Olympus E-P2 vs Panasonic ZS5

Lets look a little more closely at the Olympus E-P2 and Panasonic ZS5, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom by manufacturers Olympus and Panasonic. The sensor resolution of the E-P2 (12MP) and the ZS5 (12MP) is very well matched but the E-P2 (Four Thirds) and ZS5 (1/2.3") have totally different sensor size.

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The E-P2 was announced very close to the ZS5 and they are both of a similar age. Both the cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-P2 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic ZS5 being a Compact camera.

Before getting into a detailed comparison, here is a brief summary of how the E-P2 scores vs the ZS5 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus PEN E-P2 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS5. The whole galleries are available at Olympus E-P2 Gallery & Panasonic ZS5 Gallery.

In case you're planning to lug around your camera frequently, you will have to factor in its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-P2 comes with outer 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) and the Panasonic ZS5 has proportions of 103mm x 60mm x 32mm (4.1" x 2.4" x 1.3") accompanied by a weight of 214 grams (0.47 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-P2 and Panasonic ZS5 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you have attached during that time. Underneath is a front view scale comparison of the E-P2 vs the ZS5.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-P2 and ZS5 is 86 and 92 respectively.

Typically, it can be tough to visualise the gap between sensor measurements only by reading through a spec sheet. The photograph below will provide you a greater sense of the sensor measurements in the E-P2 and ZS5.

As you can see, both of these cameras come with the identical megapixels but not the same sensor measurements. The E-P2 has the larger sensor which should make obtaining shallower DOF less difficult.