Olympus E-P2 vs Panasonic ZS80

Below is a in depth comparison of the Olympus E-P2 and Panasonic ZS80, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by competitors Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a considerable gap among the resolutions of the E-P2 (12MP) and ZS80 (20MP) and the E-P2 (Four Thirds) and ZS80 (1/2.3") boast totally different sensor sizes.

Photography Glossary

The E-P2 was revealed 8 years before the ZS80 and that is a fairly large difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of these cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-P2 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic ZS80 being a Compact camera.

Before getting straight to a more detailed comparison, here is a short synopsis of how the E-P2 grades vs the ZS80 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Below is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus PEN E-P2 & Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS80. The full galleries are provided at Olympus E-P2 Gallery & Panasonic ZS80 Gallery.

If you're intending to lug around your camera often, you'll need to think about its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-P2 enjoys physical measurements of 121mm x 70mm x 36mm (4.8" x 2.8" x 1.4") with a weight of 355 grams (0.78 lbs) and the Panasonic ZS80 has proportions of 112mm x 69mm x 42mm (4.4" x 2.7" x 1.7") accompanied by a weight of 327 grams (0.72 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-P2 and Panasonic ZS80 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you are using at the time. The following is a front view over all size comparison of the E-P2 versus the ZS80.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-P2 and ZS80 is 86 and 86 respectively.

Quite often, it can be hard to envision the contrast in sensor measurements just by seeing a spec sheet. The graphic below should offer you a clearer sense of the sensor sizing in the E-P2 and ZS80.

As you can see, both cameras feature different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The E-P2 with its bigger sensor will make getting shallow depth of field simpler and the Panasonic ZS80 will show more detail because of its extra 8 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also let you crop pictures way more aggressively. The older E-P2 will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor innovation.