Olympus E-P2 vs Panasonic FZ1000

Let's look a little more in depth at the Olympus E-P2 and Panasonic FZ1000, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Large Sensor Superzoom by manufacturers Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a large gap among the image resolutions of the E-P2 (12MP) and FZ1000 (20MP) and the E-P2 (Four Thirds) and FZ1000 (1") provide different sensor sizing.

Photography Glossary

The E-P2 was revealed 5 years before the FZ1000 and that is a fairly serious difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-P2 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic FZ1000 being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before getting into a in depth comparison, here is a simple introduction of how the E-P2 scores against the FZ1000 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Below is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus PEN E-P2 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000. The full galleries are provided at Olympus E-P2 Gallery & Panasonic FZ1000 Gallery.

In case you're intending to lug around your camera, you will have to take into account its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-P2 comes with exterior measurements of 121mm x 70mm x 36mm (4.8" x 2.8" x 1.4") with a weight of 355 grams (0.78 lbs) whilst the Panasonic FZ1000 has dimensions of 137mm x 99mm x 131mm (5.4" x 3.9" x 5.2") accompanied by a weight of 831 grams (1.83 lbs).

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

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you select at that time. Following is a front view overall size comparison of the E-P2 compared to the FZ1000.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-P2 and FZ1000 is 86 and 55 respectively.

Typically, it is very difficult to imagine the contrast in sensor measurements purely by going through technical specs. The visual below may give you a greater sense of the sensor measurements in the E-P2 and FZ1000.

As you have seen, each of the cameras feature different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The E-P2 using its larger sensor is going to make achieving shallow DOF simpler and the Panasonic FZ1000 will show extra detail because of its extra 8MP. Greater resolution can also help you crop photos way more aggressively. The older E-P2 will be behind in sensor innovation.