Olympus E-PL2 vs Panasonic ZS45
85 Imaging
47 Features
47 Overall
47


91 Imaging
40 Features
55 Overall
46
Olympus E-PL2 vs Panasonic ZS45 Key Specs
(Full Review)
- 12MP - Four Thirds Sensor
- 3" Fixed Screen
- ISO 100 - 6400
- Sensor based Image Stabilization
- 1280 x 720 video
- Micro Four Thirds Mount
- 362g - 114 x 72 x 42mm
- Released February 2011
- Older Model is Olympus E-PL1s
- Successor is Olympus E-PL3
(Full Review)
- 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
- 3" Tilting Screen
- ISO 100 - 6400
- Optical Image Stabilization
- 1920 x 1080 video
- 24-480mm (F3.3-6.4) lens
- 249g - 108 x 60 x 32mm
- Released January 2015
- Additionally Known as Lumix DMC-TZ57
- Earlier Model is Panasonic ZS40
- Refreshed by Panasonic ZS50

Olympus E-PL2 vs Panasonic ZS45 Overview
Below is a in-depth overview of the Olympus E-PL2 vs Panasonic ZS45, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by companies Olympus and Panasonic. There is a noticeable difference between the sensor resolutions of the E-PL2 (12MP) and ZS45 (16MP) and the E-PL2 (Four Thirds) and ZS45 (1/2.3") feature totally different sensor measurements.

The E-PL2 was launched 4 years prior to the ZS45 and that is quite a sizable difference as far as tech is concerned. Both of the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-PL2 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic ZS45 being a Compact camera.
Before diving through a more detailed comparison, below is a brief summation of how the E-PL2 scores vs the ZS45 for portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Olympus E-PL2 vs Panasonic ZS45 Gallery
The following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus PEN E-PL2 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS45. The complete galleries are viewable at Olympus E-PL2 Gallery & Panasonic ZS45 Gallery.
Reasons to pick Olympus E-PL2 over the Panasonic ZS45
E-PL2 | ZS45 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Manually focus | ![]() | Very precise focusing |
Reasons to pick Panasonic ZS45 over the Olympus E-PL2
ZS45 | E-PL2 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Released | January 2015 | ![]() | February 2011 | More recent by 47 months |
Screen type | Tilting | ![]() | Fixed | Tilting screen |
Screen resolution | 1040k | ![]() | 460k | Clearer screen (+580k dot) |
Common features in the Olympus E-PL2 and Panasonic ZS45
E-PL2 | ZS45 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Screen dimension | 3" | ![]() | 3" | Identical screen measurements |
Selfie screen | ![]() | Neither offers selfie screen | ||
Touch friendly screen | ![]() | Neither offers Touch friendly screen |
Olympus E-PL2 vs Panasonic ZS45 Physical Comparison
If you're intending to lug around your camera, you have to consider its weight and volume. The Olympus E-PL2 offers exterior dimensions of 114mm x 72mm x 42mm (4.5" x 2.8" x 1.7") and a weight of 362 grams (0.80 lbs) whilst the Panasonic ZS45 has sizing of 108mm x 60mm x 32mm (4.3" x 2.4" x 1.3") accompanied by a weight of 249 grams (0.55 lbs).
See the Olympus E-PL2 vs Panasonic ZS45 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.
Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you are utilising at the time. Following is the front view physical size comparison of the E-PL2 compared to the ZS45.

Considering size and weight, the portability score of the E-PL2 and ZS45 is 85 and 91 respectively.

Olympus E-PL2 vs Panasonic ZS45 Sensor Comparison
Generally, it is hard to visualise the contrast between sensor measurements merely by reviewing specs. The visual here will help give you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-PL2 and ZS45.
As you can plainly see, both of these cameras have got different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The E-PL2 due to its bigger sensor will make shooting bokeh less difficult and the Panasonic ZS45 will deliver more detail utilizing its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also enable you to crop pictures much more aggressively. The older E-PL2 is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor innovation.

