Olympus E-PM1 vs Panasonic ZS35

Lets look a little more in depth at the Olympus E-PM1 and Panasonic ZS35, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom by manufacturers Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a considerable gap among the sensor resolutions of the E-PM1 (12MP) and ZS35 (16MP) and the E-PM1 (Four Thirds) and ZS35 (1/2.3") enjoy totally different sensor sizing.

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The E-PM1 was revealed 3 years prior to the ZS35 and that is a fairly large difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-PM1 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic ZS35 being a Compact camera.

Before delving in to a step-by-step comparison, below is a quick view of how the E-PM1 grades vs the ZS35 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus PEN E-PM1 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS35. The full galleries are provided at Olympus E-PM1 Gallery & Panasonic ZS35 Gallery.

In case you're aiming to lug around your camera often, you will want to factor its weight and size. The Olympus E-PM1 enjoys outer dimensions of 110mm x 64mm x 34mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.3") with a weight of 265 grams (0.58 lbs) whilst the Panasonic ZS35 has specifications of 107mm x 62mm x 32mm (4.2" x 2.4" x 1.3") along with a weight of 305 grams (0.67 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-PM1 and Panasonic ZS35 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you choose at that moment. Below is the front view proportions comparison of the E-PM1 vs the ZS35.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-PM1 and ZS35 is 89 and 89 respectively.

Normally, its difficult to visualise the contrast in sensor measurements just by researching specs. The photograph below will provide you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-PM1 and ZS35.

As you can plainly see, both of those cameras posses different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The E-PM1 with its larger sensor will make achieving shallow DOF simpler and the Panasonic ZS35 will result in extra detail because of its extra 4MP. Greater resolution can also allow you to crop photos somewhat more aggressively. The older E-PM1 will be behind in sensor tech.