Olympus E-P5 vs Panasonic ZS15

Its time to look more closely at the Olympus E-P5 versus Panasonic ZS15, one is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom by rivals Olympus and Panasonic. There is a huge difference between the resolutions of the E-P5 (16MP) and ZS15 (12MP) and the E-P5 (Four Thirds) and ZS15 (1/2.3") possess different sensor measurements.

Photography Glossary

The E-P5 was revealed 16 months after the ZS15 making the cameras a generation away from each other. Both of these cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-P5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic ZS15 being a Compact camera.

Before going straight into a detailed comparison, below is a concise view of how the E-P5 matches up against the ZS15 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Here is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus PEN E-P5 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS15. The full galleries are viewable at Olympus E-P5 Gallery and Panasonic ZS15 Gallery.

When you are planning to travel with your camera regularly, you'll have to think about its weight and size. The Olympus E-P5 comes with external dimensions of 122mm x 69mm x 37mm (4.8" x 2.7" x 1.5") with a weight of 420 grams (0.93 lbs) while the Panasonic ZS15 has specifications of 105mm x 58mm x 33mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 1.3") and a weight of 208 grams (0.46 lbs).

Compare the Olympus E-P5 versus Panasonic ZS15 in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change depending on the lens you select at that moment. Underneath is the front view overall size comparison of the E-P5 against the ZS15.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability score of the E-P5 and ZS15 is 85 and 92 respectively.

Often, it's tough to picture the contrast between sensor dimensions just by checking specs. The picture below will give you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-P5 and ZS15.

All in all, both of those cameras posses different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The E-P5 with its larger sensor is going to make getting shallow depth of field simpler and the Olympus E-P5 will resolve extra detail because of its extra 4MP. Greater resolution will allow you to crop pics somewhat more aggressively. The more modern E-P5 should have an edge with regard to sensor innovation.