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Olympus VG-145 vs Panasonic ZS40

Portability
96
Imaging
37
Features
24
Overall
31
Olympus VG-145 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS40 front
Portability
90
Imaging
43
Features
58
Overall
49

Olympus VG-145 vs Panasonic ZS40 Key Specs

Olympus VG-145
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 80 - 1600
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 26-130mm (F2.8-6.5) lens
  • 120g - 96 x 57 x 19mm
  • Launched July 2011
Panasonic ZS40
(Full Review)
  • 18MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 3200 (Bump to 6400)
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 24-720mm (F3.3-6.4) lens
  • 240g - 111 x 64 x 34mm
  • Released January 2014
  • Alternative Name is Lumix DMC-TZ60
  • Previous Model is Panasonic ZS35
  • Updated by Panasonic ZS45
Photography Glossary

Olympus VG-145 vs Panasonic ZS40 Overview

Lets look a bit more in depth at the Olympus VG-145 vs Panasonic ZS40, former is a Ultracompact while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by companies Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a large gap among the sensor resolutions of the VG-145 (14MP) and ZS40 (18MP) but both cameras have the same sensor sizing (1/2.3").

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The VG-145 was announced 3 years prior to the ZS40 which is a fairly serious difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus VG-145 being a Ultracompact camera and the Panasonic ZS40 being a Compact camera.

Before delving straight to a in-depth comparison, here is a brief view of how the VG-145 matches up vs the ZS40 for portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

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Reasons to pick Olympus VG-145 over the Panasonic ZS40

 VG-145 ZS40 

Reasons to pick Panasonic ZS40 over the Olympus VG-145

 ZS40 VG-145 
ReleasedJanuary 2014July 2011Newer by 29 months
Manually focus More precise focus
Screen resolution920k230kClearer screen (+690k dot)

Common features in the Olympus VG-145 and Panasonic ZS40

 VG-145 ZS40 
Screen typeFixed Fixed Fixed screen
Screen dimensions3"3"Equal screen measurement
Selfie screen Neither offers selfie screen
Touch friendly screen Neither offers Touch friendly screen

Olympus VG-145 vs Panasonic ZS40 Physical Comparison

For anybody who is planning to travel with your camera often, you are going to need to factor in its weight and size. The Olympus VG-145 offers external measurements of 96mm x 57mm x 19mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.7") and a weight of 120 grams (0.26 lbs) whilst the Panasonic ZS40 has specifications of 111mm x 64mm x 34mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.3") with a weight of 240 grams (0.53 lbs).

Check the Olympus VG-145 vs Panasonic ZS40 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you are utilizing at that moment. Underneath is a front view dimension comparison of the VG-145 and the ZS40.

Olympus VG-145 vs Panasonic ZS40 size comparison

Using dimensions and weight, the portability score of the VG-145 and ZS40 is 96 and 90 respectively.

Olympus VG-145 vs Panasonic ZS40 top view buttons comparison

Olympus VG-145 vs Panasonic ZS40 Sensor Comparison

Typically, it is hard to see the gap in sensor dimensions merely by researching specs. The picture underneath will help provide you a more clear sense of the sensor measurements in the VG-145 and ZS40.

As you can plainly see, each of these cameras provide the same sensor dimensions albeit not the same resolution. You can expect the Panasonic ZS40 to render greater detail with its extra 4MP. Higher resolution will make it easier to crop pictures more aggressively. The more aged VG-145 will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor technology.

Olympus VG-145 vs Panasonic ZS40 sensor size comparison

Olympus VG-145 vs Panasonic ZS40 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus VG-145 vs Panasonic ZS40 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus VG-145 as a Portrait photography camera
Panasonic ZS40 as a Portrait photography camera
33
MP count good (14MP)
offers face detection focus
no manual focus
manual exposure not available
external flash not possible
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
lacks RAW format
52
focusing manually
decent MP (18MP)
comes with face detection focus
exports RAW formats
no external flash support
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
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Street Comparison

Olympus VG-145 Street photography factors
Panasonic ZS40 Street photography factors
48
screen is fixed
does not have image stabilization
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
lacks RAW format
69
has image stabilization (Optical)
exports RAW formats
lighter than competition in class (240 grams)
no articulating screen
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
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Sports Comparison

