Olympus SZ-12 vs Panasonic ZS8
Portability
89 Imaging
37 Features
36 Overall
36
89 Imaging
37 Features
36 Overall
36
Portability
92 Imaging
37 Features
39 Overall
37
92 Imaging
37 Features
39 Overall
37
Olympus SZ-12 vs Panasonic ZS8 Key Specs
Olympus SZ-12
(Full Review)
(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
- Released January 2012
Panasonic ZS8
(Full Review)
(Full Review)
- 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
- 3" Fixed Screen
- ISO 100 - 6400
- Optical Image Stabilization
- 1280 x 720 video
- 24-384mm (F3.3-5.9) lens
- 210g - 105 x 58 x 33mm
- Introduced July 2011
- Additionally Known as Lumix DMC-TZ18
- Older Model is Panasonic ZS7
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Below, we will be reviewing the Olympus SZ-12 versus Panasonic ZS8, both Small Sensor Superzoom cameras by manufacturers Olympus and Panasonic. The resolution of the SZ-12 (14MP) and the ZS8 (14MP) is pretty comparable and they use the exact same sensor sizing (1/2.3").
President Biden pushes bill mandating TikTok sale or banThe SZ-12 was launched 6 months later than the ZS8 so they are both of a similar generation. Each of the cameras come with the identical body type (Compact).
Before going through a complete comparison, below is a quick synopsis of how the SZ-12 grades versus the ZS8 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.
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Following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus SZ-12 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS8. The complete galleries are available at Olympus SZ-12 Gallery and Panasonic ZS8 Gallery.
Reasons to pick Olympus SZ-12 over the Panasonic ZS8
| SZ-12 | ZS8 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screen resolution | 460k |  | 230k | Clearer screen (+230k dot) |
Reasons to pick Panasonic ZS8 over the Olympus SZ-12
| ZS8 | SZ-12 |
|---|
Common features in the Olympus SZ-12 and Panasonic ZS8
| SZ-12 | ZS8 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Introduced | January 2012 |  | July 2011 | Same generation |
| Manually focus |  | Lack of manual focusing | ||
| Screen type | Fixed |  | Fixed | Fixed screen |
| Screen dimension | 3" |  | 3" | Identical screen measurement |
| Selfie screen |  | No selfie screen | ||
| Touch friendly screen |  | Neither offers Touch friendly screen |
Olympus SZ-12 vs Panasonic ZS8 Physical Comparison
When you are intending to carry your camera regularly, you will need to factor its weight and measurements. The Olympus SZ-12 offers outside dimensions of 106mm x 69mm x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6") along with a weight of 226 grams (0.50 lbs) and the Panasonic ZS8 has proportions of 105mm x 58mm x 33mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 1.3") and a weight of 210 grams (0.46 lbs).
Compare the Olympus SZ-12 versus Panasonic ZS8 in the latest Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.
Keep in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary dependant on the lens you choose at the time. Underneath is the front view overall size comparison of the SZ-12 and the ZS8.
Factoring in size and weight, the portability rating of the SZ-12 and ZS8 is 89 and 92 respectively.
Olympus SZ-12 vs Panasonic ZS8 Sensor Comparison
Often, it is very hard to see the difference in sensor sizing purely by seeing a spec sheet. The visual here will help give you a better sense of the sensor sizes in the SZ-12 and ZS8.
As you can see, both of those cameras posses the exact same sensor measurements and the exact same MP so you should expect comparable quality of photographs though you should factor the production date of the cameras into account.
Olympus SZ-12 vs Panasonic ZS8 Screen and ViewFinder
Photography Glossary Photography Type Scores
Portrait Comparison
Olympus SZ-12 as a Portrait photography camera
Panasonic ZS8 as a Portrait photography camera
sensor resolution is decent (14 megapixels)
provides face detect focusing
lack of manual focus
manual exposure not possible
no external flash support
sensor is small (1/2.3")
does not have RAW support
decent MP (14MP)
focusing manually not possible
external flash not possible
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
does not have RAW files
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Olympus SZ-12 as a Street photography camera
Panasonic ZS8 as a Street photography camera
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
lighter than competition in class (226g)
no articulating screen
sensor is small (1/2.3")
does not have RAW support
has image stabilization (Optical)
lighter than competition in class (210g)
screen does not articulate
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
does not have RAW files
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Olympus SZ-12 as a Sports photography camera
Panasonic ZS8 as a Sports photography camera
amazing zoom range (25-600mm 24.0 x zoom)
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
sensor resolution is decent (14MP)
provides tracking focus
slow continuous shooting (1.0 frames/s)
no shutter priority mode
sensor is small (1/2.3")
low battery (220 per charge)
does not have phase detect AF
long zoom range (24-384mm 16.0 x zoom)
has image stabilization (Optical)
decent MP (14MP)
has tracking focus
slow frames per second (2.0 fps)
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
does not have phase detect autofocus
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Olympus SZ-12 Travel photography info
Panasonic ZS8 Travel photography info
lighter than competition in class (226 grams)
