Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS15
70 Imaging
41 Features
34 Overall
38
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92 Imaging
36 Features
37 Overall
36
Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS15 Key Specs
(Full Review)
- 8MP - Four Thirds Sensor
- 2.5" Fixed Display
- ISO 100 - 400 (Raise to 1600)
- No Video
- Micro Four Thirds Mount
- 479g - 130 x 95 x 66mm
- Launched October 2005
- Alternative Name is EVOLT E-500
- Successor is Olympus E-510
(Full Review)
- 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
- 3" Fixed Display
- ISO 100 - 6400
- Optical Image Stabilization
- 1920 x 1080 video
- 24-384mm (F3.3-5.9) lens
- 208g - 105 x 58 x 33mm
- Introduced June 2012
- Other Name is Lumix DMC-TZ25
- Refreshed by Panasonic ZS20
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Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS15 Overview
Let's examine more closely at the Olympus E-500 versus Panasonic ZS15, former being a Advanced DSLR while the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom by competitors Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a considerable gap between the sensor resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and ZS15 (12MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and ZS15 (1/2.3") possess different sensor sizes.
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The E-500 was introduced 7 years before the ZS15 and that is quite a large difference as far as technology is concerned. Both cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Panasonic ZS15 being a Compact camera.
Before getting straight into a in-depth comparison, below is a concise highlight of how the E-500 scores versus the ZS15 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.
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Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS15 Gallery
This is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus E-500 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS15. The whole galleries are viewable at Olympus E-500 Gallery & Panasonic ZS15 Gallery.
Reasons to pick Olympus E-500 over the Panasonic ZS15
E-500 | ZS15 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Manually focus | ![]() | Very accurate focus |
Reasons to pick Panasonic ZS15 over the Olympus E-500
ZS15 | E-500 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Introduced | June 2012 | ![]() | October 2005 | More recent by 81 months |
Display dimension | 3" | ![]() | 2.5" | Larger display (+0.5") |
Display resolution | 460k | ![]() | 215k | Sharper display (+245k dot) |
Common features in the Olympus E-500 and Panasonic ZS15
E-500 | ZS15 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Display type | Fixed | ![]() | Fixed | Fixed display |
Selfie screen | ![]() | Neither has selfie screen | ||
Touch friendly display | ![]() | Lacking Touch friendly display |
Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS15 Physical Comparison
In case you're aiming to lug around your camera regularly, you will need to take into account its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-500 has physical measurements of 130mm x 95mm x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") and a weight of 479 grams (1.06 lbs) whilst the Panasonic ZS15 has dimensions of 105mm x 58mm x 33mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 1.3") with a weight of 208 grams (0.46 lbs).
Contrast the Olympus E-500 versus Panasonic ZS15 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.
Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you choose during that time. Following is the front view measurement comparison of the E-500 versus the ZS15.
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Considering dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-500 and ZS15 is 70 and 92 respectively.
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Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS15 Sensor Comparison
Typically, it's hard to picture the difference between sensor measurements only by looking at specs. The photograph underneath may provide you a clearer sense of the sensor measurements in the E-500 and ZS15.
As you can plainly see, each of the cameras posses different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The E-500 having a larger sensor is going to make getting bokeh less difficult and the Panasonic ZS15 will resolve more detail using its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also help you crop pics somewhat more aggressively. The older E-500 is going to be behind with regard to sensor innovation.
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Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS15 Screen and ViewFinder
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Photography Type Scores
Portrait Comparison
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Street Comparison
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Sports Comparison
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Travel Comparison
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Landscape Comparison
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Vlogging Comparison
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Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS15 Specifications
Olympus E-500 | Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS15 | |
---|---|---|
General Information | ||
Company | Olympus | Panasonic |
Model | Olympus E-500 | Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS15 |
Alternative name | EVOLT E-500 | Lumix DMC-TZ25 |
Class | Advanced DSLR | Small Sensor Superzoom |
Launched | 2005-10-21 | 2012-06-29 |
Body design | Mid-size SLR | Compact |
Sensor Information | ||
Sensor type | CCD | 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 | 12MP |
Anti aliasing filter | ||
Aspect ratio | 4:3 | 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 |
Full resolution | 3264 x 2448 | 4000 x 3000 |
Max native ISO | 400 | 6400 |
Max boosted ISO | 1600 | - |
Minimum native ISO | 100 | 100 |
RAW images | ||
Autofocusing | ||
Focus manually | ||
Touch focus | ||
Autofocus continuous | ||
Single autofocus | ||
Autofocus tracking | ||
Selective autofocus | ||
Center weighted autofocus | ||
Multi area autofocus | ||
Autofocus live view | ||
Face detect autofocus | ||
Contract detect autofocus | ||
Phase detect autofocus | ||
Number of focus points | 3 | 23 |
Lens | ||
Lens mount | Micro Four Thirds | fixed lens |
Lens focal range | - | 24-384mm (16.0x) |
Maximum aperture | - | f/3.3-5.9 |
Macro focus range | - | 3cm |
Total lenses | 45 | - |
Crop factor | 2.1 | 5.8 |
Screen | ||
Range of display | Fixed Type | Fixed Type |
Display size | 2.5" | 3" |
Resolution of display | 215 thousand dot | 460 thousand dot |
Selfie friendly | ||
Liveview | ||
Touch functionality | ||
Viewfinder Information | ||
Viewfinder | Optical (pentaprism) | None |
Viewfinder coverage | 95% | - |
Viewfinder magnification | 0.45x | - |
Features | ||
Slowest shutter speed | 60s | 15s |
Maximum shutter speed | 1/4000s | 1/4000s |
Continuous shooting speed | 3.0 frames/s | 2.0 frames/s |
Shutter priority | ||
Aperture priority | ||
Manually set exposure | ||
Exposure compensation | Yes | Yes |
Custom white balance | ||
Image stabilization | ||
Built-in flash | ||
Flash range | 13.00 m (at ISO 100) | 6.40 m |
Flash options | Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye | Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow Syncro |
External flash | ||
Auto exposure bracketing | ||
White balance bracketing | ||
Maximum flash sync | 1/180s | - |
Exposure | ||
Multisegment exposure | ||
Average exposure | ||
Spot exposure | ||
Partial exposure | ||
AF area exposure | ||
Center weighted exposure | ||
Video features | ||
Video resolutions | - | 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1280 x 720 (60, 30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) |
Max video resolution | None | 1920x1080 |
Video format | - | MPEG-4, AVCHD |
Mic jack | ||
Headphone jack | ||
Connectivity | ||
Wireless | None | None |
Bluetooth | ||
NFC | ||
HDMI | ||
USB | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) |
GPS | None | None |
Physical | ||
Environment seal | ||
Water proof | ||
Dust proof | ||
Shock proof | ||
Crush proof | ||
Freeze proof | ||
Weight | 479g (1.06 lb) | 208g (0.46 lb) |
Dimensions | 130 x 95 x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") | 105 x 58 x 33mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 1.3") |
DXO scores | ||
DXO All around score | not tested | not tested |
DXO Color Depth score | not tested | not tested |
DXO Dynamic range score | not tested | not tested |
DXO Low light score | not tested | not tested |
Other | ||
Battery life | - | 260 pictures |
Battery form | - | Battery Pack |
Self timer | Yes (2 or 12 sec) | Yes (2 or 10 sec) |
Time lapse recording | ||
Type of storage | Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card | SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal |
Storage slots | One | One |
Cost at launch | $600 | $279 |