Olympus E-PL3 vs Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX1K

[Austin Headland]

Can anyone please give me an opinion on the Olympus E-PL3 vs the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX1K? I am ready to move up to a new system for taking images primarliy underwater and have pretty much narrowed my choice to these 2 cameras. I like that the Panasonic has 16 MP vs the 12.3 MP of the Olympus. My main concern however is with the focus speed and the shutter lag. I live in a small area that has no major photo stores so I am not able to put my hands on either of these cameras and that is why I am asking for your assistance.

My next step of course will be to choose lenses, housing, ports, etc. but I am not ready to do that until I have made the camera decision. I do know that I prefer to get the Inon Z240 strobe and the fiber optic connections.

I thank you for any comments you are able to provide.

Austin