Olympus OM-D E-M1 vs. Olympus PEN E-PL9

Camera Comparison, Reviews and Tests

In depth comparison and review of Olympus OM-D E-M1 and Olympus PEN E-PL9. Compare design, sensors, proximity features, memory capacities and other important specifications and features to easily choose the right camera for you. Our goal is to help you uncover differences between the products and find the digital camera that will best fit your needs.

Camera Specifications Comparison

Olympus OM-D E-M1 vs. Olympus PEN E-PL9 Comparison Chart
DESIGN AND DIMENSIONS Olympus OM-D E-M1 Olympus PEN E-PL9
Product Type Digital camera - 1080p - mirrorless system Digital camera - 4K - mirrorless system
Lens Included Body only Body only
Height 9.35 cm 6.8 cm
Width 13.04 cm 11.71 cm
Depth 6.31 cm 3.9 cm
Weight 443 g 332 g
Weight Details - Camera body only: 332 g
Camera with battery and memory card: 380 g
Body Material Magnesium alloy -
Enclosure Colour Silver | Black White | Brown | Black
Protection Splashproof, freezeproof, dust-resistant -
SENSOR Olympus OM-D E-M1 Olympus PEN E-PL9
Sensor Resolution 16.3 Megapixel 16.1 Megapixel
Optical Sensor Type Live MOS Live MOS
Total Pixels 16,800,000 pixels 17,200,000 pixels
Effective Sensor Resolution 16,300,000 pixels 16,100,000 pixels
Optical Sensor Size Four Thirds (4/3") Four Thirds (17.3 x 13.0 mm)
Frame Rate (Max Resolution) - 30 fps
Sensor Dust Reduction - Yes
Sensor Features - Supersonic Wave Filter (SWF)
Image Stabiliser Optical (5-axis image sensor shift mechanism) Optical (3-axis image sensor shift mechanism)
Built-in Optical Image Stabiliser Yes Yes
Sensors Digital level metre -
PROCESSOR Olympus OM-D E-M1 Olympus PEN E-PL9
Image Processor TruePic VII -
LENS Olympus OM-D E-M1 Olympus PEN E-PL9
Lens Mounting Type Micro Four Thirds Micro Four Thirds
FOCUSING Olympus OM-D E-M1 Olympus PEN E-PL9
Auto Focus TTL contrast and phase detection TTL contrast detection
Auto Focus Points (Zones) Qty - 121
Auto Focus Features - Focus Peaking function
AE/AF Control Face-priority AF, Subject-tracking AF, Eye detection AF Face-priority AF, Subject-tracking AF, Touch Area AF, Eye detection AF, Eye priority AF
Face Detection Yes Eye Detect AF
VIEWFINDER Olympus OM-D E-M1 Olympus PEN E-PL9
Viewfinder Type Built-in - electronic -
Viewfinder Colour Support Colour -
Viewfinder Resolution 2,360,000 pixels -
Optical Viewfinder Field Coverage 100% -
Optical Viewfinder Magnification 1.48x -
Optical Viewfinder Dioptric Correction Range -4 to +2 -
Field of View Crop Factor 2 -
EXPOSURE & WHITE BALANCE Olympus OM-D E-M1 Olympus PEN E-PL9
ISO (Max) 25600 25600
Native ISO - 100-6400
Extended ISO (Max) - 25600
Light Sensitivity ISO 200-25600, ISO auto (200-25600) ISO 100-25600, ISO auto (100-25600)
Exposure Metering Multi-segment, centre-weighted, spot Multi-segment, centre-weighted, spot, highlight spot, shadow spot
Exposure Metering Zones 324 324
Exposure Modes Programme, bulb, automatic, manual, aperture-priority, shutter-priority Programme, bulb, automatic, manual, aperture-priority, shutter-priority
Bracketing Modes Art Filter bracketing, ISO sensitivity bracketing Focus bracketing
Shooting Programs Landscape, portrait mode, macro, beach/snow, landscape-portrait, Children, fireworks, 3D image, panorama assist, night scene, sports mode, sunset, candle, high key, night scene with portrait, anti shake, low key, documents, nature macro, e-portrait, fisheye converter, wide converter, macro converter -
Special Effects Black & White, Sepia, soft focus, Water Colour, Diorama, Cross Process, Grainy Film, Light Tone, Pop Art, Pale & Light Colour, pin hole, Gentle Sepia, Dramatic Tone, Key Line, Star Light, Defocus, White Edge Monotone, Vivid, Custom Effect, soft focus, natural, Muted, Water Colour, Diorama, Cross Process, partial colour, Grainy Film, Light Tone, Pop Art, Pale & Light Colour, pin hole, Gentle Sepia, i-Enhance, Dramatic Tone, Bleach Bypass, High Key, Low Key, Key Line, Vintage, Instant Film, e-Portrait
White Balance Custom, automatic, presets Custom, automatic, presets
White Balance Presets Incandescent, fluorescent, cloudy, sunlight, Flash, shade, Underwater, 2000K - 14000K -
Shutter Type - Mechanical
Max Shutter Speed 1/8000 sec 1/16000 sec
Min Shutter Speed 60 sec 60 sec
Exposure Compensation ±5 EV range, in 1, 1/2 or 1/3 EV steps ±5 EV range, in 1/3 EV steps
Auto Exposure Bracketing - 3 steps in 1 EV steps, 5 steps in 2/3 EV steps
Exposure Range EV 2-20 (ISO 100) EV -2-20 (ISO 100)
DISPLAY Olympus OM-D E-M1 Olympus PEN E-PL9
Type 3" LCD display 3" LCD display
