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Olympus TG-860 vs Panasonic ZR1

Portability
91
Imaging
41
Features
42
Overall
41
Olympus Stylus Tough TG-860 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZR1 front
Portability
94
Imaging
35
Features
17
Overall
27

Olympus TG-860 vs Panasonic ZR1 Key Specs

Olympus TG-860
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 125 - 6400
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 21-105mm (F3.5-5.7) lens
  • 224g - 110 x 64 x 28mm
  • Launched February 2015
  • Successor is Olympus TG-870
Panasonic ZR1
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 80 - 6400
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 25-200mm (F3.3-5.9) lens
  • 158g - 98 x 55 x 26mm
  • Revealed July 2009
  • Alternative Name is Lumix DMC-ZX1
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Olympus TG-860 vs Panasonic ZR1 Overview

Lets look a bit more closely at the Olympus TG-860 and Panasonic ZR1, former being a Waterproof while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by companies Olympus and Panasonic. There is a considerable difference between the image resolutions of the TG-860 (16MP) and ZR1 (12MP) but they possess the exact same sensor dimensions (1/2.3").

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The TG-860 was released 5 years later than the ZR1 and that is quite a large difference as far as tech is concerned. Both of these cameras come with different body type with the Olympus TG-860 being a Ultracompact camera and the Panasonic ZR1 being a Compact camera.

Before diving through a detailed comparison, below is a short synopsis of how the TG-860 matches up against the ZR1 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Olympus TG-860 over the Panasonic ZR1

 TG-860 ZR1 
RevealedFebruary 2015July 2009Fresher by 68 months
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen dimension3"2.7"Bigger screen (+0.3")
Screen resolution460k230kCrisper screen (+230k dot)

Reasons to pick Panasonic ZR1 over the Olympus TG-860

 ZR1 TG-860 

Common features in the Olympus TG-860 and Panasonic ZR1

 TG-860 ZR1 
Manually focus Lack of manual focusing
Selfie screen Neither provides selfie screen
Touch friendly screen Missing Touch friendly screen

Olympus TG-860 vs Panasonic ZR1 Physical Comparison

For anybody who is looking to carry your camera regularly, you're going to have to think about its weight and measurements. The Olympus TG-860 provides physical measurements of 110mm x 64mm x 28mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.1") with a weight of 224 grams (0.49 lbs) and the Panasonic ZR1 has proportions of 98mm x 55mm x 26mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 1.0") with a weight of 158 grams (0.35 lbs).

Check the Olympus TG-860 and Panasonic ZR1 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you use at that moment. Following is the front view overall size comparison of the TG-860 and the ZR1.

Olympus TG-860 vs Panasonic ZR1 size comparison

Using size and weight, the portability rating of the TG-860 and ZR1 is 91 and 94 respectively.

Olympus TG-860 vs Panasonic ZR1 top view buttons comparison

Olympus TG-860 vs Panasonic ZR1 Sensor Comparison

Usually, it can be difficult to visualize the difference between sensor sizing simply by checking a spec sheet. The graphic underneath might offer you a stronger sense of the sensor measurements in the TG-860 and ZR1.

As you can see, the two cameras posses the exact same sensor measurements albeit different resolution. You can count on the Olympus TG-860 to resolve extra detail as a result of its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will allow you to crop pictures somewhat more aggressively. The fresher TG-860 provides an edge when it comes to sensor technology.

Olympus TG-860 vs Panasonic ZR1 sensor size comparison

Olympus TG-860 vs Panasonic ZR1 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus TG-860 vs Panasonic ZR1 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus TG-860 Portrait photography info
Panasonic ZR1 Portrait photography info
36
sensor resolution is decent (16MP)
offers face detection autofocus
focusing manually not possible
no manual control
external flash not possible
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
has no RAW format
21
focusing manually not possible
manual mode not possible
external flash not possible
low megapixels (12 megapixels)
small sensor size (1/2.3")
has no RAW format
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Street Comparison

Olympus TG-860 Street photography advice
Panasonic ZR1 Street photography advice
69
has a tilting screen
has image stabilization (Optical)
weather proofing
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
has no RAW format
56
built in image stabilization (Optical)
screen does not articulate
small sensor size (1/2.3")
has no RAW format
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Sports Comparison

