Olympus E-P2 vs. Panasonic GF1: JPEG Engine Comparison

Olympus E-P2 vs. Panasonic GF1: JPEG Engine Comparison

In our first round of comparisons between the Olympus E-P2 and the Panasonic GF1, we took a look at ISO performance and somewhat at image quality from the 2 very similar cameras. That was from a RAW perspective, and in general we do most of our shooting in RAW at Neutralday.com. That said, we got some email from readers wanting to see the differences in JPEG output between the two cameras. So we’ve gathered together a good number of similar images from the two, all shot in JPEG, using the cameras highest quality setting. Both cameras have a standard type image style, so that was used, and anywhere we could in-camera, the two cameras were set the same.

Availability

Olympus E-P2 at B&H Photo Panasonic GF1 at B&H Photo Get the Olympus E-P2 or the Panasonic GF1 and support this site at the same time, by making your purchase through the links above at B&H Photo Video. Your purchases there help us continue to provide you with more great content.

And the Results…

Actually largely the same. As several readers have pointed out, the Olympus E-P2 seems to known for its JPEG quality, but to my eye the only real difference between the two camera’s files is a bit more warmth in the E-P2 JPEGs. In general, I’m seeing a bit more red, and a bit more yellow in the E-P2 files, but I’m also seeing a bit more noise. I do see the appeal in the E-P2 files though, the added warmth gives them more punch than the GF1 files, but just slightly, and given the ability to tweak these settings in-camera (add saturation, contrast, etc.) I can’t see choosing one camera over the other on this basis alone. My perspective is that if you need more punch from the GF1 you could dial it in from the camera or in post, and personally there’s something to be said for the “natural” approach.

As we mentioned above, the GF1 files also look cleaner, strange, since in some of our RAW testing we came to the opposite conclusion with the E-P2 files looking slightly better. Regardless the differences are quite minuscule, and in some of our printed samples you’d be hard pressed to tell one from the other.

Interestingly sharpness will flip back and forth. At times the image stabilization of the E-P2 shows a clear advantage over the GF1, while at other times the Panasonic 20mm f/1.7 seems to have the advantage. Indeed, with enough light, it looks sharper to us. Of course that leads one to think about the E-P2 paired with the Panasonic 20mm f/1.7. From a consumer’s point of view, that looks costly, as it demands an additional lens purchase, thankfully that isn’t an issue here, and we are indeed frequently swapping the 20mm f/1.7 between both cameras.

Conclusion

I’ll grant E-P2 fans that it does produce slightly more appealing JPEGs right from the camera, but the differences are very small, and some photographers will appreciate the GF1’s more natural approach. Either way, both cameras can be tweaked in-camera to produce more preferable results, and in general we feel pretty confident that other concerns may outweigh overall capture image quality, be it JPEG or RAW, in particular we’re thinking about LCD resolutions, image stabilization, and in-camera creative possibilities, and let’s not forget focusing.

One more thing, we haven’t forgot about the AF and Interface installment that we promised with the first part in this series, we just wanted to bump this in for several curious readers.

Image Samples

The following image samples should be able to give you a pretty good idea at how the two cameras see the world through the lens of their respective JPEG engines. From my point of view, the two are pretty close in look and feel, though as discussed above, the E-P2 does provide a more punch, mostly in the form added warmth to the images. You’ll note I did my best to capture similar points of view, and use similar, if not exact exposure settings. Where ISO settings differ (due to AUTO ISO experimentation), you can disregard image noise differences, but do note, even where ISO is the same, the GF1 JPEGs look cleaner.

For these shots, both cameras were set to their default standard setups, and all applicable settings that could be set equally, were set that way.

You can click each thumbnail for a larger view, or explore the original size link, where you’re free to download whatever images you’d like for your own personal inspections.

