here).
France: not available (Click here to see rankings anyway).
Japan: E-M5 on position 3/6/11 (Click here).

E-M5 (Pre)order links (Click on store name): Amazon, Adorama, B&H, Jessops, Amazon UK, Amazon Germany, Amazon Japan and Digitalrev.

P.S.: For our japanese readers, there is a new review at Nikkei (Click here).