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Olympus E-M1 II vs Panasonic FZ40

Portability
68
Imaging
59
Features
93
Overall
72
Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ40 front
Portability
68
Imaging
37
Features
40
Overall
38

Olympus E-M1 II vs Panasonic FZ40 Key Specs

Olympus E-M1 II
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Fully Articulated Display
  • ISO 200 - 25600
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • No Anti-Alias Filter
  • 1/8000s Max Shutter
  • 4096 x 2160 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 574g - 134 x 91 x 67mm
  • Released September 2016
  • Old Model is Olympus E-M1
  • Replacement is Olympus E-M1 III
Panasonic FZ40
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 80 - 6400
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 25-600mm (F2.8-5.2) lens
  • 494g - 120 x 80 x 92mm
  • Released July 2010
  • Alternative Name is Lumix DMC-FZ45
Photography Glossary

Olympus E-M1 II vs Panasonic FZ40 Overview

Lets take a deeper look at the Olympus E-M1 II vs Panasonic FZ40, one being a Pro Mirrorless and the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom by brands Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a significant gap among the sensor resolutions of the E-M1 II (20MP) and FZ40 (14MP) and the E-M1 II (Four Thirds) and FZ40 (1/2.3") enjoy totally different sensor measurements.

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The E-M1 II was unveiled 6 years later than the FZ40 and that is a fairly sizable gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-M1 II being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic FZ40 being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before going in to a thorough comparison, below is a concise introduction of how the E-M1 II matches up vs the FZ40 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-M1 II over the Panasonic FZ40

 E-M1 II FZ40 
ReleasedSeptember 2016July 2010Fresher by 76 months
Display typeFully ArticulatedFixed Fully Articulating display
Display resolution1037k230kSharper display (+807k dot)
Selfie screen Easy selfies
Touch display Easily navigate

Reasons to pick Panasonic FZ40 over the Olympus E-M1 II

 FZ40 E-M1 II 

Common features in the Olympus E-M1 II and Panasonic FZ40

 E-M1 II FZ40 
Focus manually More exact focus
Display dimension3"3"Identical display measurements

Olympus E-M1 II vs Panasonic FZ40 Physical Comparison

For those who are going to carry your camera frequently, you're going to have to think about its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-M1 II has got outer measurements of 134mm x 91mm x 67mm (5.3" x 3.6" x 2.6") and a weight of 574 grams (1.27 lbs) while the Panasonic FZ40 has measurements of 120mm x 80mm x 92mm (4.7" x 3.1" x 3.6") accompanied by a weight of 494 grams (1.09 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-M1 II vs Panasonic FZ40 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ dependant on the lens you are utilising during that time. Following is the front view dimensions comparison of the E-M1 II compared to the FZ40.

Olympus E-M1 II vs Panasonic FZ40 size comparison

Using dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-M1 II and FZ40 is 68 and 68 respectively.

Olympus E-M1 II vs Panasonic FZ40 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-M1 II vs Panasonic FZ40 Sensor Comparison

Quite often, its hard to visualise the gap in sensor sizing merely by researching technical specs. The graphic here will help provide you a more clear sense of the sensor sizing in the E-M1 II and FZ40.

As you can tell, each of the cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The E-M1 II having a larger sensor will make achieving shallow depth of field simpler and the Olympus E-M1 II will render more detail having an extra 6MP. Greater resolution will help you crop photos somewhat more aggressively. The fresher E-M1 II is going to have an advantage in sensor innovation.

