Olympus E-PL1s vs Panasonic ZS40

Lets look a little more closely at the Olympus E-PL1s and Panasonic ZS40, one is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom by rivals Olympus and Panasonic. There is a significant difference between the image resolutions of the E-PL1s (12MP) and ZS40 (18MP) and the E-PL1s (Four Thirds) and ZS40 (1/2.3") use different sensor dimensions.

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The E-PL1s was introduced 4 years earlier than the ZS40 which is quite a sizable gap as far as tech is concerned. Each of the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-PL1s being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic ZS40 being a Compact camera.

Before diving in to a full comparison, below is a short introduction of how the E-PL1s scores against the ZS40 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Here is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus PEN E-PL1s and Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS40. The whole galleries are provided at Olympus E-PL1s Gallery and Panasonic ZS40 Gallery.

If you are going to carry around your camera regularly, you will have to think about its weight and size. The Olympus E-PL1s has external 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 ZS40 has specifications of 111mm x 64mm x 34mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.3") and a weight of 240 grams (0.53 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus E-PL1s and Panasonic ZS40 in the latest Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ depending on the lens you are utilising during that time. Below is the front view dimension comparison of the E-PL1s and the ZS40.

Looking at size and weight, the portability grade of the E-PL1s and ZS40 is 86 and 90 respectively.

Often, it is hard to picture the difference between sensor sizes simply by going over technical specs. The picture below might offer you a stronger sense of the sensor sizing in the E-PL1s and ZS40.

As you can tell, both of these cameras posses different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The E-PL1s using its larger sensor is going to make achieving shallower depth of field simpler and the Panasonic ZS40 will offer greater detail using its extra 6 Megapixels. Greater resolution will help you crop pics somewhat more aggressively. The more aged E-PL1s is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor tech.