Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic ZS50
81 Imaging
51 Features
70 Overall
58
90 Imaging
36 Features
57 Overall
44
Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic ZS50 Key Specs
(Full Review)
- 16MP - Four Thirds Sensor
- 3" Tilting Screen
- ISO 200 - 25600
- Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
- 1920 x 1080 video
- Micro Four Thirds Mount
- 425g - 122 x 89 x 43mm
- Released April 2012
- Successor is Olympus E-M5 II
(Full Review)
- 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
- 3" Fixed Screen
- ISO 80 - 6400
- Optical Image Stabilization
- 1920 x 1080 video
- 24-720mm (F3.3-6.4) lens
- 243g - 111 x 65 x 34mm
- Released January 2015
- Other Name is Lumix DMC-TZ70
- Replaced the Panasonic ZS45
- Successor is Panasonic ZS60
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Let's take a deeper look at the Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic ZS50, former being a Advanced Mirrorless while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by rivals Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a substantial gap between the image resolutions of the E-M5 (16MP) and ZS50 (12MP) and the E-M5 (Four Thirds) and ZS50 (1/2.3") provide different sensor measurements.
President Biden pushes bill mandating TikTok sale or banThe E-M5 was announced 3 years earlier than the ZS50 and that is quite a big difference as far as technology is concerned. Both the cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-M5 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic ZS50 being a Compact camera.
Before getting into a more detailed comparison, here is a brief view of how the E-M5 grades vs the ZS50 for portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.
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Here is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus OM-D E-M5 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS50. The whole galleries are available at Olympus E-M5 Gallery & Panasonic ZS50 Gallery.
Reasons to pick Olympus E-M5 over the Panasonic ZS50
| E-M5 | ZS50 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screen type | Tilting | Fixed | Tilting screen | |
| Touch friendly screen | Quickly navigate |
Reasons to pick Panasonic ZS50 over the Olympus E-M5
| ZS50 | E-M5 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Released | January 2015 | April 2012 | Fresher by 32 months | |
| Screen resolution | 1040k | 610k | Crisper screen (+430k dot) |
Common features in the Olympus E-M5 and Panasonic ZS50
| E-M5 | ZS50 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manual focus | Very precise focus | |||
| Screen size | 3" | 3" | Same screen measurements | |
| Selfie screen | Neither comes with selfie screen |
Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic ZS50 Physical Comparison
In case you're planning to carry your camera frequently, you are going to need to take into account its weight and volume. The Olympus E-M5 comes with outer measurements of 122mm x 89mm x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") and a weight of 425 grams (0.94 lbs) while the Panasonic ZS50 has sizing of 111mm x 65mm x 34mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.3") having a weight of 243 grams (0.54 lbs).
Check the Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic ZS50 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.
Always remember, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you have attached at that moment. Underneath is a front view measurements comparison of the E-M5 vs the ZS50.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-M5 and ZS50 is 81 and 90 respectively.
Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic ZS50 Sensor Comparison
Typically, it can be hard to visualize the gap between sensor sizing just by reading through a spec sheet. The photograph below will offer you a greater sense of the sensor measurements in the E-M5 and ZS50.
As you can see, both of those cameras feature different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The E-M5 using its bigger sensor is going to make getting shallower DOF less difficult and the Olympus E-M5 will give greater detail with its extra 4MP. Higher resolution will also allow you to crop shots way more aggressively. The older E-M5 is going to be behind with regard to sensor technology.
Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic ZS50 Screen and ViewFinder
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Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic ZS50 Specifications
| Olympus OM-D E-M5 | Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS50 | |
|---|---|---|
| General Information | ||
| Brand | Olympus | Panasonic |
| Model type | Olympus OM-D E-M5 | Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS50 |
| Also called as | - | Lumix DMC-TZ70 |
| Category | Advanced Mirrorless | Small Sensor Superzoom |
| Released | 2012-04-30 | 2015-01-06 |
| Physical type | SLR-style mirrorless | Compact |
| Sensor Information | ||
| Processor | TruePic VI | - |
| Sensor type | CMOS | CMOS |
| Sensor size | Four Thirds | 1/2.3" |
| Sensor dimensions | 17.3 x 13mm | 6.17 x 4.55mm |
| Sensor surface area | 224.9mm² | 28.1mm² |
| Sensor resolution | 16 megapixel | 12 megapixel |
| Anti alias filter | ||
| Aspect ratio | 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 | 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 |
| Highest resolution | 4608 x 3456 | 4000 x 3000 |
| Highest native ISO | 25600 | 6400 |
| Lowest native ISO | 200 | 80 |
| RAW files | ||
| Lowest boosted ISO | 100 | - |
| Autofocusing | ||
| Focus manually | ||
| Touch to focus | ||
| Autofocus continuous | ||
| Single autofocus | ||
| Autofocus tracking | ||
| Autofocus selectice | ||
| Center weighted autofocus | ||
| Multi area autofocus | ||
| Live view autofocus | ||
| Face detection focus | ||
| Contract detection focus | ||
| Phase detection focus | ||
| Total focus points | 35 | 23 |
| Lens | ||
| Lens mount type | Micro Four Thirds | fixed lens |
| Lens zoom range | - | 24-720mm (30.0x) |
| Maximum aperture | - | f/3.3-6.4 |
| Macro focusing range | - | 3cm |
| Available lenses | 107 | - |
| Crop factor | 2.1 | 5.8 |
| Screen | ||
| Screen type | Tilting | Fixed Type |
| Screen size | 3 inches | 3 inches |
| Screen resolution | 610 thousand dots | 1,040 thousand dots |
| Selfie friendly | ||
| Liveview | ||
| Touch capability | ||
| Screen technology | Touch control in electrostatic capacitance type OLED monitor | - |
| Viewfinder Information | ||
| Viewfinder type | Electronic | Electronic |
| Viewfinder resolution | 1,440 thousand dots | 1,166 thousand dots |
| Viewfinder coverage | 100% | 100% |
| Viewfinder magnification | 0.58x | 0.46x |
| Features | ||
| Lowest shutter speed | 60s | 4s |
| Highest shutter speed | 1/4000s | 1/2000s |
| Continuous shooting rate | 9.0 frames per sec | 10.0 frames per sec |
| Shutter priority | ||
| Aperture priority | ||
| Expose Manually | ||
| Exposure compensation | Yes | Yes |
| Set white balance | ||
| Image stabilization | ||
| Inbuilt flash | ||
| Flash distance | no built-in flash | 6.40 m |
| Flash settings | Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync (2), Manual (3 levels) | Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Slow Sync./Red-eye Reduction, Forced Off |
| External flash | ||
| AEB | ||
| WB bracketing | ||
| Highest flash synchronize | 1/250s | - |
| Exposure | ||
| Multisegment | ||
| Average | ||
| Spot | ||
| Partial | ||
| AF area | ||
| Center weighted | ||
| Video features | ||
| Video resolutions | 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1280 x 720 (60, 30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) | 1920 x 1080 (60p/60i/30p), 1280 x 720 (60p/30p), 640 x 480 (30p) |
| Highest video resolution | 1920x1080 | 1920x1080 |
| Video data format | H.264, Motion JPEG | MPEG-4, AVCHD |
| Mic support | ||
| Headphone support | ||
| Connectivity | ||
| Wireless | Eye-Fi Connected | Built-In |
| Bluetooth | ||
| NFC | ||
| HDMI | ||
| USB | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) |
| GPS | None | None |
| Physical | ||
| Environment sealing | ||
| Water proofing | ||
| Dust proofing | ||
| Shock proofing | ||
| Crush proofing | ||
| Freeze proofing | ||
| Weight | 425 grams (0.94 pounds) | 243 grams (0.54 pounds) |
| Physical dimensions | 122 x 89 x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") | 111 x 65 x 34mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.3") |
| DXO scores | ||
| DXO All around rating | 71 | 44 |
| DXO Color Depth rating | 22.8 | 20.0 |
| DXO Dynamic range rating | 12.3 | 11.2 |
| DXO Low light rating | 826 | 138 |
| Other | ||
| Battery life | 360 pictures | 300 pictures |
| Battery style | Battery Pack | Battery Pack |
| Battery ID | BLN-1 | - |
| Self timer | Yes (2 or 12 sec) | Yes (2 or 10 sec) |
| Time lapse recording | ||
| Type of storage | SD/SDHC/SDXC | SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal |
| Card slots | 1 | 1 |
| Cost at launch | $799 | $350 |