Clicky

Olympus E-P5 vs Panasonic SZ7

Portability
85
Imaging
53
Features
76
Overall
62
Olympus PEN E-P5 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ7 front
Portability
95
Imaging
37
Features
41
Overall
38

Olympus E-P5 vs Panasonic SZ7 Key Specs

Olympus E-P5
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 100 - 25600
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 420g - 122 x 69 x 37mm
  • Launched October 2013
  • Replaced the Olympus E-P3
Panasonic SZ7
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 6400
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 25-250mm (F3.1-5.9) lens
  • 133g - 99 x 59 x 21mm
  • Revealed January 2012
Apple Innovates by Creating Next-Level Optical Stabilization for iPhone

Olympus E-P5 vs Panasonic SZ7 Overview

Below, we will be analyzing the Olympus E-P5 versus Panasonic SZ7, one is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by brands Olympus and Panasonic. The sensor resolution of the E-P5 (16MP) and the SZ7 (14MP) is relatively comparable but the E-P5 (Four Thirds) and SZ7 (1/2.3") possess totally different sensor dimensions.

Sora from OpenAI releases its first ever music video

The E-P5 was revealed 22 months after the SZ7 which makes the cameras a generation away from one another. Both the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-P5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic SZ7 being a Compact camera.

Before delving through a more detailed comparison, below is a concise overview of how the E-P5 scores vs the SZ7 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Japan-exclusive Leica Leitz Phone 3 features big sensor and new modes
	
	

Reasons to pick Olympus E-P5 over the Panasonic SZ7

 E-P5 SZ7 
RevealedOctober 2013January 2012Newer by 22 months
Manual focus Very precise focus
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen resolution1037k460kClearer screen (+577k dot)
Touch friendly screen Quickly navigate

Reasons to pick Panasonic SZ7 over the Olympus E-P5

 SZ7 E-P5 

Common features in the Olympus E-P5 and Panasonic SZ7

 E-P5 SZ7 
Screen dimension3"3"Identical screen sizing
Selfie screen Missing selfie screen

Olympus E-P5 vs Panasonic SZ7 Physical Comparison

In case you're planning to travel with your camera frequently, you'll have to factor in its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-P5 provides physical dimensions of 122mm x 69mm x 37mm (4.8" x 2.7" x 1.5") along with a weight of 420 grams (0.93 lbs) and the Panasonic SZ7 has dimensions of 99mm x 59mm x 21mm (3.9" x 2.3" x 0.8") accompanied by a weight of 133 grams (0.29 lbs).

Check the Olympus E-P5 versus Panasonic SZ7 in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into consideration, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change depending on the lens you choose at that time. Underneath is the front view physical size comparison of the E-P5 compared to the SZ7.

Olympus E-P5 vs Panasonic SZ7 size comparison

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-P5 and SZ7 is 85 and 95 respectively.

Olympus E-P5 vs Panasonic SZ7 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-P5 vs Panasonic SZ7 Sensor Comparison

Sometimes, it is difficult to see the difference in sensor dimensions only by going through a spec sheet. The image here will help provide you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-P5 and SZ7.

As you can see, each of these cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor dimensions. The E-P5 having a bigger sensor will make getting shallower depth of field simpler and the Olympus E-P5 will provide extra detail because of its extra 2 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also allow you to crop shots somewhat more aggressively. The more modern E-P5 is going to have an edge in sensor innovation.

Olympus E-P5 vs Panasonic SZ7 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-P5 vs Panasonic SZ7 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-P5 vs Panasonic SZ7 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
Photobucket discusses licensing 13 billion images with AI firms

Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-P5 as a Portrait photography camera
Panasonic SZ7 as a Portrait photography camera
71
has manual focus
above average flash sync (1/320 seconds)
decent MP (16 megapixels)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
comes with face detection autofocus
saves RAW formats
33
megapixel count decent (14MP)
comes with face detect focus
lack of manual focus
manual mode not available
no external flash support
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW format
Samsung Releases Faster Versions of EVO MicroSD Cards

Street Comparison

Olympus E-P5 Street photography features
Panasonic SZ7 Street photography features
78
screen tilts up and down
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
has touch to focus
above average ISO range (25,600)
heavier than competition in class (420g)
63
has image stabilization (Optical)
lighter than competitors in class (133g)
no moving screen
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW format
Meta to Introduce 'AI-Generated' Labels for Media starting next month

