Compared to... Panasonic G1

Studio scene comparison (JPEG)

This is our standard studio scene comparison shot taken from exactly the same tripod position. Lighting: daylight simulation, >98% CRI. Crops are 100%. Ambient temperature was approximately 22°C (~72°F).

Olympus E-P1 vs. Panasonic DMC-G1

Camera settings:

• Olympus E-P1: Olympus 50 mm F2 Macro lens, Aperture Priority, ISO 100
  JPEG Large/Fine, Manual WB, Default Parameters (Standard), Self-Timer
   
  
• Panasonic DMC-G1: Olympus 50 mm F2 Macro lens, Aperture Priority, ISO 100
  JPEG Large/Fine, Manual WB, Default Parameters, Self-Timer
  

Olympus E-P1	Panasonic DMC-G1
7.4 MB JPEG (4032 x 3024)	3.5 MB JPEG (3872 x 2592)

No surprises here; the differences between these two Micro Four Thirds cameras is minimal (they share the same sensor and here are using the same lens). Looking closely you can see how well Olympus does with in-camera JPEG processing; by comparison the G1's output looks slightly messy at 100%, with some artefacts (and lower per-pixel sharpness). Crucially, though, the G1 still appears to have at least as much resolution (something we'll find out a little more about when we look at the raw output).