Olympus E-PM1 vs Panasonic ZS70

Lets look a bit more in depth at the Olympus E-PM1 and Panasonic ZS70, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by companies Olympus and Panasonic. There is a large difference among the resolutions of the E-PM1 (12MP) and ZS70 (20MP) and the E-PM1 (Four Thirds) and ZS70 (1/2.3") feature totally different sensor measurements.

Photography Glossary

The E-PM1 was manufactured 6 years before the ZS70 and that is a fairly serious difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Both cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-PM1 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic ZS70 being a Compact camera.

Before diving in to a detailed comparison, below is a quick summary of how the E-PM1 grades vs the ZS70 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus PEN E-PM1 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS70. The entire galleries are viewable at Olympus E-PM1 Gallery & Panasonic ZS70 Gallery.

For those who are planning to lug around your camera often, you'll need to take into account its weight and volume. The Olympus E-PM1 has external measurements of 110mm x 64mm x 34mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.3") with a weight of 265 grams (0.58 lbs) and the Panasonic ZS70 has sizing of 112mm x 67mm x 41mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.6") along with a weight of 322 grams (0.71 lbs).

Compare the Olympus E-PM1 and Panasonic ZS70 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you are employing at that moment. The following is the front view scale comparison of the E-PM1 vs the ZS70.

Factoring in size and weight, the portability grade of the E-PM1 and ZS70 is 89 and 87 respectively.

Generally, it is hard to see the contrast in sensor measurements merely by researching technical specs. The photograph here should provide you a far better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-PM1 and ZS70.

As you can tell, both cameras posses different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The E-PM1 featuring a bigger sensor will make getting shallow depth of field easier and the Panasonic ZS70 will result in greater detail due to its extra 8 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also help you crop pictures somewhat more aggressively. The older E-PM1 will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor technology.