sensor resolution is decent (14 megapixels)
flash built-in
pretty wide (25mm)
very long zoom (600mm)
doesn't have Timelapse mode
low battery (220 CIPA)
screen isn't selfie friendly
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.0)
lighter than competition in class (210 grams)
decent MP (14 megapixels)
built-in flash
reasonably wide (24mm)
very long zoom (384mm)
no Time Lapse mode
screen isn't selfie friendly
slow max aperture (f3.3)
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Olympus SZ-12 Landscape photography highlights
Panasonic ZS8 Landscape photography highlights
pretty wide (25mm)
screen size is good (3 inch)
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
sensor resolution is decent (14 megapixels)
lack of manual focus
cannot change lenses (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.0)
manual exposure not possible
sensor is small (1/2.3")
does not have RAW support
low battery (220 shots)
doesn't have Timelapse mode
reasonably wide (24mm)
nice screen size (3")
has image stabilization (Optical)
decent MP (14 megapixels)
focusing manually not possible
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
slow max aperture (f3.3)
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
does not have RAW files
no Time Lapse mode
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Olympus SZ-12 Vlogging factors
Panasonic ZS8 Vlogging factors
pretty wide (25mm)
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
provides face detect focusing
lighter than competition in class (226g)
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.0)
screen isn't selfie friendly
video quality not great (1280 x 720 pixels)
doesn't have microphone socket
reasonably wide (24mm)
has image stabilization (Optical)
lighter than competition in class (210 grams)
slow max aperture (f3.3)
screen isn't selfie friendly
video res low (1280 x 720 pixels)
no mic jack
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Olympus SZ-12 vs Panasonic ZS8 Specifications
| Olympus SZ-12 | Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS8 | |
|---|---|---|
| General Information | ||
| Company | Olympus | Panasonic |
| Model | Olympus SZ-12 | Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS8 |
| Also called | - | Lumix DMC-TZ18 |
| Class | Small Sensor Superzoom | Small Sensor Superzoom |
| Released | 2012-01-10 | 2011-07-19 |
| Body design | Compact | Compact |
| Sensor Information | ||
| Processor Chip | - | Venus Engine FHD |
| Sensor type | CCD | CCD |
| Sensor size | 1/2.3" | 1/2.3" |
| Sensor dimensions | 6.17 x 4.55mm | 6.08 x 4.56mm |
| Sensor area | 28.1mm² | 27.7mm² |
| Sensor resolution | 14MP | 14MP |
| Anti aliasing filter | ||
| Aspect ratio | - | 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 |
| Full resolution | 4288 x 3216 | 4320 x 3240 |
| Max native ISO | 1600 | 6400 |
| Minimum native ISO | 80 | 100 |
| RAW support | ||
| Autofocusing | ||
| Manual focus | ||
| Autofocus touch | ||
| Autofocus continuous | ||
| Single autofocus | ||
| Tracking autofocus | ||
| Selective autofocus | ||
| Autofocus center weighted | ||
| Multi area autofocus | ||
| Autofocus live view | ||
| Face detection autofocus | ||
| Contract detection autofocus | ||
| Phase detection autofocus | ||
| Number of focus points | - | 11 |
| Cross focus points | - | - |
| Lens | ||
| Lens mount | fixed lens | fixed lens |
| Lens focal range | 25-600mm (24.0x) | 24-384mm (16.0x) |
| Maximum aperture | f/3.0-6.9 | f/3.3-5.9 |
| Macro focus range | - | 3cm |
| Crop factor | 5.8 | 5.9 |
| Screen | ||
| Screen type | Fixed Type | Fixed Type |
| Screen diagonal | 3" | 3" |
| Resolution of screen | 460k dot | 230k dot |
| Selfie friendly | ||
| Liveview | ||
| Touch screen | ||
| Screen technology | TFT Color LCD | TFT LCD |
| Viewfinder Information | ||
| Viewfinder type | None | None |
| Features | ||
| Slowest shutter speed | 4s | 60s |
| Maximum shutter speed | 1/1700s | 1/4000s |
| Continuous shooting speed | 1.0 frames/s | 2.0 frames/s |
| Shutter priority | ||
| Aperture priority | ||
| Manually set exposure | ||
| Exposure compensation | - | Yes |
| Set white balance | ||
| Image stabilization | ||
| Inbuilt flash | ||
| Flash range | - | 5.00 m |
| Flash modes | Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in | Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow Syncro |
| Hot shoe | ||
| AEB | ||
| White balance 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) | 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps) |
| Max video resolution | 1280x720 | 1280x720 |
| Video data format | MPEG-4, H.264 | MPEG-4 |
| Mic input | ||
| Headphone input | ||
| Connectivity | ||
| Wireless | None | None |
| Bluetooth | ||
| NFC | ||
| HDMI | ||
| USB | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) |
| GPS | None | None |
| Physical | ||
| Environment seal | ||
| Water proof | ||
| Dust proof | ||
| Shock proof | ||
| Crush proof | ||
| Freeze proof | ||
| Weight | 226g (0.50 pounds) | 210g (0.46 pounds) |
| Dimensions | 106 x 69 x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6") | 105 x 58 x 33mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 1.3") |
| DXO scores | ||
| DXO All around 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 images | 340 images |
| Battery format | Battery Pack | Battery Pack |
| Battery model | LI-50B | - |
| Self timer | Yes (2 or 12 sec, pet auto shutter) | Yes (2 or 10 sec) |
| Time lapse feature | ||
| Type of storage | SD/SDHC/SDXC | SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal |
| Storage slots | Single | Single |
| Price at launch | $350 | $275 |