Olympus Stylus 7000 vs Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ80: A Deep Dive into Two Compact Powerhouses

Choosing between two cameras separated by nearly a decade but sitting in the compact and superzoom categories can be challenging. I’ve spent weeks putting the Olympus Stylus 7000 (mju 7000) and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ80 through their paces, testing them across a swath of photographic disciplines - from portraits in soft morning light to wildlife hunts in the local park. Both hail from respected brands and suit buyers favoring portability with zoom capability but differ significantly under the hood.

Let’s peel back layers and look beyond specs to how they perform, handle, and evolve alongside the photographer’s journey. Whether you crave pocketability or ultimate zoom reach, this comprehensive comparison will illuminate the sharp realities and subtle nuances of these two cameras.

Seeing the Difference: Size and Ergonomics Tell a Story

First impressions count. Handling these cameras side by side, the size and feel instantly communicate their design ethos and target users.

The Olympus 7000 is tiny, almost a novelty in today’s hybrid mirrorless world. Its ultra-compact, simplistic body (96x56x25mm) slips effortlessly into a jeans pocket, while its 172-gram featherweight frame means it disappears during excursions. It’s an archetype of minimalist point-and-shoot charm, designed primarily for casual shooters prioritizing ease and portability over granular manual control.

In striking contrast, the Panasonic FZ80 feels like a proper DSLR-ish tool, albeit with a plastic shell. Its significantly larger footprint (130x94x119mm) and heftier 616 grams place it firmly in the bridge camera camp, built for users wanting style and substance - complete with a deep grip and pronounced handholds. For me, the additional thickness and weight translate to better balance when wielding its mammoth 60x zoom lens, especially handheld in telephoto territory.

This size gap is no accident but a deliberate tradeoff: Olympus opts for pocket-sized convenience, while Panasonic embraces extensive zoom flexibility and ergonomic robustness.

The Battle of the Top Deck: Controls and Usability

Size is one thing; control layout defines the shooting experience. Both cameras stick with fixed lens designs (no interchangeable glass here), but their user interface philosophies starkly diverge.

Olympus keeps it basic - no manual focus ring, no aperture or shutter priority dials, just simple automatic operation with a few basic exposure modes. The top deck boasts minimal controls: a shutter button, power toggle, and a pop-up flash. Beginners or those wanting a grab-and-go camera won’t feel overwhelmed here. However, creative photographers might find the lack of manual control frustrating for fine tuning exposure or focus.

The Panasonic FZ80, on the other hand, wears its enthusiast nature openly. Equipped with both aperture and shutter priority modes, full manual exposure control, and a dedicated zoom lever around the shutter button, it offers much greater creative freedom. The physical controls are well laid out, easily accessible, and complemented by a responsive touchscreen interface - something missing on the Olympus 7000.

For photographers who want to tweak settings on the fly without sifting through menus, the FZ80’s design is a definite win.

Sensor Fundamentals: Size, Resolution, and Image Quality

At their core, both cameras house 1/2.3” sensors, a common size in compact superzoom cameras yet a limiting factor for overall image quality compared to larger APS-C or full-frame sensors. But don’t be misled - optics and processing still make a meaningful difference.

The Olympus 7000 sports a 12MP CCD sensor - typical for cameras of its vintage. CCDs historically provide pleasing color rendition but tend to struggle with high ISO noise, limited dynamic range, and modest detail resolution. The native ISO maxes at 1600, reflecting a conservative approach to noise control.

Panasonic’s FZ80 ups the ante with an 18MP backside-illuminated CMOS sensor coupled with its robust Venus Engine processor. This BSI-CMOS design, more advanced than Olympus’s CCD, enhances low-light sensitivity and dynamic range, allowing ISO settings up to 3200 natively, with a boosted mode to 6400. The additional resolution aids cropping and large prints.

In practical shooting, the Olympus produces pleasing daylit images but shows noticeable noise degradation and softness in low light or at telephoto margins. The FZ80, while not sensor-of-the-year material, delivers sharper details and cleaner images in dimmer scenarios, thanks to its newer sensor tech.

Seeing and Composing: Viewfinders and Displays

Good compositions come from clear viewing aids. Here, there’s a key difference between adorable simplicity and more sophisticated framing tools.

Olympus’s 7000 offers a fixed 3” display with just 230k RGB dots - not exactly breathtaking, even by 2009 standards. This low resolution can make discerning fine focusing or reviewing images less satisfying. Also, it lacks a viewfinder entirely, meaning shooting in bright sunlight can be a challenge due to LCD glare.

Panasonic’s FZ80 shines with a 3” touchscreen boasting a sharp 1040k dot resolution, making live previewing and navigating menus much more precise. It also includes a high-resolution electronic viewfinder (EVF) with 1166k dots, 100% coverage, and 0.46x magnification. Using the EVF is a blessing in bright outdoor settings and provides a DSLR-like shooting stance.

