Olympus E-PL9 vs Panasonic ZS70

In this article, we are contrasting the Olympus E-PL9 and Panasonic ZS70, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom by companies Olympus and Panasonic. The resolution of the E-PL9 (16MP) and the ZS70 (20MP) is fairly comparable but the E-PL9 (Four Thirds) and ZS70 (1/2.3") enjoy totally different sensor sizing.

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The E-PL9 was introduced 10 months later than the ZS70 and they are both of a similar age. Both of these cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-PL9 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic ZS70 being a Compact camera.

Before diving in to a thorough comparison, below is a quick view of how the E-PL9 grades against the ZS70 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus PEN E-PL9 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS70. The whole galleries are available at Olympus E-PL9 Gallery & Panasonic ZS70 Gallery.

For anybody who is planning to lug around your camera often, you'll need to factor in its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-PL9 comes with outside measurements of 117mm x 68mm x 39mm (4.6" x 2.7" x 1.5") and a weight of 380 grams (0.84 lbs) whilst the Panasonic ZS70 has dimensions of 112mm x 67mm x 41mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.6") along with a weight of 322 grams (0.71 lbs).

See the Olympus E-PL9 and Panasonic ZS70 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you are employing at that time. Following is the front view proportions comparison of the E-PL9 compared to the ZS70.

Using size and weight, the portability grade of the E-PL9 and ZS70 is 85 and 87 respectively.

In many cases, it can be hard to visualise the difference in sensor measurements purely by checking out a spec sheet. The visual here will offer you a far better sense of the sensor sizing in the E-PL9 and ZS70.

As you can see, both cameras offer different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The E-PL9 using its larger sensor will make shooting bokeh less difficult and the Panasonic ZS70 will provide greater detail using its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution will enable you to crop images a little more aggressively. The fresher E-PL9 is going to have a benefit in sensor technology.