Olympus E-5 vs Panasonic ZS35

Following is a thorough assessment of the Olympus E-5 vs Panasonic ZS35, one is a Advanced DSLR and the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by competitors Olympus and Panasonic. There is a huge difference among the image resolutions of the E-5 (12MP) and ZS35 (16MP) and the E-5 (Four Thirds) and ZS35 (1/2.3") have totally different sensor dimensions.

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The E-5 was introduced 3 years earlier than the ZS35 which is a fairly significant gap as far as camera tech is concerned. Both of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-5 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Panasonic ZS35 being a Compact camera.

Before getting into a detailed comparison, here is a simple overview of how the E-5 grades versus the ZS35 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Below is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus E-5 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS35. The whole galleries are available at Olympus E-5 Gallery and Panasonic ZS35 Gallery.

For anybody who is looking to carry around your camera regularly, you will need to consider its weight and volume. The Olympus E-5 comes with exterior measurements of 143mm x 117mm x 75mm (5.6" x 4.6" x 3.0") along with a weight of 800 grams (1.76 lbs) and the Panasonic ZS35 has sizing of 107mm x 62mm x 32mm (4.2" x 2.4" x 1.3") and a weight of 305 grams (0.67 lbs).

Compare the Olympus E-5 vs Panasonic ZS35 in the latest Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary based on the lens you use at that time. Below is a front view scale comparison of the E-5 versus the ZS35.

Using size and weight, the portability score of the E-5 and ZS35 is 58 and 89 respectively.

Usually, it can be difficult to visualise the difference in sensor sizes only by checking out specs. The pic below should offer you a far better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-5 and ZS35.

As you can plainly see, the 2 cameras provide different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The E-5 with its bigger sensor will make shooting shallow DOF simpler and the Panasonic ZS35 will produce greater detail using its extra 4MP. Higher resolution will also allow you to crop pictures more aggressively. The more aged E-5 will be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor innovation.