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Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS80

Portability
70
Imaging
41
Features
34
Overall
38
Olympus E-500 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS80 front
Portability
86
Imaging
47
Features
70
Overall
56

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS80 Key Specs

Olympus E-500
(Full Review)
  • 8MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 2.5" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 400 (Increase to 1600)
  • No Video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 479g - 130 x 95 x 66mm
  • Revealed October 2005
  • Alternate Name is EVOLT E-500
  • Successor is Olympus E-510
Panasonic ZS80
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 80 - 3200 (Expand to 6400)
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • 24-720mm (F3.3-6.4) lens
  • 327g - 112 x 69 x 42mm
  • Introduced February 2018
  • Additionally Known as Lumix DC-TZ95
  • Earlier Model is Panasonic ZS70
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Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS80 Overview

Below is a extended analysis of the Olympus E-500 and Panasonic ZS80, one being a Advanced DSLR and the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by companies Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a crucial gap among the image resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and ZS80 (20MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and ZS80 (1/2.3") enjoy totally different sensor size.

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The E-500 was unveiled 13 years before the ZS80 and that is a fairly serious gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of these cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Panasonic ZS80 being a Compact camera.

Before diving in to a comprehensive comparison, below is a quick view of how the E-500 matches up versus the ZS80 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-500 over the Panasonic ZS80

 E-500 ZS80 

Reasons to pick Panasonic ZS80 over the Olympus E-500

 ZS80 E-500 
IntroducedFebruary 2018October 2005More recent by 150 months
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen dimension3"2.5"Bigger screen (+0.5")
Screen resolution1040k215kClearer screen (+825k dot)
Selfie screen Easy selfies
Touch screen Quickly navigate

Common features in the Olympus E-500 and Panasonic ZS80

 E-500 ZS80 
Manually focus Very exact focus

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS80 Physical Comparison

For those who are aiming to lug around your camera often, you'll have to consider its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-500 offers exterior dimensions of 130mm x 95mm x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") with a weight of 479 grams (1.06 lbs) while the Panasonic ZS80 has measurements of 112mm x 69mm x 42mm (4.4" x 2.7" x 1.7") with a weight of 327 grams (0.72 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-500 and Panasonic ZS80 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change dependant on the lens you have at that time. The following is the front view proportions comparison of the E-500 vs the ZS80.

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS80 size comparison

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-500 and ZS80 is 70 and 86 respectively.

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS80 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS80 Sensor Comparison

More often than not, it's hard to see the contrast in sensor measurements just by researching technical specs. The photograph below might provide you a stronger sense of the sensor sizes in the E-500 and ZS80.

As you have seen, each of these cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-500 having a bigger sensor will make achieving shallow depth of field less difficult and the Panasonic ZS80 will result in greater detail having an extra 12MP. Higher resolution will allow you to crop pictures somewhat more aggressively. The older E-500 will be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor technology.

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS80 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS80 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS80 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
Photography Glossary

Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-500 Portrait photography factors
Panasonic ZS80 Portrait photography factors
48
manual focus
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW formats
no liveview feature
low MP (8 megapixels)
54
focusing manually
sensor resolution is decent (20 megapixels)
comes with face detect autofocus
exports RAW formats
no external flash support
small sensor (1/2.3")
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-500 as a Street photography camera
Panasonic ZS80 as a Street photography camera
56
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW formats
lighter than average (479g)
fixed screen
does not have image stabilization
low max ISO (400)
75
tilting screen
image stabilization (Optical)
exports RAW formats
comes with focus by touch
small sensor (1/2.3")
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Sports Comparison

