Olympus E-PL8 vs Panasonic LZ40

Its time to look closer at the Olympus E-PL8 vs Panasonic LZ40, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by companies Olympus and Panasonic. The resolution of the E-PL8 (16MP) and the LZ40 (20MP) is relatively close but the E-PL8 (Four Thirds) and LZ40 (1/2.3") provide different sensor dimensions.

Photography Glossary

The E-PL8 was launched 2 years later than the LZ40 and that is a fairly large difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Both cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-PL8 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic LZ40 being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before getting right into a comprehensive comparison, here is a brief view of how the E-PL8 matches up versus the LZ40 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus PEN E-PL8 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ40. The complete galleries are available at Olympus E-PL8 Gallery & Panasonic LZ40 Gallery.

If you are going to lug around your camera frequently, you have to factor in its weight and volume. The Olympus E-PL8 provides outside measurements of 115mm x 67mm x 38mm (4.5" x 2.6" x 1.5") with a weight of 357 grams (0.79 lbs) and the Panasonic LZ40 has sizing of 126mm x 87mm x 94mm (5.0" x 3.4" x 3.7") having a weight of 524 grams (1.16 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus E-PL8 vs Panasonic LZ40 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you have chosen at that moment. Here is a front view sizing comparison of the E-PL8 and the LZ40.

Factoring in size and weight, the portability rating of the E-PL8 and LZ40 is 86 and 67 respectively.

Usually, it can be tough to imagine the gap in sensor measurements merely by viewing technical specs. The visual here will give you a clearer sense of the sensor sizing in the E-PL8 and LZ40.

As you have seen, the two cameras provide different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The E-PL8 featuring a bigger sensor is going to make shooting shallow depth of field less difficult and the Panasonic LZ40 will render more detail utilizing its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will help you crop photographs more aggressively. The younger E-PL8 provides a benefit when it comes to sensor innovation.