Olympus E-PL2 vs Panasonic ZS45 Screen and ViewFinder


Photography Type Scores
Portrait Comparison

Street Comparison

Sports Comparison

Travel Comparison

Landscape Comparison

Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-PL2 vs Panasonic ZS45 Specifications
Olympus PEN E-PL2 | Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS45 | |
---|---|---|
General Information | ||
Make | Olympus | Panasonic |
Model type | Olympus PEN E-PL2 | Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS45 |
Also called as | - | Lumix DMC-TZ57 |
Category | Entry-Level Mirrorless | Small Sensor Superzoom |
Released | 2011-02-11 | 2015-01-06 |
Body design | Rangefinder-style mirrorless | Compact |
Sensor Information | ||
Processor Chip | Truepic V | - |
Sensor type | CMOS | CMOS |
Sensor size | Four Thirds | 1/2.3" |
Sensor measurements | 17.3 x 13mm | 6.08 x 4.56mm |
Sensor surface area | 224.9mm² | 27.7mm² |
Sensor resolution | 12MP | 16MP |
Anti alias filter | ||
Aspect ratio | 4:3 | 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 |
Full resolution | 4032 x 3024 | 4608 x 3456 |
Max native ISO | 6400 | 6400 |
Min native ISO | 100 | 100 |
RAW format | ||
Autofocusing | ||
Manual focusing | ||
AF touch | ||
AF continuous | ||
Single AF | ||
Tracking AF | ||
AF selectice | ||
AF center weighted | ||
Multi area AF | ||
Live view AF | ||
Face detection focusing | ||
Contract detection focusing | ||
Phase detection focusing | ||
Total focus points | 11 | 21 |
Lens | ||
Lens support | Micro Four Thirds | fixed lens |
Lens zoom range | - | 24-480mm (20.0x) |
Maximal aperture | - | f/3.3-6.4 |
Macro focusing range | - | 3cm |
Total lenses | 107 | - |
Crop factor | 2.1 | 5.9 |
Screen | ||
Range of screen | Fixed Type | Tilting |
Screen size | 3" | 3" |
Resolution of screen | 460 thousand dot | 1,040 thousand dot |
Selfie friendly | ||
Liveview | ||
Touch capability | ||
Screen tech | HyperCrystal LCD AR(Anti-Reflective) coating | - |
Viewfinder Information | ||
Viewfinder type | Electronic (optional) | None |
Features | ||
Lowest shutter speed | 60s | 4s |
Highest shutter speed | 1/4000s | 1/2000s |
Continuous shooting speed | 3.0 frames per sec | 10.0 frames per sec |
Shutter priority | ||
Aperture priority | ||
Manual exposure | ||
Exposure compensation | Yes | Yes |
Change WB | ||
Image stabilization | ||
Inbuilt flash | ||
Flash distance | 10.00 m | 6.00 m |
Flash settings | Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync, Manual (3 levels) | Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Slow Sync./Red-eye Reduction, Forced Off |
Hot shoe | ||
AE bracketing | ||
WB bracketing | ||
Highest flash sync | 1/160s | - |
Exposure | ||
Multisegment exposure | ||
Average exposure | ||
Spot exposure | ||
Partial exposure | ||
AF area exposure | ||
Center weighted exposure | ||
Video features | ||
Supported video resolutions | 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) | 1920 x 1080 (30p), 1280 x 720 (30p), 640 x 480 (30p) |
Max video resolution | 1280x720 | 1920x1080 |
Video data format | Motion JPEG | MPEG-4 |
Microphone jack | ||
Headphone jack | ||
Connectivity | ||
Wireless | None | Built-In |
Bluetooth | ||
NFC | ||
HDMI | ||
USB | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) |
GPS | None | None |
Physical | ||
Environment seal | ||
Water proofing | ||
Dust proofing | ||
Shock proofing | ||
Crush proofing | ||
Freeze proofing | ||
Weight | 362 gr (0.80 lb) | 249 gr (0.55 lb) |
Dimensions | 114 x 72 x 42mm (4.5" x 2.8" x 1.7") | 108 x 60 x 32mm (4.3" x 2.4" x 1.3") |
DXO scores | ||
DXO All around rating | 55 | not tested |
DXO Color Depth rating | 21.4 | not tested |
DXO Dynamic range rating | 10.2 | not tested |
DXO Low light rating | 573 | not tested |
Other | ||
Battery life | 280 pictures | 350 pictures |
Battery form | Battery Pack | Battery Pack |
Battery ID | BLS-5 | - |
Self timer | Yes (2 or 12 sec) | Yes (2 or 10 sec) |
Time lapse recording | ||
Storage media | SD/SDHC | SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal |
Storage slots | One | One |
Price at launch | $0 | $300 |