Sports photography with Olympus E-500
Sports photography with Panasonic ZS80
37
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
comes with phase detect autofocus
no liveview feature
slow fps (3.0 frames/s)
does not have image stabilization
low MP (8 megapixels)
61
long zoom range (24-720mm 30.0 x zoom)
silent mode (1/16,000s)
image stabilization (Optical)
sensor resolution is decent (20 megapixels)
comes with tracking focus
better than average battery power (380 per charge)
small sensor (1/2.3")
does not have phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-500 Travel photography highlights
Panasonic ZS80 Travel photography highlights
52
lighter than average (479g)
has built in flash
doesn't have Time Lapse recording
low MP (8 megapixels)
does not posses selfie friendly screen
79
better than average battery power (380 shots)
supports bluetooth
comes with focus by touch
sensor resolution is decent (20 megapixels)
built-in flash
selfie friendly screen
pretty wide (24mm)
long reach (720mm)
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.3)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-500 Landscape photography highlights
Panasonic ZS80 Landscape photography highlights
43
manual focus
change lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW formats
small screen (2.5 inches)
no liveview feature
does not have image stabilization
low MP (8MP)
low max ISO (400)
doesn't have Time Lapse recording
62
focusing manually
pretty wide (24mm)
screen size is good (3 inches)
image stabilization (Optical)
sensor resolution is decent (20MP)
exports RAW formats
better than average battery power (380 shots)
can't switch lenses (fixed lens mount)
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.3)
small sensor (1/2.3")
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Olympus E-500
Vlogging with Panasonic ZS80
9
no video
73
pretty wide (24mm)
selfie friendly screen
touchscreen
image stabilization (Optical)
comes with face detect autofocus
high quality video (3840 x 2160 pixels)
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.3)
doesn't have mic support
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Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS80 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-500 and Panasonic ZS80
 Olympus E-500Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS80
General Information
Brand Name Olympus Panasonic
Model type Olympus E-500 Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS80
Also referred to as EVOLT E-500 Lumix DC-TZ95
Category Advanced DSLR Small Sensor Superzoom
Revealed 2005-10-21 2018-02-18
Physical type Mid-size SLR Compact
Sensor Information
Processor - Venus Engine
Sensor type CCD BSI-CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 8MP 20MP
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Maximum resolution 3264 x 2448 5184 x 3888
Maximum native ISO 400 3200
Maximum boosted ISO 1600 6400
Minimum native ISO 100 80
RAW files
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
Touch focus
Autofocus continuous
Single autofocus
Tracking autofocus
Selective autofocus
Center weighted autofocus
Multi area autofocus
Autofocus live view
Face detection focus
Contract detection focus
Phase detection focus
Total focus points 3 -
Lens
Lens support Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 24-720mm (30.0x)
Maximal aperture - f/3.3-6.4
Macro focusing range - 3cm
Available lenses 45 -
Crop factor 2.1 5.8
Screen
Screen type Fixed Type Tilting
Screen diagonal 2.5 inches 3 inches
Screen resolution 215k dots 1,040k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch display
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Optical (pentaprism) Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 2,330k dots
Viewfinder coverage 95 percent 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification 0.45x 0.53x
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60s 4s
Highest shutter speed 1/4000s 1/2000s
Highest silent shutter speed - 1/16000s
Continuous shooting rate 3.0fps 10.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual mode
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Custom white balance
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash distance 13.00 m (at ISO 100) 5.60 m (with Auto ISO)
Flash options Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Forced On/Red-eye Reduction, Slow Sync, Slow Sync/Red-eye Reduction, Forced Off
External flash
AE bracketing
WB bracketing
Highest flash synchronize 1/180s -
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions - 3840 x 2160 (30p), 1920 x 1080 (60p, 60i, 30p), 1280 x 720 (30p), 640 x 480 (30p)
Maximum video resolution None 3840x2160
Video data format - MPEG-4, H.264
Mic support
Headphone support
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 479 grams (1.06 pounds) 327 grams (0.72 pounds)
Dimensions 130 x 95 x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") 112 x 69 x 42mm (4.4" x 2.7" x 1.7")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating not tested not tested
DXO Color Depth rating not tested not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested not tested
DXO Low light rating not tested not tested
Other
Battery life - 380 pictures
Form of battery - Battery Pack
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes
Time lapse recording
Storage type Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I supported)
Card slots 1 1
Price at launch $600 $448