Olympus E-PL1s vs Panasonic LZ40

Lets look much closer at the Olympus E-PL1s versus Panasonic LZ40, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by companies Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a sizable gap between the resolutions of the E-PL1s (12MP) and LZ40 (20MP) and the E-PL1s (Four Thirds) and LZ40 (1/2.3") use totally different sensor measurements.

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The E-PL1s was manufactured 4 years before the LZ40 and that is quite a significant difference as far as technology is concerned. The two cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-PL1s being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic LZ40 being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before we go through a more detailed comparison, below is a concise view of how the E-PL1s scores vs the LZ40 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Here is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus PEN E-PL1s & Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ40. The entire galleries are provided at Olympus E-PL1s Gallery & Panasonic LZ40 Gallery.

For anybody who is aiming to lug around your camera regularly, you have to factor its weight and size. The Olympus E-PL1s provides external measurements of 115mm x 72mm x 42mm (4.5" x 2.8" x 1.7") accompanied by a weight of 334 grams (0.74 lbs) while the Panasonic LZ40 has specifications of 126mm x 87mm x 94mm (5.0" x 3.4" x 3.7") with a weight of 524 grams (1.16 lbs).

Look at the Olympus E-PL1s versus Panasonic LZ40 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you select at that time. Underneath is the front view scale comparison of the E-PL1s versus the LZ40.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-PL1s and LZ40 is 86 and 67 respectively.

Typically, it is hard to see the gap between sensor measurements merely by looking at technical specs. The visual below will give you a clearer sense of the sensor measurements in the E-PL1s and LZ40.

As you have seen, both the cameras have got different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The E-PL1s due to its bigger sensor will make achieving shallow depth of field easier and the Panasonic LZ40 will give extra detail due to its extra 8MP. Higher resolution will make it easier to crop shots much more aggressively. The older E-PL1s is going to be behind with regard to sensor technology.