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Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic ZS8

Portability
81
Imaging
52
Features
70
Overall
59
Olympus OM-D E-M5 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS8 front
Portability
92
Imaging
37
Features
39
Overall
37

Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic ZS8 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
  • Released April 2012
  • Later Model is Olympus E-M5 II
Panasonic ZS8
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 6400
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 24-384mm (F3.3-5.9) lens
  • 210g - 105 x 58 x 33mm
  • Revealed July 2011
  • Additionally Known as Lumix DMC-TZ18
  • Older Model is Panasonic ZS7
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Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic ZS8 Overview

Here is a detailed comparison of the Olympus E-M5 and Panasonic ZS8, former being a Advanced Mirrorless while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by competitors Olympus and Panasonic. The sensor resolution of the E-M5 (16MP) and the ZS8 (14MP) is relatively comparable but the E-M5 (Four Thirds) and ZS8 (1/2.3") possess different sensor sizing.

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The E-M5 was manufactured 10 months later than the ZS8 and they are both of a similar age. Each of these cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-M5 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic ZS8 being a Compact camera.

Before going in to a in depth comparison, below is a simple summation of how the E-M5 scores versus the ZS8 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-M5 over the Panasonic ZS8

 E-M5 ZS8 
RevealedApril 2012July 2011Fresher by 10 months
Focus manually Dial exact focusing
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen resolution610k230kClearer screen (+380k dot)
Touch friendly screen Quickly navigate

Reasons to pick Panasonic ZS8 over the Olympus E-M5

 ZS8 E-M5 

Common features in the Olympus E-M5 and Panasonic ZS8

 E-M5 ZS8 
Screen dimension3"3"Identical screen measurement
Selfie screen Lacking selfie screen

Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic ZS8 Physical Comparison

If you're looking to carry your camera regularly, you will need to consider its weight and volume. The Olympus E-M5 comes with outer dimensions of 122mm x 89mm x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") having a weight of 425 grams (0.94 lbs) while the Panasonic ZS8 has sizing of 105mm x 58mm x 33mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 1.3") having a weight of 210 grams (0.46 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-M5 and Panasonic ZS8 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you have at that moment. Underneath is the front view overall size comparison of the E-M5 against the ZS8.

Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic ZS8 size comparison

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-M5 and ZS8 is 81 and 92 respectively.

Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic ZS8 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic ZS8 Sensor Comparison

Sometimes, it can be hard to visualize the gap in sensor sizing purely by going through a spec sheet. The photograph below may provide you a stronger sense of the sensor sizes in the E-M5 and ZS8.

As you can see, the 2 cameras posses different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The E-M5 because of its bigger sensor is going to make achieving shallow depth of field less difficult and the Olympus E-M5 will produce extra detail due to its extra 2MP. Higher resolution can also make it easier to crop shots somewhat more aggressively. The more recent E-M5 provides a benefit in sensor technology.

Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic ZS8 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic ZS8 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic ZS8 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Portrait photography with Olympus E-M5
Portrait photography with Panasonic ZS8
71
manual focus
megapixel count good (16 megapixels)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
comes with face detect focusing
delivers RAW formats
30
good MP (14MP)
focusing manually not possible
can't use external flash
very small sensor (1/2.3")
does not have RAW format
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Olympus E-M5
Street photography with Panasonic ZS8
82
screen tilts up and down
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW formats
provides touch to focus
environment proof
great ISO range (25,600)
61
built in image stabilization (Optical)
lighter than others (210 grams)
screen does not articulate
very small sensor (1/2.3")
does not have RAW format
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Sports photography advice
Panasonic ZS8 Sports photography advice
67
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
megapixel count good (16 megapixels)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
comes with tracking focus
environment proof
has no phase detect AF
47
incredible zoom range (24-384mm 16.0 x zoom)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
good MP (14MP)
offers tracking focus
slow frames per second (2.0 frames/s)
very small sensor (1/2.3")
does not have phase detect AF
Photography Glossary

Travel Comparison

Olympus E-M5 as a Travel photography camera
Panasonic ZS8 as a Travel photography camera
66
environment proof
provides touch to focus
megapixel count good (16MP)
missing Timelapse function
does not have a selfie friendly display
69
lighter than others (210 grams)
good MP (14 megapixels)
has built in flash
quite wide (24mm)
great reach (384mm)
missing Timelapse recording
display is not selfie friendly
sluggish max aperture (f3.3)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Landscape photography highlights
Panasonic ZS8 Landscape photography highlights
73
manual focus
switch lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
screen size is good (3 inches)
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
megapixel count good (16 megapixels)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
great ISO range (25,600)
delivers RAW formats
environment proof
missing Timelapse function
44
quite wide (24mm)
screen size is good (3 inch)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
good MP (14MP)
focusing manually not possible
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
sluggish max aperture (f3.3)
very small sensor (1/2.3")
does not have RAW format
missing Timelapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Olympus E-M5
Vlogging with Panasonic ZS8
34
screen is touchscreen
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
comes with face detect focusing
high quality video (1920 x 1080 pixels)
does not have a selfie friendly display
missing microphone support
30
quite wide (24mm)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
lighter than others (210g)
sluggish max aperture (f3.3)
display is not selfie friendly
video quality not great (1280 x 720 pxls)
missing microphone support
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Olympus E-M5 vs Panasonic ZS8 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-M5 and Panasonic ZS8
 Olympus OM-D E-M5Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS8
General Information
Make Olympus Panasonic
Model type Olympus OM-D E-M5 Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS8
Also referred to as - Lumix DMC-TZ18
Type Advanced Mirrorless Small Sensor Superzoom
Released 2012-04-30 2011-07-19
Physical type SLR-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor Information
Processor TruePic VI Venus Engine FHD
Sensor type CMOS CCD
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 6.08 x 4.56mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 27.7mm²
Sensor resolution 16 megapixels 14 megapixels
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 4320 x 3240
Highest native ISO 25600 6400
Min native ISO 200 100
RAW photos
Min boosted ISO 100 -
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch focus
Autofocus continuous
Autofocus single
Autofocus tracking
Selective autofocus
Center weighted autofocus
Multi area autofocus
Autofocus live view
Face detect autofocus
Contract detect autofocus
Phase detect autofocus
Total focus points 35 11
Lens
Lens mount type Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 24-384mm (16.0x)
Highest aperture - f/3.3-5.9
Macro focusing distance - 3cm
Available lenses 107 -
Crop factor 2.1 5.9
Screen
Display type Tilting Fixed Type
Display size 3" 3"
Resolution of display 610k dots 230k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch capability
Display tech Touch control in electrostatic capacitance type OLED monitor TFT LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Electronic None
Viewfinder resolution 1,440k dots -
Viewfinder coverage 100 percent -
Viewfinder magnification 0.58x -
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60 secs 60 secs
Highest shutter speed 1/4000 secs 1/4000 secs
Continuous shooting rate 9.0fps 2.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Change white balance
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash distance no built-in flash 5.00 m
Flash options Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync (2), Manual (3 levels) Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow Syncro
Hot shoe
AEB
WB bracketing
Highest flash synchronize 1/250 secs -
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1280 x 720 (60, 30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps)
Highest video resolution 1920x1080 1280x720
Video format H.264, Motion JPEG MPEG-4
Microphone 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
Environment sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 425 grams (0.94 lbs) 210 grams (0.46 lbs)
Dimensions 122 x 89 x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") 105 x 58 x 33mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 1.3")
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 340 photos
Type of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID BLN-1 -
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse shooting
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal
Card slots One One
Price at launch $799 $275