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Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic ZR1

Portability
81
Imaging
52
Features
70
Overall
59
Olympus OM-D E-M5 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZR1 front
Portability
94
Imaging
35
Features
17
Overall
27

Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic ZR1 Key Specs

Olympus E-M5
(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
  • 425g - 122 x 89 x 43mm
  • Launched April 2012
  • Successor is Olympus E-M5 II
Panasonic ZR1
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 80 - 6400
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 25-200mm (F3.3-5.9) lens
  • 158g - 98 x 55 x 26mm
  • Launched July 2009
  • Alternate Name is Lumix DMC-ZX1
Photography Glossary

Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic ZR1 Overview

Following is a thorough comparison of the Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic ZR1, former is a Advanced Mirrorless while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by competitors Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a noticeable gap among the image resolutions of the E-M5 (16MP) and ZR1 (12MP) and the E-M5 (Four Thirds) and ZR1 (1/2.3") enjoy totally different sensor size.

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The E-M5 was unveiled 2 years after the ZR1 which is a fairly sizable difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-M5 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic ZR1 being a Compact camera.

Before getting through a complete comparison, below is a quick synopsis of how the E-M5 scores vs the ZR1 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-M5 over the Panasonic ZR1

 E-M5 ZR1 
LaunchedApril 2012July 2009More modern by 34 months
Focus manually Very accurate focus
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen sizing3"2.7"Bigger screen (+0.3")
Screen resolution610k230kClearer screen (+380k dot)
Touch screen Quickly navigate

Reasons to pick Panasonic ZR1 over the Olympus E-M5

 ZR1 E-M5 

Common features in the Olympus E-M5 and Panasonic ZR1

 E-M5 ZR1 
Selfie screen Neither provides selfie screen

Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic ZR1 Physical Comparison

If you are intending to carry around your camera often, you have to factor in its weight and volume. The Olympus E-M5 provides exterior dimensions of 122mm x 89mm x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") with a weight of 425 grams (0.94 lbs) while the Panasonic ZR1 has sizing of 98mm x 55mm x 26mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 1.0") and a weight of 158 grams (0.35 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic ZR1 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you are employing at that time. The following is the front view proportions comparison of the E-M5 against the ZR1.

Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic ZR1 size comparison

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-M5 and ZR1 is 81 and 94 respectively.

Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic ZR1 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic ZR1 Sensor Comparison

More often than not, it is very difficult to envision the difference in sensor sizes purely by seeing specifications. The picture below will offer you a much better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-M5 and ZR1.

To sum up, both of those cameras offer different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The E-M5 having a bigger sensor will make achieving shallow DOF simpler and the Olympus E-M5 will show more detail having an extra 4MP. Higher resolution can also enable you to crop photographs a little more aggressively. The younger E-M5 is going to have an edge in sensor innovation.

Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic ZR1 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic ZR1 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic ZR1 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-M5 as a Portrait photography camera
Panasonic ZR1 as a Portrait photography camera
71
manual focus
decent megapixels (16MP)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
supports face detect focusing
delivers RAW formats
21
manual focus not available
manual mode not available
can't use external flash
resolution not great (12MP)
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
does not have RAW support
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Street photography info
Panasonic ZR1 Street photography info
82
tilting screen
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW formats
includes focus by touch
environment sealing
great ISO range (25,600)
56
built in image stabilization (Optical)
no moving screen
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
does not have RAW support
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Sports photography factors
Panasonic ZR1 Sports photography factors
67
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
decent megapixels (16 megapixels)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
supports tracking focus
environment sealing
lack of phase detect AF
25
built in image stabilization (Optical)
slow frames per second (2.0 frames/s)
no shutter priority mode
resolution not great (12MP)
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
does not have phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Travel photography info
Panasonic ZR1 Travel photography info
66
environment sealing
includes focus by touch
decent megapixels (16 megapixels)
no Timelapse function
does not have a selfie friendly screen
57
flash built-in
quite wide (25mm)
missing Time Lapse function
resolution not great (12MP)
doesn't posses selfie friendly display
sluggish max aperture (f3.3)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Landscape photography info
Panasonic ZR1 Landscape photography info
73
manual focus
change lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
decent sized screen (3")
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
decent megapixels (16 megapixels)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
great ISO range (25,600)
delivers RAW formats
environment sealing
no Timelapse function
32
quite wide (25mm)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
manual focus not available
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
sluggish max aperture (f3.3)
screen is small (2.7 inches)
manual mode not available
resolution not great (12MP)
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
does not have RAW support
missing Time Lapse function
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Olympus E-M5
Vlogging with Panasonic ZR1
34
has touchscreen
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
supports face detect focusing
high quality video (1920 x 1080 pxls)
does not have a selfie friendly screen
no microphone support
28
quite wide (25mm)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
sluggish max aperture (f3.3)
doesn't posses selfie friendly display
low res video (1280 x 720 pixels)
missing mic support
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Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic ZR1 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-M5 and Panasonic ZR1
 Olympus OM-D E-M5Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZR1
General Information
Brand Olympus Panasonic
Model type Olympus OM-D E-M5 Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZR1
Also called as - Lumix DMC-ZX1
Type Advanced Mirrorless Small Sensor Compact
Launched 2012-04-30 2009-07-27
Physical type SLR-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor Information
Processor TruePic VI Venus Engine V
Sensor type CMOS CCD
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 6.08 x 4.56mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 27.7mm²
Sensor resolution 16 megapixel 12 megapixel
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Full resolution 4608 x 3456 4000 x 3000
Max native ISO 25600 6400
Min native ISO 200 80
RAW pictures
Min boosted ISO 100 -
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
Autofocus touch
Continuous autofocus
Single autofocus
Autofocus tracking
Selective autofocus
Center weighted autofocus
Autofocus multi area
Autofocus live view
Face detect focus
Contract detect focus
Phase detect focus
Total focus points 35 11
Lens
Lens support Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 25-200mm (8.0x)
Max aperture - f/3.3-5.9
Macro focusing range - 3cm
Available lenses 107 -
Focal length multiplier 2.1 5.9
Screen
Type of display Tilting Fixed Type
Display size 3" 2.7"
Resolution of display 610 thousand dots 230 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch friendly
Display technology Touch control in electrostatic capacitance type OLED monitor -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Electronic None
Viewfinder resolution 1,440 thousand dots -
Viewfinder coverage 100% -
Viewfinder magnification 0.58x -
Features
Slowest shutter speed 60 secs 60 secs
Maximum shutter speed 1/4000 secs 1/2000 secs
Continuous shooting rate 9.0 frames/s 2.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual mode
Exposure compensation Yes -
Change white balance
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash distance no built-in flash 5.10 m
Flash settings Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync (2), Manual (3 levels) Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow Sync
Hot shoe
AE bracketing
WB bracketing
Maximum flash synchronize 1/250 secs -
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1280 x 720 (60, 30 fps), 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 format H.264, Motion JPEG Motion JPEG
Mic support
Headphone support
Connectivity
Wireless Eye-Fi Connected None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 425 grams (0.94 lb) 158 grams (0.35 lb)
Dimensions 122 x 89 x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") 98 x 55 x 26mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 1.0")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating 71 not tested
DXO Color Depth rating 22.8 not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating 12.3 not tested
DXO Low light rating 826 not tested
Other
Battery life 360 photos -
Battery style Battery Pack -
Battery ID BLN-1 -
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse recording
Storage type SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC card, Internal
Card slots One One
Cost at launch $799 $280