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Olympus SZ-12 vs Panasonic FZ80

Portability
89
Imaging
38
Features
36
Overall
37
Olympus SZ-12 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ80 front
Portability
63
Imaging
45
Features
62
Overall
51

Olympus SZ-12 vs Panasonic FZ80 Key Specs

Olympus SZ-12
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 80 - 1600
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 25-600mm (F3.0-6.9) lens
  • 226g - 106 x 69 x 40mm
  • Revealed January 2012
Panasonic FZ80
(Full Review)
  • 18MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 80 - 3200 (Increase to 6400)
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • 20-1200mm (F2.8-5.9) lens
  • 616g - 130 x 94 x 119mm
  • Revealed January 2017
  • Also Known as Lumix DMC-FZ82
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Olympus SZ-12 vs Panasonic FZ80 Overview

Here, we are contrasting the Olympus SZ-12 versus Panasonic FZ80, both Small Sensor Superzoom digital cameras by companies Olympus and Panasonic. There is a crucial difference between the resolutions of the SZ-12 (14MP) and FZ80 (18MP) but both cameras boast the identical sensor sizes (1/2.3").

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The SZ-12 was launched 6 years before the FZ80 and that is quite a serious gap as far as tech is concerned. The two cameras feature different body design with the Olympus SZ-12 being a Compact camera and the Panasonic FZ80 being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before delving straight to a thorough comparison, here is a short introduction of how the SZ-12 grades vs the FZ80 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Olympus SZ-12 over the Panasonic FZ80

 SZ-12 FZ80 

Reasons to pick Panasonic FZ80 over the Olympus SZ-12

 FZ80 SZ-12 
RevealedJanuary 2017January 2012Fresher by 60 months
Manually focus Very accurate focusing
Display resolution1040k460kClearer display (+580k dot)
Touch display Easily navigate

Common features in the Olympus SZ-12 and Panasonic FZ80

 SZ-12 FZ80 
Display typeFixed Fixed Fixed display
Display size3"3"Same display dimensions
Selfie screen Neither has selfie screen

Olympus SZ-12 vs Panasonic FZ80 Physical Comparison

If you are aiming to carry your camera regularly, you are going to need to factor its weight and proportions. The Olympus SZ-12 has outer measurements of 106mm x 69mm x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6") accompanied by a weight of 226 grams (0.50 lbs) and the Panasonic FZ80 has measurements of 130mm x 94mm x 119mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 4.7") with a weight of 616 grams (1.36 lbs).

Check the Olympus SZ-12 versus Panasonic FZ80 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Don't forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ dependant on the lens you choose at that moment. Here is a front view sizing comparison of the SZ-12 and the FZ80.

Olympus SZ-12 vs Panasonic FZ80 size comparison

Factoring in size and weight, the portability grade of the SZ-12 and FZ80 is 89 and 63 respectively.

Olympus SZ-12 vs Panasonic FZ80 top view buttons comparison

Olympus SZ-12 vs Panasonic FZ80 Sensor Comparison

Often, its difficult to picture the gap between sensor sizing purely by going over technical specs. The graphic here should offer you a better sense of the sensor sizing in the SZ-12 and FZ80.

As you have seen, each of these cameras come with the identical sensor size but different MP. You should expect to see the Panasonic FZ80 to deliver more detail utilizing its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also help you crop images a good deal more aggressively. The older SZ-12 is going to be behind when it comes to sensor innovation.

Olympus SZ-12 vs Panasonic FZ80 sensor size comparison

Olympus SZ-12 vs Panasonic FZ80 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus SZ-12 vs Panasonic FZ80 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus SZ-12 Portrait photography highlights
Panasonic FZ80 Portrait photography highlights
34
decent MP (14 megapixels)
has face detection focusing
focusing manually not possible
manual mode not possible
no external flash support
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
lacks RAW support
59
focusing manually
decent megapixels (18 megapixels)
provides face detection focus
delivers RAW files
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Olympus SZ-12
Street photography with Panasonic FZ80
60
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
lighter than average (226 grams)
screen does not articulate
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
lacks RAW support
54
built in image stabilization (Optical)
delivers RAW files
supports focus by touch
screen is fixed
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
heavier than others (616g)
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Sports Comparison

