Clicky

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS100

Portability
70
Imaging
41
Features
34
Overall
38
Olympus E-500 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS100 front
Portability
87
Imaging
52
Features
65
Overall
57

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS100 Key Specs

Olympus E-500
(Full Review)
  • 8MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 2.5" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 400 (Boost to 1600)
  • No Video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 479g - 130 x 95 x 66mm
  • Announced October 2005
  • Alternate Name is EVOLT E-500
  • Replacement is Olympus E-510
Panasonic ZS100
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - 1" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 125 - 12800 (Raise to 25600)
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • 25-250mm (F2.8-5.9) lens
  • 312g - 111 x 65 x 44mm
  • Revealed January 2016
  • Other Name is Lumix DMC-TZ100
  • Replacement is Panasonic ZS200
Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a Landslide

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS100 Overview

Its time to take a closer look at the Olympus E-500 and Panasonic ZS100, former is a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Large Sensor Compact by brands Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a large gap among the resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and ZS100 (20MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and ZS100 (1") offer totally different sensor size.

President Biden pushes bill mandating TikTok sale or ban

The E-500 was revealed 11 years before the ZS100 which is a fairly serious difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Panasonic ZS100 being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before we go into a comprehensive comparison, here is a short summary of how the E-500 scores vs the ZS100 for portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Japan-exclusive Leica Leitz Phone 3 features big sensor and new modes
	
	

Reasons to pick Olympus E-500 over the Panasonic ZS100

 E-500 ZS100 

Reasons to pick Panasonic ZS100 over the Olympus E-500

 ZS100 E-500 
RevealedJanuary 2016October 2005More modern by 124 months
Screen dimensions3"2.5"Bigger screen (+0.5")
Screen resolution1040k215kSharper screen (+825k dot)
Touch screen Quickly navigate

Common features in the Olympus E-500 and Panasonic ZS100

 E-500 ZS100 
Focus manually Very exact focus
Screen typeFixed Fixed Fixed screen
Selfie screen Absent selfie screen

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS100 Physical Comparison

For anybody who is aiming to carry around your camera, you need to think about its weight and size. The Olympus E-500 enjoys physical measurements of 130mm x 95mm x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") with a weight of 479 grams (1.06 lbs) and the Panasonic ZS100 has specifications of 111mm x 65mm x 44mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.7") having a weight of 312 grams (0.69 lbs).

Check the Olympus E-500 and Panasonic ZS100 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you use at that moment. Here is a front view proportions comparison of the E-500 vs the ZS100.

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS100 size comparison

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-500 and ZS100 is 70 and 87 respectively.

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS100 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS100 Sensor Comparison

Typically, its hard to visualise the difference in sensor sizes just by looking through technical specs. The pic below will help provide you a clearer sense of the sensor measurements in the E-500 and ZS100.

As you have seen, both the cameras have different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The E-500 having a bigger sensor will make achieving shallow depth of field easier and the Panasonic ZS100 will provide you with greater detail because of its extra 12MP. Higher resolution will enable you to crop photographs a bit more aggressively. The more aged E-500 will be behind in sensor technology.

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS100 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS100 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS100 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
Sora from OpenAI releases its first ever music video

Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-500 Portrait photography details
Panasonic ZS100 Portrait photography details
48
focusing manually
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports RAW formats
no liveview feature
sensor resolution low (8 megapixels)
64
you can focus manually
good megapixels (20MP)
nice sensor size (1")
features face detection focusing
exports RAW formats
can't use external flash
Apple Innovates by Creating Next-Level Optical Stabilization for iPhone

Street Comparison

Olympus E-500 Street photography features
Panasonic ZS100 Street photography features
56
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports RAW formats
lighter than competition in class (479g)
screen is fixed
does not have image stabilization
max ISO too low (400)
78
has image stabilization (Optical)
nice sensor size (1")
exports RAW formats
provides focus by touch
lighter than competition (312g)
fixed screen
Snapchat Adds Watermarks to AI-Created Images

Sports Comparison

Olympus E-500 as a Sports photography camera
Panasonic ZS100 as a Sports photography camera
37
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
comes with phase detect autofocus
no liveview feature
max fps very slow (3.0 frames per second)
does not have image stabilization
sensor resolution low (8MP)
67
quiet shutter (1/16,000 seconds)
has image stabilization (Optical)
good megapixels (20 megapixels)
nice sensor size (1")
features tracking autofocus
doesn't have phase detect AF
Samsung Releases Faster Versions of EVO MicroSD Cards

