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Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic ZS45

Portability
88
Imaging
52
Features
72
Overall
60
Olympus PEN E-PL5 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS45 front
Portability
91
Imaging
41
Features
55
Overall
46

Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic ZS45 Key Specs

Olympus E-PL5
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 200 - 25600
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 325g - 111 x 64 x 38mm
  • Revealed September 2012
Panasonic ZS45
(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
  • Introduced January 2015
  • Alternate Name is Lumix DMC-TZ57
  • Superseded the Panasonic ZS40
  • Replacement is Panasonic ZS50
Photography Glossary

Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic ZS45 Overview

Below, we will be analyzing the Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic ZS45, former is a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by companies Olympus and Panasonic. The resolution of the E-PL5 (16MP) and the ZS45 (16MP) is pretty similar but the E-PL5 (Four Thirds) and ZS45 (1/2.3") feature totally different sensor dimensions.

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The E-PL5 was manufactured 3 years earlier than the ZS45 which is quite a serious difference as far as tech is concerned. The two cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-PL5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic ZS45 being a Compact camera.

Before going straight into a full comparison, below is a brief introduction of how the E-PL5 scores vs the ZS45 for portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-PL5 over the Panasonic ZS45

 E-PL5 ZS45 
Manually focus More accurate focusing
Selfie screen Easy selfies
Touch friendly screen Quickly navigate

Reasons to pick Panasonic ZS45 over the Olympus E-PL5

 ZS45 E-PL5 
IntroducedJanuary 2015September 2012Newer by 28 months
Screen resolution1040k460kCrisper screen (+580k dot)

Common features in the Olympus E-PL5 and Panasonic ZS45

 E-PL5 ZS45 
Screen typeTiltingTiltingTilting screen
Screen dimension3"3"Identical screen sizing

Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic ZS45 Physical Comparison

If you are going to travel with your camera often, you'll have to factor in its weight and volume. The Olympus E-PL5 has outer measurements of 111mm x 64mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.5") along with a weight of 325 grams (0.72 lbs) and the Panasonic ZS45 has sizing of 108mm x 60mm x 32mm (4.3" x 2.4" x 1.3") with a weight of 249 grams (0.55 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic ZS45 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you are utilising at that moment. Here is the front view dimension comparison of the E-PL5 vs the ZS45.

Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic ZS45 size comparison

Considering size and weight, the portability grade of the E-PL5 and ZS45 is 88 and 91 respectively.

Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic ZS45 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic ZS45 Sensor Comparison

Usually, its tough to visualise the difference between sensor dimensions simply by going over specs. The pic below will provide you a clearer sense of the sensor measurements in the E-PL5 and ZS45.

As you can plainly see, both cameras have got the exact same MP albeit not the same sensor dimensions. The E-PL5 comes with the bigger sensor which is going to make getting shallow depth of field easier. The more aged E-PL5 is going to be behind with regard to sensor innovation.

Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic ZS45 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic ZS45 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic ZS45 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-PL5 Portrait photography info
Panasonic ZS45 Portrait photography info
71
manual focus
decent MP (16 megapixels)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
has face detection focus
delivers RAW files
37
megapixel count decent (16 megapixels)
comes with face detect focusing
manual focus not available
cannot use external flash
very small sensor (1/2.3")
has no RAW format
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-PL5 Street photography highlights
Panasonic ZS45 Street photography highlights
85
screen tilts up and down
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW files
boasts touch to focus
great ISO range (25,600)
69
tilting screen
has image stabilization (Optical)
lighter than others (249 grams)
very small sensor (1/2.3")
has no RAW format
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-PL5 Sports photography advice
Panasonic ZS45 Sports photography advice
66
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent MP (16MP)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
has tracking autofocus
doesn't have phase detect auto focus
56
excellent zoom range (24-480mm 20.0 x zoom)
has image stabilization (Optical)
megapixel count decent (16 megapixels)
comes with tracking focus
great battery power (350 shots)
very small sensor (1/2.3")
has no phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-PL5 as a Travel photography camera
Panasonic ZS45 as a Travel photography camera
75
boasts touch to focus
decent MP (16MP)
screen is selfie friendly
does not have Timelapse function
71
great battery power (350 per charge)
lighter than others (249g)
megapixel count decent (16 megapixels)
flash built-in
pretty wide (24mm)
great reach (480mm)
missing Timelapse function
doesn't offer selfie friendly screen
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.3)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-PL5 Landscape photography advice
Panasonic ZS45 Landscape photography advice
74
manual focus
change lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
screen size is decent (3 inch)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent MP (16MP)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
great ISO range (25,600)
delivers RAW files
does not have Timelapse function
48
pretty wide (24mm)
screen size is good (3 inches)
has image stabilization (Optical)
megapixel count decent (16MP)
great battery power (350 CIPA)
manual focus not available
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.3)
very small sensor (1/2.3")
has no RAW format
missing Timelapse function
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-PL5 Vlogging factors
Panasonic ZS45 Vlogging factors
78
screen is selfie friendly
touchscreen functionality
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
has face detection focus
video res high (1920 x 1080 pxls)
does not have external microphone support
34
pretty wide (24mm)
has image stabilization (Optical)
comes with face detect focusing
great video quality (1920 x 1080 pxls)
lighter than others (249 grams)
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.3)
doesn't offer selfie friendly screen
missing microphone support
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Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic ZS45 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-PL5 and Panasonic ZS45
 Olympus PEN E-PL5Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS45
General Information
Company Olympus Panasonic
Model type Olympus PEN E-PL5 Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS45
Also called - Lumix DMC-TZ57
Class Entry-Level Mirrorless Small Sensor Superzoom
Revealed 2012-09-17 2015-01-06
Physical type Rangefinder-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor Information
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 16MP 16MP
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Full resolution 4608 x 3456 4608 x 3456
Max native ISO 25600 6400
Minimum native ISO 200 100
RAW images
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
Touch focus
Continuous AF
Single AF
Tracking AF
AF selectice
AF center weighted
AF multi area
Live view AF
Face detection focusing
Contract detection focusing
Phase detection focusing
Total focus points 35 21
Lens
Lens support Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 24-480mm (20.0x)
Max aperture - f/3.3-6.4
Macro focusing range - 3cm
Available lenses 107 -
Crop factor 2.1 5.9
Screen
Screen type Tilting Tilting
Screen diagonal 3 inch 3 inch
Resolution of screen 460k dots 1,040k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch function
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Electronic (optional) None
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60s 4s
Highest shutter speed 1/4000s 1/2000s
Continuous shooting rate 8.0fps 10.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Custom WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash distance 7.00 m (bundled FL-LM1) 6.00 m
Flash modes 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
External flash
AEB
White balance bracketing
Highest flash synchronize 1/250s -
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (30 fps), 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 1920x1080 1920x1080
Video file format MPEG-4, H.264, Motion JPEG MPEG-4
Microphone support
Headphone support
Connectivity
Wireless Eye-Fi Connected Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 325g (0.72 lbs) 249g (0.55 lbs)
Dimensions 111 x 64 x 38mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.5") 108 x 60 x 32mm (4.3" x 2.4" x 1.3")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating 72 not tested
DXO Color Depth rating 22.8 not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating 12.3 not tested
DXO Low light rating 889 not tested
Other
Battery life 360 photographs 350 photographs
Battery style Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID BLS-5 -
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse shooting
Storage type SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal
Card slots 1 1
Launch pricing $400 $300