Touch Screen Yes Yes
Display Format 1,037,000 pixels 1,040,000 pixels
Display Form Factor Folding Folding
Display Features Contrast control, display brightness control, display colour control Display brightness control, display colour control
FLASH Olympus OM-D E-M1 Olympus PEN E-PL9
Camera Flash Detachable flash Pop-up flash
Guide Number (m / ISO 100) 7 5.4
Flash Modes Fill-in mode, rear curtain sync, slow synchro, auto mode, flash OFF mode, red-eye reduction Fill-in mode, rear curtain sync, slow synchro, auto mode, flash OFF mode, red-eye reduction
Red-Eye Reduction Yes Yes
Features AF illuminator, flash +/- compensation, wireless off-camera control, flash exposure bracketing Flash +/- compensation, wireless off-camera control
VIDEOGRAPHY / CAMCORDER Olympus OM-D E-M1 Olympus PEN E-PL9
Digital Video Format AVI, MJPEG, H.264, MOV AVI, MJPEG, H.264, MOV
Image Recording Format JPEG, RAW, RAW + JPEG, MPO JPEG, RAW, RAW + JPEG
Max Video Resolution 1920 x 1080 3840 x 2160
Audio Signal Format - Linear PCM, WAV
Microphone Operation Mode Stereo Stereo
Microphone Features Wind noise reduction, sensitivity control Wind noise reduction, sensitivity control
MEMORY Olympus OM-D E-M1 Olympus PEN E-PL9
Memory Card Slot SD card SD card
Supported Memory Cards SD Memory Card, SDXC Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card, SDHC UHS-I Memory Card, SDXC UHS-I Memory Card SD Memory Card, SDXC Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card, SDHC UHS-I Memory Card, SDXC UHS-I Memory Card
Memory Card Included No No
Image Storage RAW 4608 x 3456 - 17 MB
JPEG 4608 x 3456 - 7.5 MB
JPEG 4608 x 3456 - 3.5 MB
JPEG 2560 x 1920 - 1.1 MB
RAW 4608 x 3456
JPEG 4608 x 3456
JPEG 3200 x 2400
JPEG 1280 x 960
Video Capture MOV - 1920 x 1080 - 30 fps - 24Mbps
MOV - 1920 x 1080 - 30 fps - 16Mbps
MOV - 1280 x 720 - 30 fps - 12Mbps
MOV - 1280 x 720 - 30 fps - 8Mbps
MJPEG - 1280 x 720 - 30 fps
MJPEG - 640 x 480 - 30 fps
MOV - 3840 x 2160 p
MOV - 1920 x 1080 p
MOV - 1280 x 720 p
BATTERY AND CHARGING Olympus OM-D E-M1 Olympus PEN E-PL9
Battery Type Olympus BLN-1 Lithium Ion Olympus BLS-50 Lithium Ion
Details Olympus BLN-1 Li-ion rechargeable battery (included) Olympus BLS-50 Li-ion rechargeable battery (included)
Battery Life Photo shooting - 250 shots Photo shooting - 350 shots
Video recording - 2.5 hours
CONNECTIONS Olympus OM-D E-M1 Olympus PEN E-PL9
Interface Composite video/audio, HDMI, USB 2.0, Wireless LAN HDMI, USB 2.0, IEEE 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0
Connectivity Features Remote control via mobile devices, remote live view Remote control via mobile devices, remote live view, QR code scanning
Print Standard DPOF support, Exif Print support, PRINT Image Matching Exif Print support
Flash Terminal Hot shoe Hot shoe
Connector Type USB 2.0
Composite video/audio output
HDMI output (19 pin micro HDMI Type D)
Microphone
Accessory port
USB 2.0 (5 pin Micro-USB Type B)
HDMI output (19 pin micro HDMI Type D)
FEATURES Olympus OM-D E-M1 Olympus PEN E-PL9
Self-Timer Delay 2sec, 12sec 2sec, 12sec, 1 - 30 sec
Continuous Shooting Speed 10 frames per second, 6.5 frames per second 4.3 frames per second, 6.1 frames per second, 8.6 frames per second, 4.8 frames per second, 14.1 frames per second
HDR Mode - Auto HDR mode, HDR post-processing
Additional Features Audio recording, built-in speaker, RGB primary colour filter, auto power save, sharpness control, histogram display, AE lock, AF lock, cropping an image, resizing an image, saturation control, in-camera red-eye fix, interval shooting mode, face detection, Shadow Adjustment Technology, in-camera RAW processing, Full-time Live View, Intelligent AUTO (iAUTO), Eye-Fi Card Ready, Touch Shutter technology, GPS via mobile Audio recording, built-in speaker, RGB primary colour filter, auto power save, digital image rotation, camera orientation detection, histogram display, in-camera red-eye removal, cropping an image, resizing an image, shadow point display, highlight point display, in-camera film editing, in-camera RAW processing, Full-time Live View, Eye-Fi Card Ready, high-speed recording, Time-Lapse recording
OTHERS Olympus OM-D E-M1 Olympus PEN E-PL9
Included Accessories Battery charger, body cap, shoulder strap, USB cable Battery charger, body cap, shoulder strap, USB cable
Software Drivers & Utilities, Olympus Viewer 3 -
Max Operating Temperature 40 °C 40 °C
Min Operating Temperature -10 °C 0 °C
Service & Support - Limited warranty - 2 years
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