Olympus SZ-12 as a Sports photography camera
Panasonic FZ80 as a Sports photography camera
41
great zoom range (25-600mm 24.0 x zoom)
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
decent MP (14 megapixels)
has tracking autofocus
very slow continuous shooting (1.0 frames per second)
no shutter priority
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
bad battery life (220 per charge)
lacks phase detect AF
58
excellent zoom range (20-1200mm 60.0 x zoom)
silent mode (1/16,000s)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
decent megapixels (18 megapixels)
provides tracking autofocus
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
has no phase detect auto focus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus SZ-12 Travel photography factors
Panasonic FZ80 Travel photography factors
65
lighter than average (226g)
decent MP (14MP)
built-in flash
pretty wide (25mm)
long zoom (600mm)
doesn't have Timelapse function
bad battery life (220 shots)
does not have a selfie friendly screen
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.0)
59
supports focus by touch
decent megapixels (18 megapixels)
built-in flash
rather wide (20mm)
long zoom (1200mm)
heavier than others (616 grams)
does not have a selfie friendly screen
sluggish max aperture (f2.8)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus SZ-12 Landscape photography info
Panasonic FZ80 Landscape photography info
40
pretty wide (25mm)
nice screen size (3")
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
decent MP (14MP)
focusing manually not possible
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.0)
manual mode not possible
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
lacks RAW support
bad battery life (220 CIPA)
doesn't have Timelapse function
57
focusing manually
rather wide (20mm)
pretty good screen size (3")
built in image stabilization (Optical)
decent megapixels (18MP)
delivers RAW files
cannot swap lenses (fixed lens mount)
sluggish max aperture (f2.8)
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Olympus SZ-12
Vlogging with Panasonic FZ80
31
pretty wide (25mm)
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
has face detection focusing
lighter than average (226g)
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.0)
does not have a selfie friendly screen
low quality video (1280 x 720 pixels)
doesn't have external microphone socket
28
rather wide (20mm)
has touchscreen
built in image stabilization (Optical)
provides face detection focus
video resolution high (3840 x 2160 pixels)
sluggish max aperture (f2.8)
does not have a selfie friendly screen
missing external mic support
heavier than others (616 grams)
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Olympus SZ-12 vs Panasonic FZ80 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus SZ-12 and Panasonic FZ80
 Olympus SZ-12Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ80
General Information
Brand Olympus Panasonic
Model Olympus SZ-12 Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ80
Also Known as - Lumix DMC-FZ82
Category Small Sensor Superzoom Small Sensor Superzoom
Revealed 2012-01-10 2017-01-04
Physical type Compact SLR-like (bridge)
Sensor Information
Powered by - Venus Engine
Sensor type CCD BSI-CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" 1/2.3"
Sensor dimensions 6.17 x 4.55mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor area 28.1mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 14 megapixel 18 megapixel
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio - 4:3
Peak resolution 4288 x 3216 4896 x 3672
Highest native ISO 1600 3200
Highest enhanced ISO - 6400
Minimum native ISO 80 80
RAW photos
Autofocusing
Manual focus
Touch focus
AF continuous
AF single
Tracking AF
Selective AF
Center weighted AF
Multi area AF
AF live view
Face detection AF
Contract detection AF
Phase detection AF
Number of focus points - 49
Cross focus points - -
Lens
Lens mounting type fixed lens fixed lens
Lens focal range 25-600mm (24.0x) 20-1200mm (60.0x)
Largest aperture f/3.0-6.9 f/2.8-5.9
Macro focus range - 1cm
Crop factor 5.8 5.8
Screen
Screen type Fixed Type Fixed Type
Screen sizing 3 inches 3 inches
Resolution of screen 460 thousand dots 1,040 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch screen
Screen technology TFT Color LCD -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder None Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 1,166 thousand dots
Viewfinder coverage - 100%
Viewfinder magnification - 0.46x
Features
Minimum shutter speed 4 secs 4 secs
Fastest shutter speed 1/1700 secs 1/2000 secs
Fastest silent shutter speed - 1/16000 secs
Continuous shutter rate 1.0fps 10.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation - Yes
Set WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash range - 14.10 m (at Auto ISO)
Flash settings Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced Off, Forced On, Forced On/Red-eye Reduction, Slow Sync, Slow Sync/Red-eye Reduction, 1st Curtain Sync, 2nd Curtain Sync
External flash
AE bracketing
WB bracketing
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 180 (30fps) 3840 x 2160 @ 30p / 100 Mbps, MP4, H.264, AAC1920 x 1080 @ 60p / 28 Mbps, MP4, H.264, AAC
Highest video resolution 1280x720 3840x2160
Video file format MPEG-4, H.264 MPEG-4, AVCHD
Mic support
Headphone support
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
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 226 grams (0.50 lbs) 616 grams (1.36 lbs)
Physical dimensions 106 x 69 x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6") 130 x 94 x 119mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 4.7")
DXO scores
DXO Overall score not tested not tested
DXO Color Depth score not tested not tested
DXO Dynamic range score not tested not tested
DXO Low light score not tested not tested
Other
Battery life 220 photos 330 photos
Battery style Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model LI-50B -
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec, pet auto shutter) Yes (2 or 10 secs, 3 images x 10 secs)
Time lapse recording
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/SDXC card
Card slots One One
Cost at release $350 $399