Olympus E-M1 III vs Panasonic ZS15

Let's take a more detailed look at the Olympus E-M1 III and Panasonic ZS15, one being a Pro Mirrorless and the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by competitors Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a sizeable gap among the resolutions of the E-M1 III (20MP) and ZS15 (12MP) and the E-M1 III (Four Thirds) and ZS15 (1/2.3") come with totally different sensor size.

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The E-M1 III was brought out 7 years later than the ZS15 and that is a fairly large gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of these cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-M1 III being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic ZS15 being a Compact camera.

Before getting straight into a in-depth comparison, below is a short summary of how the E-M1 III matches up versus the ZS15 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

The following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III and Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS15. The entire galleries are available at Olympus E-M1 III Gallery and Panasonic ZS15 Gallery.

For anybody who is looking to carry your camera often, you should factor its weight and size. The Olympus E-M1 III comes with exterior dimensions of 134mm x 91mm x 69mm (5.3" x 3.6" x 2.7") along with a weight of 580 grams (1.28 lbs) while the Panasonic ZS15 has specifications of 105mm x 58mm x 33mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 1.3") accompanied by a weight of 208 grams (0.46 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-M1 III and Panasonic ZS15 in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change dependant on the lens you have chosen at that time. Below is the front view scale comparison of the E-M1 III vs the ZS15.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-M1 III and ZS15 is 67 and 92 respectively.

Quite often, it is very tough to visualise the contrast in sensor sizing simply by going through technical specs. The graphic below might provide you a far better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-M1 III and ZS15.

As you have seen, both cameras enjoy different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The E-M1 III because of its bigger sensor will make getting shallow depth of field simpler and the Olympus E-M1 III will provide more detail having its extra 8 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also allow you to crop shots far more aggressively. The more modern E-M1 III is going to have an edge in sensor tech.