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Olympus PEN-F vs Panasonic SZ7

Portability
84
Imaging
59
Features
79
Overall
67
Olympus PEN-F front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ7 front
Portability
95
Imaging
37
Features
41
Overall
38

Olympus PEN-F vs Panasonic SZ7 Key Specs

Olympus PEN-F
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Fully Articulated Screen
  • ISO 200 - 25600
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 427g - 125 x 72 x 37mm
  • Launched January 2016
Panasonic SZ7
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 6400
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 25-250mm (F3.1-5.9) lens
  • 133g - 99 x 59 x 21mm
  • Introduced January 2012
Photography Glossary

Olympus PEN-F vs Panasonic SZ7 Overview

Lets look closer at the Olympus PEN-F and Panasonic SZ7, one being a Advanced Mirrorless and the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by brands Olympus and Panasonic. There is a significant difference among the sensor resolutions of the PEN-F (20MP) and SZ7 (14MP) and the PEN-F (Four Thirds) and SZ7 (1/2.3") feature different sensor measurements.

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The PEN-F was manufactured 4 years later than the SZ7 and that is a fairly sizable gap as far as camera tech is concerned. Both of these cameras offer different body type with the Olympus PEN-F being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic SZ7 being a Compact camera.

Before getting through a complete comparison, below is a brief introduction of how the PEN-F matches up against the SZ7 for portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Olympus PEN-F over the Panasonic SZ7

 PEN-F SZ7 
IntroducedJanuary 2016January 2012Fresher by 50 months
Manual focus Dial accurate focusing
Screen typeFully ArticulatedFixed Fully Articulating screen
Screen resolution1037k460kSharper screen (+577k dot)
Selfie screen Easy selfies
Touch friendly screen Quickly navigate

Reasons to pick Panasonic SZ7 over the Olympus PEN-F

 SZ7 PEN-F 

Common features in the Olympus PEN-F and Panasonic SZ7

 PEN-F SZ7 
Screen sizing3"3"Equivalent screen measurements

Olympus PEN-F vs Panasonic SZ7 Physical Comparison

For anyone who is intending to carry your camera, you will have to consider its weight and proportions. The Olympus PEN-F features physical measurements of 125mm x 72mm x 37mm (4.9" x 2.8" x 1.5") along with a weight of 427 grams (0.94 lbs) whilst the Panasonic SZ7 has measurements of 99mm x 59mm x 21mm (3.9" x 2.3" x 0.8") having a weight of 133 grams (0.29 lbs).

Check out the Olympus PEN-F and Panasonic SZ7 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into consideration, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary dependant on the lens you have at that moment. The following is the front view over all size comparison of the PEN-F versus the SZ7.

Olympus PEN-F vs Panasonic SZ7 size comparison

Using size and weight, the portability score of the PEN-F and SZ7 is 84 and 95 respectively.

Olympus PEN-F vs Panasonic SZ7 top view buttons comparison

Olympus PEN-F vs Panasonic SZ7 Sensor Comparison

Often, its tough to visualize the gap in sensor sizing purely by checking out specs. The visual here might provide you a clearer sense of the sensor measurements in the PEN-F and SZ7.

As you can plainly see, the two cameras enjoy different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The PEN-F because of its bigger sensor is going to make shooting shallow depth of field less difficult and the Olympus PEN-F will produce greater detail due to its extra 6MP. Higher resolution will also let you crop pictures far more aggressively. The more recent PEN-F provides a benefit when it comes to sensor innovation.

Olympus PEN-F vs Panasonic SZ7 sensor size comparison

Olympus PEN-F vs Panasonic SZ7 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus PEN-F vs Panasonic SZ7 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus PEN-F as a Portrait photography camera
Panasonic SZ7 as a Portrait photography camera
75
focusing manually
decent sensor resolution (20MP)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
provides face detection focusing
supports RAW formats
33
decent megapixels (14MP)
supports face detection autofocus
no manual focus
lack of manual exposure
external flash not possible
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW format
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Street Comparison

Olympus PEN-F as a Street photography camera
Panasonic SZ7 as a Street photography camera
84
fully articulated screen
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports RAW formats
boasts touch to focus
good high ISO (25,600)
63
has image stabilization (Optical)
lighter than competition (133g)
screen is fixed
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW format
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Sports Comparison