Sports Comparison

Olympus E-P5 Sports photography features
Panasonic SZ7 Sports photography features
68
great max shutter speed (1/8,000s)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
decent MP (16 megapixels)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
comes with tracking autofocus
has no phase detect autofocus
43
has image stabilization (Optical)
megapixel count decent (14MP)
comes with tracking focus
lack of shutter priority mode
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
doesn't have phase detect auto focus
President Biden pushes bill mandating TikTok sale or ban

Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Olympus E-P5
Travel photography with Panasonic SZ7
68
has touch to focus
decent MP (16MP)
flash built-in
heavier than competition in class (420g)
doesn't posses selfie friendly screen
70
lighter than competitors in class (133g)
megapixel count decent (14 megapixels)
has built in flash
pretty wide (25mm)
long zoom (250mm)
no Time Lapse function
doesn't have selfie friendly screen
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.1)
Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a Landslide

Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-P5 Landscape photography highlights
Panasonic SZ7 Landscape photography highlights
79
has manual focus
change lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
screen is a decent size (3 inch)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
decent MP (16MP)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
above average ISO range (25,600)
saves RAW formats
42
pretty wide (25mm)
decent sized screen (3")
has image stabilization (Optical)
megapixel count decent (14MP)
lack of manual focus
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.1)
manual mode not available
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW format
no Time Lapse function
Photography Glossary

Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-P5 Vlogging highlights
Panasonic SZ7 Vlogging highlights
33
touchscreen enabled
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
comes with face detection autofocus
high res video (1920 x 1080 pixels)
doesn't posses selfie friendly screen
no external mic socket
heavier than competition in class (420 grams)
35
pretty wide (25mm)
has image stabilization (Optical)
comes with face detect focus
high res video (1920 x 1080 pxls)
lighter than competitors in class (133 grams)
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.1)
doesn't have selfie friendly screen
no mic port
Snapchat Adds Watermarks to AI-Created Images

Olympus E-P5 vs Panasonic SZ7 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-P5 and Panasonic SZ7
 Olympus PEN E-P5Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ7
General Information
Brand Name Olympus Panasonic
Model Olympus PEN E-P5 Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ7
Category Entry-Level Mirrorless Small Sensor Compact
Launched 2013-10-03 2012-01-09
Body design Rangefinder-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor Information
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 6.08 x 4.56mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 27.7mm²
Sensor resolution 16MP 14MP
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Full resolution 4608 x 3456 4320 x 3240
Max native ISO 25600 6400
Minimum native ISO 100 100
RAW data
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch to focus
AF continuous
Single AF
Tracking AF
AF selectice
Center weighted AF
Multi area AF
Live view AF
Face detection focusing
Contract detection focusing
Phase detection focusing
Number of focus points 35 23
Lens
Lens mounting type Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens focal range - 25-250mm (10.0x)
Max aperture - f/3.1-5.9
Macro focus range - 4cm
Total lenses 107 -
Crop factor 2.1 5.9
Screen
Screen type Tilting Fixed Type
Screen diagonal 3" 3"
Resolution of screen 1,037 thousand dot 460 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch display
Screen technology 3:2 LCD capacitive touchscreen TFT Color LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic (optional) None
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60 secs 8 secs
Highest shutter speed 1/8000 secs 1/1600 secs
Continuous shooting speed 9.0fps 10.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes -
Change WB
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash range 7.00 m (ISO 100) 5.60 m
Flash settings Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync (1st or 2nd curtain), Manual (1/1 - 1/64) Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye reduction
External flash
AE bracketing
WB bracketing
Highest flash sync 1/320 secs -
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (30p), 1280 x 720 (30p) 1920 x 1080 (60, 30 fps), 1280 x 720 (60, 30fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Max video resolution 1920x1080 1920x1080
Video data format H.264 MPEG-4, AVCHD
Mic jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless Built-In None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 420 gr (0.93 lbs) 133 gr (0.29 lbs)
Dimensions 122 x 69 x 37mm (4.8" x 2.7" x 1.5") 99 x 59 x 21mm (3.9" x 2.3" x 0.8")
DXO scores
DXO All around score 72 not tested
DXO Color Depth score 22.8 not tested
DXO Dynamic range score 12.4 not tested
DXO Low light score 895 not tested
Other
Battery life 330 images 220 images
Battery form Battery Pack Battery Pack
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse shooting
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal
Storage slots 1 1
Launch pricing $389 $199