Clicky

Olympus E-M10 II vs Panasonic ZS3

Portability
82
Imaging
54
Features
77
Overall
63
Olympus OM-D E-M10 II front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 front
Portability
91
Imaging
33
Features
30
Overall
31

Olympus E-M10 II vs Panasonic ZS3 Key Specs

Olympus E-M10 II
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Display
  • ISO 200 - 25600
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 390g - 120 x 83 x 47mm
  • Introduced August 2015
  • Superseded the Olympus E-M10
  • Replacement is Olympus E-M10 III
Panasonic ZS3
(Full Review)
  • 10MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 80 - 6400
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 25-300mm (F3.3-4.9) lens
  • 229g - 103 x 60 x 33mm
  • Introduced May 2009
  • Other Name is Lumix DMC-TZ7
Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a Landslide

Olympus E-M10 II vs Panasonic ZS3 Overview

Its time to look more closely at the Olympus E-M10 II and Panasonic ZS3, one being a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom by rivals Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a sizeable gap between the resolutions of the E-M10 II (16MP) and ZS3 (10MP) and the E-M10 II (Four Thirds) and ZS3 (1/2.3") have totally different sensor dimensions.

Sora from OpenAI releases its first ever music video

The E-M10 II was unveiled 6 years later than the ZS3 and that is quite a large gap as far as technology is concerned. Both of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-M10 II being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic ZS3 being a Compact camera.

Before going straight to a thorough comparison, here is a quick overview of how the E-M10 II matches up versus the ZS3 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Samsung Releases Faster Versions of EVO MicroSD Cards
	
	

Reasons to pick Olympus E-M10 II over the Panasonic ZS3

 E-M10 II ZS3 
IntroducedAugust 2015May 2009Fresher by 77 months
Focus manually More exact focus
Display typeTiltingFixed Tilting display
Display resolution1040k460kSharper display (+580k dot)
Touch display Easily navigate

Reasons to pick Panasonic ZS3 over the Olympus E-M10 II

 ZS3 E-M10 II 

Common features in the Olympus E-M10 II and Panasonic ZS3

 E-M10 II ZS3 
Display dimensions3"3"Equal display sizing
Selfie screen Neither has selfie screen

Olympus E-M10 II vs Panasonic ZS3 Physical Comparison

For anybody who is planning to carry your camera frequently, you need to think about its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-M10 II has outside measurements of 120mm x 83mm x 47mm (4.7" x 3.3" x 1.9") with a weight of 390 grams (0.86 lbs) and the Panasonic ZS3 has dimensions of 103mm x 60mm x 33mm (4.1" x 2.4" x 1.3") and a weight of 229 grams (0.50 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus E-M10 II and Panasonic ZS3 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Keep in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary depending on the lens you choose at the time. Following is a front view scale comparison of the E-M10 II against the ZS3.

Olympus E-M10 II vs Panasonic ZS3 size comparison

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-M10 II and ZS3 is 82 and 91 respectively.

Olympus E-M10 II vs Panasonic ZS3 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-M10 II vs Panasonic ZS3 Sensor Comparison

More often than not, it is difficult to envision the contrast between sensor sizing purely by looking at technical specs. The visual here might give you a better sense of the sensor sizing in the E-M10 II and ZS3.

As you can tell, both cameras have different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The E-M10 II with its larger sensor will make getting shallower depth of field less difficult and the Olympus E-M10 II will give greater detail having an extra 6MP. Greater resolution will also let you crop pics a bit more aggressively. The more modern E-M10 II will have an advantage in sensor innovation.

Olympus E-M10 II vs Panasonic ZS3 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-M10 II vs Panasonic ZS3 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-M10 II vs Panasonic ZS3 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
Photography Glossary

Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-M10 II as a Portrait photography camera
Panasonic ZS3 as a Portrait photography camera
72
focusing manually
MP count good (16 megapixels)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports face detection focusing
supports RAW formats
19
lack of manual focus
manual exposure not possible
can't use external flash
sensor resolution low (10 megapixels)
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW files
Meta to Introduce 'AI-Generated' Labels for Media starting next month

Street Comparison

Olympus E-M10 II as a Street photography camera
Panasonic ZS3 as a Street photography camera
83
screen tilts up and down
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports RAW formats
features touch to focus
above average ISO range (25,600)
60
built in image stabilization (Optical)
lighter than others (229g)
no moving screen
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW files
President Biden pushes bill mandating TikTok sale or ban

Sports Comparison

Olympus E-M10 II as a Sports photography camera
Panasonic ZS3 as a Sports photography camera
67
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
MP count good (16MP)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports tracking autofocus
doesn't have phase detect AF
24
built in image stabilization (Optical)
max frames per second very slow (2.0 frames per second)
lack of shutter priority mode
sensor resolution low (10 megapixels)
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
doesn't have phase detect auto focus
Snapchat Adds Watermarks to AI-Created Images

