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Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic ZS7

Portability
88
Imaging
52
Features
72
Overall
60
Olympus PEN E-PL5 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7 front
Portability
91
Imaging
35
Features
33
Overall
34

Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic ZS7 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
  • Released September 2012
Panasonic ZS7
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 80 - 6400
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 25-300mm (F3.3-4.9) lens
  • 218g - 103 x 60 x 33mm
  • Introduced July 2011
  • Additionally referred to as Lumix DMC-TZ10
  • Renewed by Panasonic ZS8
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Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic ZS7 Overview

Following is a extended overview of the Olympus E-PL5 versus Panasonic ZS7, one is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom by companies Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a crucial gap among the sensor resolutions of the E-PL5 (16MP) and ZS7 (12MP) and the E-PL5 (Four Thirds) and ZS7 (1/2.3") feature totally different sensor size.

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The E-PL5 was brought out 15 months after the ZS7 making the cameras a generation away from one another. Each of the cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-PL5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic ZS7 being a Compact camera.

Before getting in to a more detailed comparison, below is a simple overview of how the E-PL5 scores against the ZS7 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-PL5 over the Panasonic ZS7

 E-PL5 ZS7 
IntroducedSeptember 2012July 2011More modern by 15 months
Focus manually Dial accurate focusing
Display typeTiltingFixed Tilting display
Selfie screen Easy selfies
Touch friendly display Easily navigate

Reasons to pick Panasonic ZS7 over the Olympus E-PL5

 ZS7 E-PL5 

Common features in the Olympus E-PL5 and Panasonic ZS7

 E-PL5 ZS7 
Display sizing3"3"Equivalent display size
Display resolution460k460kEqual display resolution

Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic ZS7 Physical Comparison

For those who are going to carry around your camera frequently, you will have to factor in its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-PL5 has got exterior dimensions of 111mm x 64mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.5") along with a weight of 325 grams (0.72 lbs) while the Panasonic ZS7 has proportions of 103mm x 60mm x 33mm (4.1" x 2.4" x 1.3") along with a weight of 218 grams (0.48 lbs).

See the Olympus E-PL5 versus Panasonic ZS7 in the latest Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Keep in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary dependant on the lens you have attached during that time. Below is the front view scale comparison of the E-PL5 against the ZS7.

Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic ZS7 size comparison

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-PL5 and ZS7 is 88 and 91 respectively.

Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic ZS7 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic ZS7 Sensor Comparison

More often than not, its tough to visualise the difference in sensor sizes simply by going through specs. The pic below might offer you a stronger sense of the sensor sizes in the E-PL5 and ZS7.

As you can plainly see, each of the cameras offer different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The E-PL5 featuring a larger sensor will make shooting shallower DOF simpler and the Olympus E-PL5 will show greater detail having its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also help you crop photos a little more aggressively. The younger E-PL5 will have an advantage with regard to sensor tech.

Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic ZS7 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic ZS7 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic ZS7 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-PL5 Portrait photography features
Panasonic ZS7 Portrait photography features
71
has manual focus
megapixel count decent (16 megapixels)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
offers face detection autofocus
supports RAW formats
21
lack of manual focus
no external flash support
MP count low (12MP)
sensor is small (1/2.3")
has no RAW format
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Olympus E-PL5
Street photography with Panasonic ZS7
85
screen tilts up and down
image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
supports RAW formats
provides touch to focus
very good high ISO (25,600)
60
image stabilization (Optical)
lighter than competitors (218g)
screen is fixed
sensor is small (1/2.3")
has no RAW format
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-PL5 Sports photography info
Panasonic ZS7 Sports photography info
66
image stabilization (Sensor based)
megapixel count decent (16MP)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
offers tracking autofocus
has no phase detect autofocus
27
image stabilization (Optical)
continuous shooting slow (2.0 frames per second)
MP count low (12MP)
sensor is small (1/2.3")
has no phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Olympus E-PL5
Travel photography with Panasonic ZS7
75
provides touch to focus
megapixel count decent (16 megapixels)
selfie friendly display
no Time Lapse mode
63
lighter than competitors (218g)
flash built-in
really wide (25mm)
very long reach (300mm)
missing Time Lapse function
MP count low (12 megapixels)
doesn't have a selfie friendly screen
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.3)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-PL5 Landscape photography features
Panasonic ZS7 Landscape photography features
74
has manual focus
change lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
screen is a decent size (3 inch)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
megapixel count decent (16 megapixels)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
very good high ISO (25,600)
supports RAW formats
no Time Lapse mode
38
really wide (25mm)
nice screen size (3")
image stabilization (Optical)
lack of manual focus
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.3)
MP count low (12MP)
sensor is small (1/2.3")
has no RAW format
missing Time Lapse function
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Olympus E-PL5
Vlogging with Panasonic ZS7
78
selfie friendly display
touchscreen
image stabilization (Sensor based)
offers face detection autofocus
high video quality (1920 x 1080 pxls)
no external mic port
30
really wide (25mm)
image stabilization (Optical)
lighter than competitors (218 grams)
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.3)
doesn't have a selfie friendly screen
low video resolution (1280 x 720 pxls)
missing mic socket
Photography Glossary

Olympus E-PL5 vs Panasonic ZS7 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-PL5 and Panasonic ZS7
 Olympus PEN E-PL5Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7
General Information
Brand Name Olympus Panasonic
Model type Olympus PEN E-PL5 Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7
Also called - Lumix DMC-TZ10
Category Entry-Level Mirrorless Small Sensor Superzoom
Released 2012-09-17 2011-07-19
Physical type Rangefinder-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor Information
Processor Chip - Venus Engine HD II
Sensor type CMOS CCD
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 6.08 x 4.56mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 27.7mm²
Sensor resolution 16 megapixels 12 megapixels
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Maximum resolution 4608 x 3456 4000 x 3000
Maximum native ISO 25600 6400
Lowest native ISO 200 80
RAW photos
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch focus
Continuous AF
Single AF
Tracking AF
AF selectice
Center weighted AF
AF multi area
Live view AF
Face detection focusing
Contract detection focusing
Phase detection focusing
Total focus points 35 11
Lens
Lens mount type Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 25-300mm (12.0x)
Maximal aperture - f/3.3-4.9
Macro focusing distance - 3cm
Total lenses 107 -
Crop factor 2.1 5.9
Screen
Type of screen Tilting Fixed Type
Screen size 3 inches 3 inches
Resolution of screen 460 thousand dots 460 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch capability
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Electronic (optional) None
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60 secs 60 secs
Highest shutter speed 1/4000 secs 1/2000 secs
Continuous shooting rate 8.0 frames/s 2.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Set WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash distance 7.00 m (bundled FL-LM1) 5.30 m
Flash settings Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync, Manual (3 levels) Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow Syncro
Hot shoe
AE bracketing
White balance bracketing
Highest flash synchronize 1/250 secs -
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (30 fps), 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 848 x 480 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps)
Maximum video resolution 1920x1080 1280x720
Video file format MPEG-4, H.264, Motion JPEG AVCHD Lite
Mic port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless Eye-Fi Connected None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None BuiltIn
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 325g (0.72 lb) 218g (0.48 lb)
Dimensions 111 x 64 x 38mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.5") 103 x 60 x 33mm (4.1" 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 images -
Style of battery Battery Pack -
Battery ID BLS-5 -
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse recording
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal
Card slots Single Single
Price at launch $400 $350