Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic SZ7

Here is a comprehensive comparison of the Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic SZ7, former being a Advanced Mirrorless while the other is a Small Sensor Compact by competitors Olympus and Panasonic. The sensor resolution of the E-M5 (16MP) and the SZ7 (14MP) is fairly close but the E-M5 (Four Thirds) and SZ7 (1/2.3") posses different sensor sizes.

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The E-M5 was unveiled 4 months later than the SZ7 which means that they are both of a similar age. Both the cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-M5 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic SZ7 being a Compact camera.

Before diving straight to a in-depth comparison, here is a simple view of how the E-M5 scores vs the SZ7 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Below is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus OM-D E-M5 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ7. The full galleries are available at Olympus E-M5 Gallery & Panasonic SZ7 Gallery.

For those who are intending to carry your camera regularly, you will need to take into account its weight and size. The Olympus E-M5 provides outside dimensions of 122mm x 89mm x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") along with a weight of 425 grams (0.94 lbs) whilst the Panasonic SZ7 has specifications of 99mm x 59mm x 21mm (3.9" x 2.3" x 0.8") and a weight of 133 grams (0.29 lbs).

Check the Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic SZ7 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you are using during that time. Below is a front view overall size comparison of the E-M5 against the SZ7.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-M5 and SZ7 is 81 and 95 respectively.

Sometimes, it is very tough to visualize the difference in sensor sizing merely by researching specifications. The photograph here should provide you a stronger sense of the sensor sizes in the E-M5 and SZ7.

Plainly, both cameras feature different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The E-M5 using its larger sensor is going to make achieving shallow depth of field simpler and the Olympus E-M5 will render more detail having an extra 2 Megapixels. Greater resolution will enable you to crop photos way more aggressively.