Travel Comparison

Olympus E-500 Travel photography info
Panasonic ZS100 Travel photography info
52
lighter than competition in class (479g)
built-in flash
no Time Lapse recording
sensor resolution low (8 megapixels)
does not have a selfie friendly screen
75
lighter than competition (312 grams)
provides focus by touch
good megapixels (20MP)
built-in flash
fairly wide (25mm)
very long reach (250mm)
display is not selfie friendly
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f2.8)
Photobucket discusses licensing 13 billion images with AI firms

Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-500 Landscape photography factors
Panasonic ZS100 Landscape photography factors
43
focusing manually
swap lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports RAW formats
small screen (2.5")
no liveview feature
does not have image stabilization
sensor resolution low (8 megapixels)
max ISO too low (400)
no Time Lapse recording
68
you can focus manually
fairly wide (25mm)
screen size is good (3")
has image stabilization (Optical)
good megapixels (20 megapixels)
nice sensor size (1")
exports RAW formats
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f2.8)
Meta to Introduce 'AI-Generated' Labels for Media starting next month

Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-500 as a Vlogging camera
Panasonic ZS100 as a Vlogging camera
9
no video recording
35
fairly wide (25mm)
built-in touchscreen
has image stabilization (Optical)
features face detection focusing
high quality video (3840 x 2160 pixels)
lighter than competition (312 grams)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f2.8)
display is not selfie friendly
no external microphone support
Photography Glossary

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS100 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-500 and Panasonic ZS100
 Olympus E-500Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS100
General Information
Make Olympus Panasonic
Model type Olympus E-500 Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS100
Otherwise known as EVOLT E-500 Lumix DMC-TZ100
Type Advanced DSLR Large Sensor Compact
Announced 2005-10-21 2016-01-05
Physical type Mid-size SLR Large Sensor Compact
Sensor Information
Chip - Venus Engine
Sensor type CCD MOS
Sensor size Four Thirds 1"
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 13.2 x 8.8mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 116.2mm²
Sensor resolution 8 megapixel 20 megapixel
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Highest resolution 3264 x 2448 5472 x 3648
Highest native ISO 400 12800
Highest boosted ISO 1600 25600
Min native ISO 100 125
RAW photos
Min boosted ISO - 80
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
AF touch
Continuous AF
AF single
AF tracking
Selective AF
AF center weighted
AF multi area
AF live view
Face detect focusing
Contract detect focusing
Phase detect focusing
Total focus points 3 49
Lens
Lens support Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 25-250mm (10.0x)
Largest aperture - f/2.8-5.9
Macro focusing range - 5cm
Amount of lenses 45 -
Focal length multiplier 2.1 2.7
Screen
Type of display Fixed Type Fixed Type
Display diagonal 2.5" 3"
Resolution of display 215 thousand dots 1,040 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch operation
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Optical (pentaprism) Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 1,166 thousand dots
Viewfinder coverage 95% 100%
Viewfinder magnification 0.45x 0.46x
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60s 60s
Highest shutter speed 1/4000s 1/2000s
Highest quiet shutter speed - 1/16000s
Continuous shooting rate 3.0 frames per second 9.9 frames per second
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Change WB
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash distance 13.00 m (at ISO 100) 8.00 m (at 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
AEB
White balance bracketing
Highest flash synchronize 1/180s -
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Supported video resolutions - 4K/UHD (3840 x 2160 @ 30p/24p), 1920 x 1080 @ 60p/60i/30p/24p, 640 x 480 (30p)
Highest video resolution None 3840x2160
Video format - MPEG-4, AVCHD
Microphone 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
Environmental sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 479 grams (1.06 lb) 312 grams (0.69 lb)
Physical dimensions 130 x 95 x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") 111 x 65 x 44mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.7")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating not tested 70
DXO Color Depth rating not tested 22.8
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested 12.5
DXO Low light rating not tested 559
Other
Battery life - 300 images
Battery style - Battery Pack
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 secs, 3 shots @ 10 sec)
Time lapse shooting
Storage type Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card SD/SDHC/SDXC card
Card slots One One
Retail pricing $600 $700