Olympus E-M1 II vs Panasonic FZ40 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-M1 II vs Panasonic FZ40 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-M1 II vs Panasonic FZ40 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-M1 II Portrait photography highlights
Panasonic FZ40 Portrait photography highlights
75
focusing manually
decent megapixels (20 megapixels)
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
includes face detection focus
exports RAW files
46
has manual focus
megapixel count good (14 megapixels)
delivers RAW files
can't use external flash
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-M1 II Street photography highlights
Panasonic FZ40 Street photography highlights
78
fully articulated screen
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
exports RAW files
comes with touch focus
weather sealing
lighter than others (574g)
good ISO range (25,600)
51
built in image stabilization (Optical)
delivers RAW files
screen does not articulate
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
more heavy than competition in class (494g)
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-M1 II Sports photography details
Panasonic FZ40 Sports photography details
74
great max shutter speed (1/8,000s)
silent shutter (1/32,000s)
fast continuous shooting (60.0 frames per second)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
decent megapixels (20MP)
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
includes tracking autofocus
weather sealing
comes with phase detect auto focus
bad battery power (350 CIPA)
43
incredible zoom range (25-600mm 24.0 x zoom)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
megapixel count good (14MP)
max frames per second low (2.0 frames per second)
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
has no phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Olympus E-M1 II
Travel photography with Panasonic FZ40
72
lighter than others (574g)
weather sealing
comes with touch focus
decent megapixels (20MP)
selfie friendly display
bad battery power (350 shots)
54
megapixel count good (14MP)
built-in flash
quite wide (25mm)
long zoom (600mm)
no Timelapse recording
more heavy than competition in class (494g)
does not contain selfie friendly display
slow max aperture (f2.8)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-M1 II Landscape photography factors
Panasonic FZ40 Landscape photography factors
76
focusing manually
swap lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
screen size is good (3")
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
decent megapixels (20 megapixels)
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
doesnt have anti-alias filter
good ISO range (25,600)
exports RAW files
weather sealing
has dual storage slots
bad battery power (350 CIPA)
51
has manual focus
quite wide (25mm)
screen is a good size (3")
built in image stabilization (Optical)
megapixel count good (14 megapixels)
delivers RAW files
cannot swap lens (fixed lens mount)
slow max aperture (f2.8)
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
no Timelapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Olympus E-M1 II
Vlogging with Panasonic FZ40
79
selfie friendly display
touch screen
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
includes face detection focus
high quality video (4096 x 2160 pxls)
does have external microphone jack
lighter than others (574g)
23
quite wide (25mm)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
slow max aperture (f2.8)
does not contain selfie friendly display
video quality not great (1280 x 720 pxls)
no external microphone jack
more heavy than competition in class (494 grams)
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Olympus E-M1 II vs Panasonic FZ40 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-M1 II and Panasonic FZ40
 Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark IIPanasonic Lumix DMC-FZ40
General Information
Make Olympus Panasonic
Model Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ40
Also referred to as - Lumix DMC-FZ45
Type Pro Mirrorless Small Sensor Superzoom
Released 2016-09-19 2010-07-21
Body design SLR-style mirrorless SLR-like (bridge)
Sensor Information
Chip TruePic VIII Venus Engine HD II
Sensor type CMOS CCD
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 17.4 x 13mm 6.08 x 4.56mm
Sensor area 226.2mm² 27.7mm²
Sensor resolution 20 megapixel 14 megapixel
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Peak resolution 5184 x 3888 4320 x 3240
Highest native ISO 25600 6400
Min native ISO 200 80
RAW support
Min enhanced ISO 64 -
Autofocusing
Manual focus
Touch to focus
AF continuous
AF single
Tracking AF
Selective AF
Center weighted AF
Multi area AF
AF live view
Face detect AF
Contract detect AF
Phase detect AF
Number of focus points 121 -
Cross focus points - -
Lens
Lens mounting type Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens focal range - 25-600mm (24.0x)
Maximum aperture - f/2.8-5.2
Macro focus distance - 1cm
Amount of lenses 107 -
Crop factor 2.1 5.9
Screen
Display type Fully Articulated Fixed Type
Display size 3 inches 3 inches
Display resolution 1,037k dot 230k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch capability
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic Electronic
Viewfinder resolution 2,360k dot -
Viewfinder coverage 100 percent -
Viewfinder magnification 0.74x -
Features
Minimum shutter speed 60s 60s
Fastest shutter speed 1/8000s 1/2000s
Fastest quiet shutter speed 1/32000s -
Continuous shutter speed 60.0 frames per sec 2.0 frames per sec
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Change WB
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash range 9.10 m (at ISO 100) 9.50 m
Flash modes Redeye, Fill-in, Flash Off, Red-eye Slow sync.(1st curtain), Slow sync.(1st curtain), Slow sync.(2nd curtain), Manual Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow Sync
External flash
AEB
WB bracketing
Fastest flash sync 1/250s -
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Video resolutions 4096 x 2160 @ 24p / 237 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM, 3840 x 2160 @ 30p / 102 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM 1280 x 720 (60, 30 fps), 848 x 480 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps)
Highest video resolution 4096x2160 1280x720
Video data format MOV, H.264 AVCHD Lite
Microphone input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless Built-In None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 3.0 (5 GBit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 574g (1.27 lb) 494g (1.09 lb)
Dimensions 134 x 91 x 67mm (5.3" x 3.6" x 2.6") 120 x 80 x 92mm (4.7" x 3.1" x 3.6")
DXO scores
DXO Overall score 80 not tested
DXO Color Depth score 23.7 not tested
DXO Dynamic range score 12.8 not tested
DXO Low light score 1312 not tested
Other
Battery life 350 pictures -
Type of battery Battery Pack -
Battery model BLH-1 -
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 secs, custom) Yes (2 or 10 sec, 10 sec (3 pictures))
Time lapse shooting
Type of storage Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC slots SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal
Storage slots Two Single
Retail pricing $1,700 $420