Camera: Olympus E-P2 Exposure: 0.006 sec (1/160) Aperture: f/8.0 Focal Length: 17 mm ISO Speed: 200 Exposure Bias: 0 EV original size	Camera: Panasonic DMC-GF1 Exposure: 0.008 sec (1/125) Aperture: f/8.0 Focal Length: 20 mm ISO Speed: 100 Exposure Bias: 0 EV original size
Camera: Olympus E-P2 Exposure: 0.008 sec (1/125) Aperture: f/8.0 Focal Length: 17 mm ISO Speed: 200 Exposure Bias: 0 EV original size	Camera: Panasonic DMC-GF1 Exposure: 0.013 sec (1/80) Aperture: f/8.0 Focal Length: 20 mm ISO Speed: 100 Exposure Bias: 0 EV original size
Camera: Olympus E-P2 Exposure: 0.017 sec (1/60) Aperture: f/8.0 Focal Length: 17 mm ISO Speed: 250 Exposure Bias: 0 EV original size	Camera: Panasonic DMC-GF1 Exposure: 0.033 sec (1/30) Aperture: f/8.0 Focal Length: 20 mm ISO Speed: 100 Exposure Bias: 0 EV original size
Camera: Olympus E-P2 Exposure: 0.006 sec (1/160) Aperture: f/8.0 Focal Length: 17 mm ISO Speed: 200 Exposure Bias: 0 EV original size	Camera: Panasonic DMC-GF1 Exposure: 0.01 sec (1/100) Aperture: f/8.0 Focal Length: 20 mm ISO Speed: 100 Exposure Bias: 0 EV original size
Camera: Olympus E-P2 Exposure: 0.013 sec (1/80) Aperture: f/8.0 Focal Length: 17 mm ISO Speed: 250 Exposure Bias: 0 EV original size	Camera: Panasonic DMC-GF1 Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/400) Aperture: f/2.8 Focal Length: 20 mm ISO Speed: 100 Exposure Bias: 0 EV original size
Camera: Olympus E-P2 Exposure: 0.033 sec (1/30) Aperture: f/3.5 Focal Length: 17 mm ISO Speed: 400 Exposure Bias: 0 EV original size	Camera: Panasonic DMC-GF1 Exposure: 0.025 sec (1/40) Aperture: f/3.5 Focal Length: 20 mm ISO Speed: 400 Exposure Bias: 0 EV original size
Camera: Olympus E-P2 Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200) Aperture: f/4.5 Focal Length: 17 mm ISO Speed: 100 Exposure Bias: 0 EV original size	Camera: Panasonic DMC-GF1 Exposure: 0.004 sec (1/250) Aperture: f/3.5 Focal Length: 20 mm ISO Speed: 100 Exposure Bias: 0 EV original size
Camera: Olympus E-P2 Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200) Aperture: f/8.0 Focal Length: 17 mm ISO Speed: 100 Exposure Bias: 0 EV original size	Camera: Panasonic DMC-GF1 Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/320) Aperture: f/8.0 Focal Length: 20 mm ISO Speed: 100 Exposure Bias: 0 EV original size
Camera: Olympus E-P2 Exposure: 0.02 sec (1/50) Aperture: f/8.0 Focal Length: 17 mm ISO Speed: 100 Exposure Bias: 0 EV original size	Camera: Panasonic DMC-GF1 Exposure: 0.01 sec (1/100) Aperture: f/8.0 Focal Length: 20 mm ISO Speed: 125 Exposure Bias: 0 EV original size
amera: Olympus E-P2 Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/500) Aperture: f/2.8 Focal Length: 17 mm ISO Speed: 100 Exposure Bias: 0 EV original size	Camera: Panasonic DMC-GF1 Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/800) Aperture: f/2.8 Focal Length: 20 mm ISO Speed: 100 Exposure Bias: 0 EV original size
Camera: Olympus E-P2 Exposure: 0.008 sec (1/125) Aperture: f/2.8 Focal Length: 17 mm ISO Speed: 400 Exposure Bias: 0 EV original size	Camera: Panasonic DMC-GF1 Exposure: 0.006 sec (1/160) Aperture: f/2.8 Focal Length: 20 mm ISO Speed: 400 Exposure Bias: 0 EV original size
Camera: Olympus E-P2 Exposure: 0.025 sec (1/40) Aperture: f/2.8 Focal Length: 17 mm ISO Speed: 400 Exposure Bias: 0 EV original size	Camera: Panasonic DMC-GF1 Exposure: 0.02 sec (1/50) Aperture: f/2.8 Focal Length: 20 mm ISO Speed: 400 Exposure Bias: 0 EV original size

Stay tuned for our next part in this series, centered around the AF and interfaces of the two cameras.

Olympus E-P2 at B&H Photo Panasonic GF1 at B&H Photo Get the Olympus E-P2 or the Panasonic GF1 and support this site at the same time, by making your purchase through the links above at B&H Photo Video. Your purchases there help us continue to provide you with more great content.

Continue the Discussion

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1. 

   wksoh says:

   March 17, 2010 at 5:41 am

   I have a GF1. From your samples, I love the punchy colours of the Olympus. But I still love my GF1 because it is more practical to have fast AF and flash in-built.

   Thanks for the review!

   reply
2. 

   wksoh says:

   April 2, 2010 at 1:39 pm

   Hello editor, it is mentioned that GF1 can be tweaked to have better JPG. Can you let me know how to tweak it to look like the EP2 jpegs?

   Right now, my S90 jpeg color richness is murdering my GF1. Thanks

   reply
   • 

     Patrick says:

     April 3, 2010 at 12:08 am

     wksoh,
     I meant tweaked to improve it, not tweaked to match the Olympus. But you can get more punch by adjusting the contrast, saturation, and color in the menu. If that isn’t enough, you could always add more contast/sat on the computer, perhaps even shifting the white balance to the warmer side just a bit (or add vibrancy if you have Lightroom, Aperture, or ACR). But yes, the Panasonic files tend to be a bit flat (I’d say “natural”) at the default settings.

     reply
3. 

   npl says:

   April 12, 2010 at 4:53 am

   The colors from the olympus e-p2 may be punchier but I find the sky color in the picture with the horse statue unrealistic. I like the more “natural” approach of the gf1.

   reply
   • 

     Patrick says:

     April 16, 2010 at 8:07 am

     npl,
     I lean the same way you do, but, I do tend to process things myself later — some folks don’t, and want a little pizazz right out of the camera, which I suppose is a valid concern.

     reply
     • 

       vlad says:

       July 11, 2010 at 5:13 am

       hi,

       thx for your review,

       im a bit concern about jpeg engine of the gf1.. after i saw your samples, pl2 looks much better. but now’s too late.. i already order the gf1 ( 14 – 45 and 7-14 mm lenses ) . I;m wondering if i use RAW mode what would be the results, in the same manner of speaking ? after that, of course, i have choices like aperture or lightroom.

       reply
       • 

         Patrick says:

         July 18, 2010 at 7:37 pm

         vlad,
         If shooting in raw, you’ll be fine. If you like that look add a slight curve and a bit of warmth to your white balance, not a big deal at all. Even in JPEG, the same adjustments will provide similar results. You could even make a preset for it, and apply it to all your GF1 files on import (assuming Lightroom/Aperture), but I suspect eventually you’ll just want to do your own thing to your GF1 files, and forget all about the E-P2 “look”.

         reply