Olympus 1s vs Panasonic ZS40

On this page, we will be matching up the Olympus 1s vs Panasonic ZS40, both Small Sensor Superzoom cameras by competitors Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a huge gap among the image resolutions of the 1s (12MP) and ZS40 (18MP) and the 1s (1/1.7") and ZS40 (1/2.3") boast totally different sensor size.

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The 1s was manufactured 16 months later than the ZS40 which makes them a generation apart from one another. Both of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus 1s being a SLR-like (bridge) camera and the Panasonic ZS40 being a Compact camera.

Before going into a in-depth comparison, here is a short overview of how the 1s scores versus the ZS40 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Below is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus Stylus 1s and Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS40. The entire galleries are available at Olympus 1s Gallery and Panasonic ZS40 Gallery.

If you are looking to carry your camera often, you'll have to think about its weight and proportions. The Olympus 1s offers physical dimensions of 116mm x 87mm x 57mm (4.6" x 3.4" x 2.2") along with a weight of 402 grams (0.89 lbs) while the Panasonic ZS40 has measurements of 111mm x 64mm x 34mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.3") with a weight of 240 grams (0.53 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus 1s vs Panasonic ZS40 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change based on the lens you use at the time. Here is a front view over all size comparison of the 1s compared to the ZS40.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the 1s and ZS40 is 79 and 90 respectively.

Quite often, its difficult to envision the difference in sensor sizing purely by viewing technical specs. The visual below should give you a more clear sense of the sensor sizes in the 1s and ZS40.

As you can tell, both the cameras provide different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The 1s because of its bigger sensor will make achieving shallow DOF easier and the Panasonic ZS40 will render greater detail due to its extra 6 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also make it easier to crop pictures more aggressively. The newer 1s is going to have an edge with regard to sensor tech.