For photographers who rely on framing accuracy and desire sharper previews, the FZ80 dramatically steps up the experience.

Portraiture: Skin Tones, Bokeh, and Autofocus Precision

Portrait photography is unforgiving: rendering natural skin tones and softly separating subjects from backgrounds requires a camera and lens working harmoniously - not always easy with small sensors and fixed zooms.

The Olympus 7000’s lens spans 37-260mm (equivalent), with a maximum aperture ranging from f/3.5 at wide to f/5.3 at telephoto - fairly typical for compacts. Its sensor-shift image stabilization is helpful here, stabilizing handheld shots. However, the lack of face detection or eye autofocus means portraits require care to achieve focus on the eyes, especially at longer zooms. And the camera’s contrast-detection autofocus is relatively slow, susceptible to hunting under less-than-ideal lighting.

The Panasonic FZ80’s 20-1200mm (equivalent) lens opens at a slightly brighter f/2.8 at wide end, narrowing to f/5.9 telephoto. Its autofocus system is contrast-detection but enhanced with 49 focus points, face detection, and even eye detection - features that greatly improve subject acquisition speed and accuracy. In practice, it produces pleasant skin tones and smoother background separation at the longer focal lengths, thanks to its extended zoom and better focusing algorithms.

Still, the smaller sensor limits “creamy” bokeh compared to larger sensor cameras, but between the two, the FZ80’s autofocus and aperture range make it the better portable portrait tool.

Landscape Performance: Resolution, Dynamic Range, and Weather Considerations

Landscape photographers prize high resolution, wide dynamic range, and rugged reliability - ideals often ill-served by compact cameras, but still worth assessing.

While neither camera claims weather sealing or rugged construction, the Panasonic’s larger size includes a substantial grip and sturdier feel. Olympus’s minimal build, while sleek and portable, offers little protection from adverse weather.

In terms of resolution, the FZ80’s 18MP output at 4896x3672 pixels clearly offers more detail potential compared to Olympus’s 12MP 3968x2976 images. The Panasonic also supports RAW capture - an essential tool for landscape shooters wanting post-processing latitude - whereas Olympus produces only JPEG files.

Dynamic range across both cameras is modest due to sensor size and technology. The FZ80 benefits from newer sensor design and processing, producing better highlight and shadow retention, which manifests as richer landscapes with fewer clipped highlights in skies.

For tripod work, both cameras feature shutter speeds down to 4 seconds, adequate for handheld twilight shots but somewhat limiting for long exposures.

Chasing Wildlife and Sports: Autofocus and Speed in Action

When it comes to wildlife or sports, autofocus speed, burst rate, and zoom reach can make or break the shot.

The Olympus 7000 lacks continuous autofocus and burst mode entirely, limiting it to single autofocus and single frame shooting. This design places it outside any serious wildlife or action photography consideration.

In contrast, the Panasonic FZ80 shines here: continuous autofocus is supported alongside face and eye tracking. Burst shooting hits a respectable 10 fps at full resolution, allowing photographers to capture fleeting moments of movement. Its mammoth 60x zoom (20-1200mm equivalent) is remarkable in this context, letting you get close to distant wildlife without cumbersome lens changes.

Its built-in optical stabilization also aids handholding telephoto shots, a critical advantage in dynamic outdoor conditions.

Street and Travel Photography: Discreetness, Portability, and Versatility

Street and travel photography demand gear that’s inconspicuous, lightweight, and versatile in focal lengths.

In this arena, the Olympus wins hands down for portability and discreetness. Its pocketable size and simplified controls allow it to disappear both physically and socially - a photographer’s best friend in candid urban shoots.

However, its narrow zoom range and slow autofocus limit shooting flexibility, while its lack of RAW support constrains creative image adjustments.

The Panasonic FZ80, though bulky, compensates with an extraordinary focal range spanning wide-angle through super-telephoto. Its quick autofocus and touchscreen simplify capturing fleeting street scenes, even from a distance. Battery life (about 330 shots) and SD card compatibility make it travel-friendly, albeit at the cost of more bulk.

Macro and Close Focus: Precision and Magnification Up Close

Macro enthusiasts seek close focusing distances and fine AF control to capture tiny subjects.

Olympus impresses with a minimum macro focusing distance of 2 cm - remarkably close allowing fill-frame flower or insect shots. Optical image stabilization supports sharp handheld macro photos. Yet, lack of focus stacking or bracketing limits advanced macro techniques.

The Panasonic goes further with a new 1 cm macro minimum focus distance, focus bracketing, focus stacking, and post-focus features - tools more commonly found on mirrorless and DSLRs of recent years. Coupled with touchscreen AF, the FZ80 empowers macro shooters with precision and creative options absent on the Olympus.

Night and Astro Photography: ISO Handling and Exposure Modes

Shooting under stars or low light tests ISO performance and exposure flexibility.

