Olympus E-PL2 vs Panasonic ZS10

Below is a extensive assessment of the Olympus E-PL2 vs Panasonic ZS10, one being a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom by competitors Olympus and Panasonic. The image resolution of the E-PL2 (12MP) and the ZS10 (14MP) is fairly comparable but the E-PL2 (Four Thirds) and ZS10 (1/2.3") boast different sensor sizing.

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The E-PL2 was unveiled around the same time to the ZS10 which means that they are both of a similar generation. The two cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-PL2 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic ZS10 being a Compact camera.

Before going straight to a more detailed comparison, here is a brief view of how the E-PL2 scores versus the ZS10 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Below is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus PEN E-PL2 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS10. The full galleries are available at Olympus E-PL2 Gallery and Panasonic ZS10 Gallery.

If you are planning to lug around your camera regularly, you are going to need to think about its weight and size. The Olympus E-PL2 has got external dimensions of 114mm x 72mm x 42mm (4.5" x 2.8" x 1.7") along with a weight of 362 grams (0.80 lbs) while the Panasonic ZS10 has specifications of 105mm x 58mm x 33mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 1.3") and a weight of 219 grams (0.48 lbs).

Look at the Olympus E-PL2 vs Panasonic ZS10 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ depending on the lens you have at the time. Below is a front view sizing comparison of the E-PL2 versus the ZS10.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-PL2 and ZS10 is 85 and 91 respectively.

Typically, its tough to visualize the contrast in sensor measurements merely by going through specifications. The visual here may provide you a more clear sense of the sensor sizes in the E-PL2 and ZS10.

To sum up, the two cameras have different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-PL2 with its larger sensor is going to make shooting shallow depth of field simpler and the Panasonic ZS10 will produce more detail having an extra 2 Megapixels. Greater resolution will make it easier to crop images a bit more aggressively.