Olympus E-P2 vs Panasonic FZ1000 II

Let's look more closely at the Olympus E-P2 and Panasonic FZ1000 II, former is a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Large Sensor Superzoom by manufacturers Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a substantial gap between the sensor resolutions of the E-P2 (12MP) and FZ1000 II (20MP) and the E-P2 (Four Thirds) and FZ1000 II (1") boast totally different sensor sizes.

Photography Glossary

The E-P2 was unveiled 9 years before the FZ1000 II which is quite a big difference as far as technology is concerned. Both cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-P2 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic FZ1000 II being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before we go right into a detailed comparison, here is a brief view of how the E-P2 grades vs the FZ1000 II in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Here is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus PEN E-P2 & Panasonic Lumix DC-FZ1000 II. The full galleries are viewable at Olympus E-P2 Gallery & Panasonic FZ1000 II Gallery.

If you are planning to carry around your camera frequently, you need to think about its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-P2 enjoys outside measurements of 121mm x 70mm x 36mm (4.8" x 2.8" x 1.4") along with a weight of 355 grams (0.78 lbs) whilst the Panasonic FZ1000 II has measurements of 136mm x 97mm x 132mm (5.4" x 3.8" x 5.2") accompanied by a weight of 808 grams (1.78 lbs).

Look at the Olympus E-P2 and Panasonic FZ1000 II in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you select at that time. Following is a front view dimensions comparison of the E-P2 against the FZ1000 II.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-P2 and FZ1000 II is 86 and 55 respectively.

Quite often, it can be hard to envision the difference between sensor sizes purely by looking at a spec sheet. The picture here will help give you a more clear sense of the sensor sizing in the E-P2 and FZ1000 II.

As you can see, the 2 cameras have different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The E-P2 using its larger sensor will make getting shallow DOF easier and the Panasonic FZ1000 II will give extra detail having an extra 8 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also make it easier to crop images a bit more aggressively. The more aged E-P2 is going to be behind with regard to sensor technology.