Sports photography with Olympus TG-860
Sports photography with Panasonic ZR1
49
has image stabilization (Optical)
sensor resolution is decent (16 megapixels)
offers tracking autofocus
weather proofing
no shutter priority mode
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
has no phase detect autofocus
25
built in image stabilization (Optical)
very slow continuous shooting (2.0 frames/s)
no shutter priority mode
low megapixels (12MP)
small sensor size (1/2.3")
has no phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus TG-860 Travel photography advice
Panasonic ZR1 Travel photography advice
71
weather proofing
sensor resolution is decent (16 megapixels)
flash built-in
reasonably wide (21mm)
screen is not selfie friendly
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
57
built-in flash
rather wide (25mm)
lack of Timelapse function
low megapixels (12 megapixels)
does not contain selfie friendly screen
sluggish max aperture (f3.3)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus TG-860 Landscape photography details
Panasonic ZR1 Landscape photography details
48
reasonably wide (21mm)
decent sized screen (3 inch)
has image stabilization (Optical)
sensor resolution is decent (16 megapixels)
weather proofing
focusing manually not possible
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
no manual control
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
has no RAW format
32
rather wide (25mm)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
focusing manually not possible
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
sluggish max aperture (f3.3)
screen is somewhat small (2.7 inches)
manual mode not possible
low megapixels (12 megapixels)
small sensor size (1/2.3")
has no RAW format
lack of Timelapse function
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Olympus TG-860
Vlogging with Panasonic ZR1
33
reasonably wide (21mm)
has image stabilization (Optical)
offers face detection autofocus
high quality video (1920 x 1080 pxls)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
screen is not selfie friendly
doesn't have external microphone jack
28
rather wide (25mm)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
sluggish max aperture (f3.3)
does not contain selfie friendly screen
video quality not great (1280 x 720 pixels)
lack of microphone port
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Olympus TG-860 vs Panasonic ZR1 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus TG-860 and Panasonic ZR1
 Olympus Stylus Tough TG-860Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZR1
General Information
Manufacturer Olympus Panasonic
Model type Olympus Stylus Tough TG-860 Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZR1
Also called - Lumix DMC-ZX1
Category Waterproof Small Sensor Compact
Launched 2015-02-06 2009-07-27
Body design Ultracompact Compact
Sensor Information
Processor TruePic VII Venus Engine V
Sensor type CMOS CCD
Sensor size 1/2.3" 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 6.17 x 4.55mm 6.08 x 4.56mm
Sensor area 28.1mm² 27.7mm²
Sensor resolution 16 megapixels 12 megapixels
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Highest Possible resolution 4608 x 3456 4000 x 3000
Maximum native ISO 6400 6400
Min native ISO 125 80
RAW photos
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch to focus
Continuous AF
Single AF
Tracking AF
Selective AF
AF center weighted
AF multi area
AF live view
Face detection AF
Contract detection AF
Phase detection AF
Total focus points - 11
Lens
Lens mount type fixed lens fixed lens
Lens zoom range 21-105mm (5.0x) 25-200mm (8.0x)
Maximal aperture f/3.5-5.7 f/3.3-5.9
Macro focusing range 1cm 3cm
Crop factor 5.8 5.9
Screen
Screen type Tilting Fixed Type
Screen size 3" 2.7"
Resolution of screen 460 thousand dot 230 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch functionality
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type None None
Features
Minimum shutter speed 4 secs 60 secs
Fastest shutter speed 1/2000 secs 1/2000 secs
Continuous shutter speed 7.0fps 2.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Change WB
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash distance 4.00 m (at ISO 1600) 5.10 m
Flash settings Auto, redeye reduction, fill flash, off, LED illuminator Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow Sync
External flash
Auto exposure bracketing
White balance bracketing
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60p), 1280 x 720 (60p), 640 x 480 (60p) 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 848 x 480 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps)
Maximum video resolution 1920x1080 1280x720
Video data format H.264 Motion JPEG
Microphone jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless Built-In None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS Yes None
Physical
Environment seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 224g (0.49 lb) 158g (0.35 lb)
Dimensions 110 x 64 x 28mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.1") 98 x 55 x 26mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 1.0")
DXO scores
DXO Overall rating not tested not tested
DXO Color Depth rating not tested not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested not tested
DXO Low light rating not tested not tested
Other
Battery life 300 photos -
Style of battery Battery Pack -
Battery ID Li-50B -
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec, custom) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse recording
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal SD/SDHC card, Internal
Storage slots Single Single
Pricing at release $279 $280