With a max ISO of 1600 and a CCD sensor, the Olympus falls short here. Image noise rises quickly beyond ISO 400, and the lack of manual exposure modes restricts long exposure control necessary for star trails or nightscapes.

Conversely, the FZ80's CMOS sensor supports ISO up to 3200 natively and boosted to 6400, balancing noise and sensitivity well in its class. Manual exposure control combined with exposure compensation, plus shutter speeds down to 4 seconds, enables useful night photography.

Still, neither camera offers bulb mode or specialized astro presets, so options are limited but the Panasonic remains the more capable night shooter.

Video Capabilities: Resolutions and Stabilization

Video features often sway hybrid shooters or vloggers.

The Olympus 7000, a product of the pre-FHD era, offers maximum video resolution of just 640x480 at 30fps (VGA quality), with Motion JPEG encoding. These specifications limit utility for modern content creators, though casual snapshot movies are still feasible.

Panasonic’s FZ80 is far more versatile: supporting 4K UHD (3840x2160) at 30 fps with H.264 compression, alongside Full HD 1080p at 60 fps. Onboard optical image stabilization smooths footage, the touchscreen assists focusing, and various flash sync modes expand creative lighting options.

Neither camera features external mic or headphone jacks, a restriction for serious videographers, but the FZ80’s video prowess is clearly superior.

Battery Life and Storage: Practical Lifelines for Extended Use

Compact cameras can be bottlenecked by battery capacity and storage speed/type.

Unfortunately, Olympus provides no official battery life figures, but given its older battery tech and modest power draw, I estimate around 150-200 shots per charge. It uses xD Picture Cards, an obsolete and nearly extinct format, which frustrates storage flexibility.

The Panasonic, however, shines with a rated battery life of roughly 330 shots per charge - comfortable for a day’s shooting. It supports ubiquitous SD/SDHC/SDXC cards, making memory management easier and faster.

For extensive outings or travel, Panasonic’s battery and storage ecosystem clearly outclasses Olympus.

Assessing Value: Price-to-Performance Ratio

Price-wise, both cameras occupy budget-friendly entry points: Olympus at around $280 and Panasonic priced modestly higher near $400.

Given the FZ80’s expansive zoom, higher resolution, autofocus sophistication, manual controls, and 4K video capability, the extra cost translates to a significant performance premium.

The Olympus 7000, while charming and pocketable, feels dated technologically - best suited for casual photography with minimal demands.

Specialized Performance Across Photography Genres

To summarize genre-specific results succinctly:

• Portraits: Panasonic wins with eye detect AF and better bokeh potential
• Landscapes: Panasonic’s higher resolution and RAW make it preferable
• Wildlife: Panasonic’s 60x zoom and fast burst outclass Olympus
• Sports: No contest - Olympus lacks continuous AF and burst
• Street: Olympus offers superior portability; Panasonic better zoom
• Macro: Panasonic’s focus stacking and closer focus edge out Olympus
• Night/Astro: Panasonic offers better ISO and manual controls
• Video: Panasonic’s 4K video far surpasses Olympus’ VGA
• Travel: Depends on bulk tolerance: Olympus for lightweight carry; Panasonic for flexibility
• Professional workflow: Panasonic with RAW support and manual controls fits better

Final Thoughts: Who Should Buy Which Camera?

Olympus Stylus 7000: Ideal for casual photographers prioritizing ultimate portability and ease of use. If your main aim is snapshot travel photos, social media sharing, or a secondary pocket camera, the 7000 delivers good daylight image quality in a tiny, affordable package. Its weaknesses in manual control, video, and low light make it less suitable for enthusiasts who want to grow their craft.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ80: Far better suited for enthusiasts and hobbyists requiring a do-everything superzoom with manual control, excellent video, and robust autofocus performance. The FZ80’s versatility spans from landscape to wildlife to macro and travel - delivering excellent bang for the buck. The trade-off is size and weight, which limits pocketability but rewards handling and image quality.

Olympus 7000 front Olympus 7000 screen back Panasonic FZ80 front Panasonic FZ80 screen back

The Olympus Stylus 7000 is the quintessential point-and-shoot - small, simple, and approachable. The Panasonic FZ80 is the Swiss Army knife of the small sensor world - feature-packed, long-reaching, and fit to explore many photographic avenues.

If you are deciding based on my direct testing: I recommend the Olympus for minimalist snapshooters constrained by pocket space or budget, and the Panasonic for photographers wanting an all-in-one bridge camera with modern features and serious zoom.

Each camera earns its place in the photographic ecosystem, but the FZ80 clearly leads in almost every technical regard and can better foster photographic growth - even if it requires a larger bag.

Happy shooting! If you have questions on specific genres or accessories to pair with these cameras, feel free to ask - I’ve spent countless hours testing both and can provide tailored advice.