Olympus VG-145 as a Sports photography camera
Panasonic ZS40 as a Sports photography camera
26
MP count good (14 megapixels)
lack of shutter priority mode
does not have image stabilization
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
terrible battery (160 shots)
lacks phase detect auto focus
54
long zoom range (24-720mm 30.0 x zoom)
has image stabilization (Optical)
decent MP (18MP)
comes with tracking autofocus
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
doesn't have phase detect auto focus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus VG-145 as a Travel photography camera
Panasonic ZS40 as a Travel photography camera
62
MP count good (14 megapixels)
flash built-in
fairly wide (26mm)
missing Timelapse mode
terrible battery (160 per charge)
display isn't selfie friendly
slow maximum aperture (f2.8)
69
lighter than competition in class (240 grams)
decent MP (18MP)
flash built-in
pretty wide (24mm)
long reach (720mm)
missing Timelapse mode
doesn't contain selfie friendly screen
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.3)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus VG-145 Landscape photography features
Panasonic ZS40 Landscape photography features
36
fairly wide (26mm)
pretty good screen size (3")
MP count good (14 megapixels)
no manual focus
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
slow maximum aperture (f2.8)
manual exposure not available
does not have image stabilization
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
lacks RAW format
terrible battery (160 per charge)
missing Timelapse mode
56
focusing manually
pretty wide (24mm)
screen is a decent size (3")
has image stabilization (Optical)
decent MP (18 megapixels)
exports RAW formats
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.3)
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
missing Timelapse mode
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus VG-145 Vlogging info
Panasonic ZS40 Vlogging info
28
fairly wide (26mm)
offers face detection focus
slow maximum aperture (f2.8)
display isn't selfie friendly
does not have image stabilization
low video resolution (1280 x 720 pixels)
missing external microphone jack
34
pretty wide (24mm)
has image stabilization (Optical)
comes with face detection focus
video res high (1920 x 1080 resolution)
lighter than competition in class (240 grams)
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.3)
doesn't contain selfie friendly screen
missing external microphone port
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Olympus VG-145 vs Panasonic ZS40 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus VG-145 and Panasonic ZS40
 Olympus VG-145Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS40
General Information
Brand Name Olympus Panasonic
Model type Olympus VG-145 Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS40
Also Known as - Lumix DMC-TZ60
Type Ultracompact Small Sensor Superzoom
Launched 2011-07-27 2014-01-06
Body design Ultracompact Compact
Sensor Information
Chip TruePic III Venus Engine
Sensor type CCD CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 6.17 x 4.55mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor surface area 28.1mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 14MP 18MP
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Full resolution 4288 x 3216 4896 x 3672
Max native ISO 1600 3200
Max boosted ISO - 6400
Lowest native ISO 80 100
RAW photos
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
AF touch
AF continuous
AF single
Tracking AF
AF selectice
AF center weighted
Multi area AF
Live view AF
Face detection AF
Contract detection AF
Phase detection AF
Total focus points - 23
Cross type focus points - -
Lens
Lens mount type fixed lens fixed lens
Lens zoom range 26-130mm (5.0x) 24-720mm (30.0x)
Maximum aperture f/2.8-6.5 f/3.3-6.4
Macro focusing distance 1cm 3cm
Crop factor 5.8 5.8
Screen
Range of screen Fixed Type Fixed Type
Screen sizing 3 inch 3 inch
Screen resolution 230k dot 920k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch operation
Screen tech TFT Color LCD TFT LCD with AR coating
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type None Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 200k dot
Viewfinder coverage - 100 percent
Features
Lowest shutter speed 4 secs 4 secs
Highest shutter speed 1/2000 secs 1/2000 secs
Continuous shooting speed - 10.0 frames per sec
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation - Yes
Change WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash distance 4.40 m 6.40 m
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Slow Sync./Red-eye Reduction, Forced Off
Hot shoe
Auto exposure bracketing
WB bracketing
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30, 15fps), 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 240 (30, 15fps) 1920 x 1080 (60p/60i/30p), 1280 x 720 (60p/30p), 640 x 480 (30p)
Max video resolution 1280x720 1920x1080
Video format Motion JPEG MPEG-4, AVCHD
Microphone jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None BuiltIn
Physical
Environment seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 120g (0.26 lbs) 240g (0.53 lbs)
Physical dimensions 96 x 57 x 19mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.7") 111 x 64 x 34mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.3")
DXO scores
DXO All around 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 160 photos 300 photos
Form of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID LI-70B -
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse feature
Storage media SD/SDHC SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal
Storage slots Single Single
Price at launch $0 $450