Olympus TG-860 vs Panasonic ZS7

Let's look a little more in depth at the Olympus TG-860 and Panasonic ZS7, former being a Waterproof while the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom by rivals Olympus and Panasonic. There is a large difference among the image resolutions of the TG-860 (16MP) and ZS7 (12MP) but they use the same exact sensor dimensions (1/2.3").

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The TG-860 was launched 3 years later than the ZS7 and that is a fairly serious difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Both of these cameras offer different body type with the Olympus TG-860 being a Ultracompact camera and the Panasonic ZS7 being a Compact camera.

Before diving in to a comprehensive comparison, below is a quick view of how the TG-860 scores against the ZS7 for portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Below is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus Stylus Tough TG-860 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7. The complete galleries are provided at Olympus TG-860 Gallery & Panasonic ZS7 Gallery.

In case you're aiming to lug around your camera often, you need to factor in its weight and proportions. The Olympus TG-860 enjoys external measurements of 110mm x 64mm x 28mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.1") and a weight of 224 grams (0.49 lbs) and the Panasonic ZS7 has measurements of 103mm x 60mm x 33mm (4.1" x 2.4" x 1.3") accompanied by a weight of 218 grams (0.48 lbs).

See the Olympus TG-860 and Panasonic ZS7 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you are employing at that moment. Underneath is the front view measurement comparison of the TG-860 versus the ZS7.

Factoring in size and weight, the portability rating of the TG-860 and ZS7 is 91 and 91 respectively.

Usually, it is hard to visualize the difference in sensor measurements purely by looking through specs. The graphic underneath will give you a far better sense of the sensor sizing in the TG-860 and ZS7.

As you can plainly see, both the cameras enjoy the same exact sensor sizing but different megapixels. You can expect to see the Olympus TG-860 to render extra detail utilizing its extra 4MP. Greater resolution will also allow you to crop photos far more aggressively. The newer TG-860 provides an advantage with regard to sensor tech.