Olympus E-PL1 vs Panasonic ZS35

Below is a detailed assessment of the Olympus E-PL1 versus Panasonic ZS35, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by rivals Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a considerable gap between the resolutions of the E-PL1 (12MP) and ZS35 (16MP) and the E-PL1 (Four Thirds) and ZS35 (1/2.3") posses different sensor measurements.

Photography Glossary

The E-PL1 was manufactured 4 years earlier than the ZS35 and that is quite a large difference as far as technology is concerned. Each of the cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-PL1 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic ZS35 being a Compact camera.

Before diving into a in-depth comparison, here is a quick overview of how the E-PL1 scores vs the ZS35 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Here is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus PEN E-PL1 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS35. The entire galleries are provided at Olympus E-PL1 Gallery & Panasonic ZS35 Gallery.

For those who are going to lug around your camera regularly, you are going to need to think about its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-PL1 features physical measurements of 115mm x 72mm x 42mm (4.5" x 2.8" x 1.7") and a weight of 334 grams (0.74 lbs) while the Panasonic ZS35 has proportions of 107mm x 62mm x 32mm (4.2" x 2.4" x 1.3") with a weight of 305 grams (0.67 lbs).

Examine the Olympus E-PL1 versus Panasonic ZS35 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you are using at that moment. Below is a front view measurement comparison of the E-PL1 vs the ZS35.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-PL1 and ZS35 is 86 and 89 respectively.

Sometimes, its difficult to imagine the difference between sensor measurements simply by reading through technical specs. The graphic below will provide you a more clear sense of the sensor measurements in the E-PL1 and ZS35.

As you have seen, both of these cameras feature different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-PL1 because of its bigger sensor is going to make shooting shallow DOF less difficult and the Panasonic ZS35 will give more detail due to its extra 4MP. Higher resolution will allow you to crop photographs way more aggressively. The older E-PL1 is going to be behind in sensor technology.