Olympus E-PL1 vs Panasonic ZS50

Below is a complete review of the Olympus E-PL1 vs Panasonic ZS50, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom by companies Olympus and Panasonic. The resolution of the E-PL1 (12MP) and the ZS50 (12MP) is fairly similar but the E-PL1 (Four Thirds) and ZS50 (1/2.3") posses different sensor sizing.

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The E-PL1 was released 5 years before the ZS50 and that is quite a sizable difference as far as tech is concerned. Each of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-PL1 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic ZS50 being a Compact camera.

Before delving straight to a comprehensive comparison, here is a short introduction of how the E-PL1 scores versus the ZS50 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

The following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus PEN E-PL1 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS50. The complete galleries are viewable at Olympus E-PL1 Gallery & Panasonic ZS50 Gallery.

If you're planning to lug around your camera, you are going to need to factor its weight and size. The Olympus E-PL1 has got outer measurements of 115mm x 72mm x 42mm (4.5" x 2.8" x 1.7") along with a weight of 334 grams (0.74 lbs) and the Panasonic ZS50 has specifications of 111mm x 65mm x 34mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.3") along with a weight of 243 grams (0.54 lbs).

See the Olympus E-PL1 vs Panasonic ZS50 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you select during that time. Underneath is a front view overall size comparison of the E-PL1 versus the ZS50.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability score of the E-PL1 and ZS50 is 86 and 90 respectively.

In many cases, its hard to imagine the contrast between sensor measurements just by reviewing specifications. The photograph below will help give you a greater sense of the sensor sizing in the E-PL1 and ZS50.

To sum up, the 2 cameras provide the same MP but different sensor measurements. The E-PL1 comes with the larger sensor which will make obtaining shallow depth of field simpler. The older E-PL1 is going to be behind with regard to sensor technology.