Olympus SZ-31MR iHS vs Panasonic FZ1000 II

Its time to look much closer at the Olympus SZ-31MR iHS and Panasonic FZ1000 II, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the latter is a Large Sensor Superzoom by manufacturers Olympus and Panasonic. The sensor resolution of the SZ-31MR iHS (16MP) and the FZ1000 II (20MP) is relatively close but the SZ-31MR iHS (1/2.3") and FZ1000 II (1") have different sensor sizes.

Photography Glossary

The SZ-31MR iHS was released 8 years before the FZ1000 II and that is a fairly big difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Both of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus SZ-31MR iHS being a Compact camera and the Panasonic FZ1000 II being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before getting straight to a thorough comparison, here is a short highlight of how the SZ-31MR iHS scores against the FZ1000 II when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

The following is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus SZ-31MR iHS & Panasonic Lumix DC-FZ1000 II. The complete galleries are viewable at Olympus SZ-31MR iHS Gallery & Panasonic FZ1000 II Gallery.

When you are going to lug around your camera regularly, you are going to need to think about its weight and volume. The Olympus SZ-31MR iHS has 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) while the Panasonic FZ1000 II has sizing of 136mm x 97mm x 132mm (5.4" x 3.8" x 5.2") along with a weight of 808 grams (1.78 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus SZ-31MR iHS and Panasonic FZ1000 II in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you choose at that moment. Here is a front view dimension comparison of the SZ-31MR iHS and the FZ1000 II.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability grade of the SZ-31MR iHS and FZ1000 II is 89 and 55 respectively.

Generally, its difficult to picture the difference in sensor measurements just by researching specifications. The photograph below will give you a clearer sense of the sensor sizes in the SZ-31MR iHS and FZ1000 II.

Plainly, both of these cameras have different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The SZ-31MR iHS because of its smaller sensor is going to make getting shallow DOF more challenging and the Panasonic FZ1000 II will render extra detail as a result of its extra 4MP. Higher resolution will also allow you to crop photographs a bit more aggressively. The older SZ-31MR iHS will be disadvantaged in sensor innovation.