Travel Comparison

Olympus E-M10 II Travel photography advice
Panasonic ZS3 Travel photography advice
73
features touch to focus
MP count good (16MP)
built-in flash
display is not selfie friendly
63
lighter than others (229 grams)
built-in flash
relatively wide (25mm)
very long zoom (300mm)
no Timelapse function
sensor resolution low (10 megapixels)
doesn't have selfie friendly display
slow max aperture (f3.3)
Photobucket discusses licensing 13 billion images with AI firms

Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-M10 II as a Landscape photography camera
Panasonic ZS3 as a Landscape photography camera
79
focusing manually
interchangeable lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
pretty good screen size (3 inches)
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
MP count good (16 megapixels)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
above average ISO range (25,600)
supports RAW formats
35
relatively wide (25mm)
screen is a good size (3 inch)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
lack of manual focus
cannot swap lens (fixed lens mount)
slow max aperture (f3.3)
manual exposure not possible
sensor resolution low (10 megapixels)
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW files
no Timelapse function
Apple Innovates by Creating Next-Level Optical Stabilization for iPhone

Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-M10 II Vlogging information
Panasonic ZS3 Vlogging information
35
touch screen
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
supports face detection focusing
high res video (1920 x 1080 resolution)
display is not selfie friendly
lack of external microphone socket
30
relatively wide (25mm)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
lighter than others (229g)
slow max aperture (f3.3)
doesn't have selfie friendly display
video res low (1280 x 720 pixels)
no external microphone port
Japan-exclusive Leica Leitz Phone 3 features big sensor and new modes

Olympus E-M10 II vs Panasonic ZS3 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-M10 II and Panasonic ZS3
 Olympus OM-D E-M10 IIPanasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3
General Information
Make Olympus Panasonic
Model Olympus OM-D E-M10 II Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3
Alternate name - Lumix DMC-TZ7
Class Entry-Level Mirrorless Small Sensor Superzoom
Introduced 2015-08-25 2009-05-14
Body design SLR-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor Information
Chip TruePic VII -
Sensor type CMOS CCD
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 6.08 x 4.56mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 27.7mm²
Sensor resolution 16 megapixels 10 megapixels
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Full resolution 4608 x 3456 3648 x 2736
Max native ISO 25600 6400
Minimum native ISO 200 80
RAW pictures
Minimum boosted ISO 100 -
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch focus
Continuous AF
AF single
Tracking AF
AF selectice
Center weighted AF
AF multi area
Live view AF
Face detect AF
Contract detect AF
Phase detect AF
Number of focus points 81 11
Lens
Lens mount Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens focal range - 25-300mm (12.0x)
Largest aperture - f/3.3-4.9
Macro focus distance - 3cm
Amount of lenses 107 -
Crop factor 2.1 5.9
Screen
Range of display Tilting Fixed Type
Display size 3 inches 3 inches
Display resolution 1,040k dot 460k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch screen
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Electronic None
Viewfinder resolution 2,360k dot -
Viewfinder coverage 100 percent -
Viewfinder magnification 0.62x -
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60 seconds 60 seconds
Highest shutter speed 1/4000 seconds 1/2000 seconds
Continuous shooting speed 8.0fps 2.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes -
Change WB
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash range 5.80 m (ISO 100) 5.30 m (Auto ISO)
Flash settings Auto, redeye reduction, fill flash, flash off, 1st-curtain slow sync w/redeye, 1st-curtain slow sync, 2nd-curtain slow sync, manual Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye reduction, Slow Sync
External flash
AE bracketing
White balance bracketing
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60p/30p/24p), 1280 x 720 (60p/30p/24p), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 848 x 480 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps)
Max video resolution 1920x1080 1280x720
Video data format H.264, Motion JPEG AVCHD Lite
Microphone jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless Built-In 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 390 gr (0.86 lb) 229 gr (0.50 lb)
Physical dimensions 120 x 83 x 47mm (4.7" x 3.3" x 1.9") 103 x 60 x 33mm (4.1" x 2.4" x 1.3")
DXO scores
DXO All around score 73 not tested
DXO Color Depth score 23.1 not tested
DXO Dynamic range score 12.5 not tested
DXO Low light score 842 not tested
Other
Battery life 320 images -
Battery form Battery Pack -
Battery model BLS-50 -
Self timer Yes (12 sec., 2 sec, custom) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse feature
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/MMC/SDHC card, Internal
Storage slots One One
Retail pricing $499 $200