Olympus E-PL1 vs Panasonic ZS8

Lets look closer at the Olympus E-PL1 versus Panasonic ZS8, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by competitors Olympus and Panasonic. The image resolution of the E-PL1 (12MP) and the ZS8 (14MP) is pretty similar but the E-PL1 (Four Thirds) and ZS8 (1/2.3") use totally different sensor sizes.

Photography Glossary

The E-PL1 was launched 14 months earlier than the ZS8 which makes the cameras a generation apart from one another. Both cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-PL1 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic ZS8 being a Compact camera.

Before getting through a step-by-step comparison, below is a brief summary of how the E-PL1 scores vs the ZS8 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

The following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus PEN E-PL1 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS8. The complete galleries are available at Olympus E-PL1 Gallery & Panasonic ZS8 Gallery.

For those who are aiming to lug around your camera often, you'll need to factor in its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-PL1 provides 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) and the Panasonic ZS8 has proportions of 105mm x 58mm x 33mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 1.3") along with a weight of 210 grams (0.46 lbs).

See the Olympus E-PL1 versus Panasonic ZS8 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you have attached at that time. Below is the front view measurement comparison of the E-PL1 versus the ZS8.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-PL1 and ZS8 is 86 and 92 respectively.

Typically, its difficult to visualise the gap between sensor measurements simply by reading a spec sheet. The visual here should offer you a much better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-PL1 and ZS8.

Clearly, each of these cameras enjoy different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The E-PL1 featuring a bigger sensor will make shooting bokeh easier and the Panasonic ZS8 will deliver extra detail utilizing its extra 2 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also make it easier to crop shots far more aggressively. The older E-PL1 is going to be behind when it comes to sensor innovation.