Olympus E-P1 vs Panasonic ZS25

The following is a thorough review of the Olympus E-P1 and Panasonic ZS25, former is a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom by rivals Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a substantial gap between the image resolutions of the E-P1 (12MP) and ZS25 (16MP) and the E-P1 (Four Thirds) and ZS25 (1/2.3") offer totally different sensor sizing.

Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a Landslide

The E-P1 was introduced 4 years before the ZS25 which is quite a big difference as far as technology is concerned. Each of the cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-P1 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic ZS25 being a Compact camera.

Before getting right into a more detailed comparison, here is a concise introduction of how the E-P1 grades against the ZS25 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

This is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus PEN E-P1 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS25. The whole galleries are available at Olympus E-P1 Gallery & Panasonic ZS25 Gallery.

For those who are aiming to travel with your camera frequently, you need to take into account its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-P1 has got outer measurements of 121mm x 70mm x 36mm (4.8" x 2.8" x 1.4") with a weight of 355 grams (0.78 lbs) while the Panasonic ZS25 has proportions of 105mm x 59mm x 28mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 1.1") along with a weight of 193 grams (0.43 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-P1 and Panasonic ZS25 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you choose at the time. The following is a front view dimensions comparison of the E-P1 and the ZS25.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-P1 and ZS25 is 86 and 93 respectively.

More often than not, it can be hard to envision the difference between sensor dimensions simply by reading specs. The image below will provide you a stronger sense of the sensor measurements in the E-P1 and ZS25.

As you can plainly see, each of the cameras feature different resolutions and different sensor dimensions. The E-P1 using its larger sensor will make getting shallow depth of field less difficult and the Panasonic ZS25 will offer you greater detail using its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also make it easier to crop images way more aggressively. The more aged E-P1 is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor technology.