Olympus PEN-F Sports photography advice
Panasonic SZ7 Sports photography advice
67
high shutter speed (1/8,000s)
silent shutter (1/16,000s)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
decent sensor resolution (20MP)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
provides tracking autofocus
bad battery pack (330 shots)
no phase detect AF
43
has image stabilization (Optical)
decent megapixels (14MP)
supports tracking autofocus
lack of shutter priority mode
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
doesn't have phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus PEN-F Travel photography highlights
Panasonic SZ7 Travel photography highlights
75
boasts touch to focus
decent sensor resolution (20 megapixels)
selfie friendly screen
bad battery pack (330 CIPA)
70
lighter than competition (133 grams)
decent megapixels (14MP)
has built in flash
reasonably wide (25mm)
long zoom (250mm)
lack of Timelapse recording
screen isn't selfie friendly
slow maximum aperture (f3.1)
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Olympus PEN-F
Landscape photography with Panasonic SZ7
76
focusing manually
swap lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
decent sized screen (3 inches)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
decent sensor resolution (20MP)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
good high ISO (25,600)
supports RAW formats
bad battery pack (330 per charge)
42
reasonably wide (25mm)
screen size is good (3 inch)
has image stabilization (Optical)
decent megapixels (14 megapixels)
no manual focus
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
slow maximum aperture (f3.1)
lack of manual exposure
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW format
lack of Timelapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus PEN-F Vlogging info
Panasonic SZ7 Vlogging info
78
selfie friendly screen
built-in touchscreen
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
provides face detection focusing
high res video (1920 x 1080 pxls)
does not have external mic jack
35
reasonably wide (25mm)
has image stabilization (Optical)
supports face detection autofocus
high res video (1920 x 1080 pixels)
lighter than competition (133 grams)
slow maximum aperture (f3.1)
screen isn't selfie friendly
lack of external microphone socket
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Olympus PEN-F vs Panasonic SZ7 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus PEN-F and Panasonic SZ7
 Olympus PEN-FPanasonic Lumix DMC-SZ7
General Information
Brand Olympus Panasonic
Model Olympus PEN-F Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ7
Class Advanced Mirrorless Small Sensor Compact
Launched 2016-01-27 2012-01-09
Physical type Rangefinder-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor Information
Chip TruePic VII -
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 6.08 x 4.56mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 27.7mm²
Sensor resolution 20 megapixel 14 megapixel
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Highest resolution 5184 x 3888 4320 x 3240
Highest native ISO 25600 6400
Lowest native ISO 200 100
RAW pictures
Lowest boosted ISO 80 -
Autofocusing
Manual focus
Touch focus
Continuous AF
AF single
Tracking AF
Selective AF
Center weighted AF
AF multi area
AF live view
Face detection focusing
Contract detection focusing
Phase detection focusing
Number of focus points 81 23
Lens
Lens mounting type Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens focal range - 25-250mm (10.0x)
Highest aperture - f/3.1-5.9
Macro focus distance - 4cm
Amount of lenses 107 -
Crop factor 2.1 5.9
Screen
Screen type Fully Articulated Fixed Type
Screen sizing 3" 3"
Screen resolution 1,037k dots 460k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch operation
Screen tech - TFT Color LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Electronic None
Viewfinder resolution 2,360k dots -
Viewfinder coverage 100 percent -
Viewfinder magnification 0.62x -
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60 secs 8 secs
Highest shutter speed 1/8000 secs 1/1600 secs
Highest silent shutter speed 1/16000 secs -
Continuous shooting rate 10.0 frames per second 10.0 frames per second
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes -
Set WB
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash range no built-in flash 5.60 m
Flash options Flash Auto, Redeye, Fill-in, Flash Off, Red-eye Slow sync (1st curtain), Slow sync (1st curtain), Slow sync (2nd curtain) Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye reduction
External flash
Auto exposure bracketing
White balance bracketing
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, 24p), 1280 x 720 (60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, 24p) 1920 x 1080 (60, 30 fps), 1280 x 720 (60, 30fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Highest video resolution 1920x1080 1920x1080
Video file format MPEG-4, H.264, Motion JPEG MPEG-4, AVCHD
Microphone port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless Built-In None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 427 grams (0.94 lbs) 133 grams (0.29 lbs)
Dimensions 125 x 72 x 37mm (4.9" x 2.8" x 1.5") 99 x 59 x 21mm (3.9" x 2.3" x 0.8")
DXO scores
DXO All around score 74 not tested
DXO Color Depth score 23.1 not tested
DXO Dynamic range score 12.4 not tested
DXO Low light score 894 not tested
Other
Battery life 330 pictures 220 pictures
Form of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model BLN-1 -
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 seconds, custom) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse recording
Storage type SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal
Card slots One One
Launch price $1,000 $199