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Olympus VH-515 vs Panasonic FZ1000

Portability
95
Imaging
36
Features
34
Overall
35
Olympus VH-515 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000 front
Portability
55
Imaging
51
Features
80
Overall
62

Olympus VH-515 vs Panasonic FZ1000 Key Specs

Olympus VH-515
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 1600
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 26-130mm (F2.8-6.5) lens
  • 152g - 102 x 60 x 21mm
  • Released August 2012
Panasonic FZ1000
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - 1" Sensor
  • 3" Fully Articulated Screen
  • ISO 125 - 12800 (Push to 25600)
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • 25-400mm (F2.8-4.0) lens
  • 831g - 137 x 99 x 131mm
  • Introduced June 2014
  • Refreshed by Panasonic FZ2500
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Olympus VH-515 vs Panasonic FZ1000 Overview

Below, we will be looking at the Olympus VH-515 versus Panasonic FZ1000, one is a Small Sensor Compact and the latter is a Large Sensor Superzoom by competitors Olympus and Panasonic. There is a big difference among the sensor resolutions of the VH-515 (12MP) and FZ1000 (20MP) and the VH-515 (1/2.3") and FZ1000 (1") possess totally different sensor dimensions.

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The VH-515 was introduced 22 months before the FZ1000 which makes the cameras a generation away from each other. Both cameras come with different body type with the Olympus VH-515 being a Compact camera and the Panasonic FZ1000 being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before we go straight into a in depth comparison, below is a short summation of how the VH-515 grades versus the FZ1000 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

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Reasons to pick Olympus VH-515 over the Panasonic FZ1000

 VH-515 FZ1000 
Touch friendly screen Quickly navigate

Reasons to pick Panasonic FZ1000 over the Olympus VH-515

 FZ1000 VH-515 
IntroducedJune 2014August 2012More modern by 22 months
Manually focus More accurate focus
Screen typeFully ArticulatedFixed Fully Articulating screen
Screen resolution921k460kClearer screen (+461k dot)
Selfie screen Easy selfies

Common features in the Olympus VH-515 and Panasonic FZ1000

 VH-515 FZ1000 
Screen dimension3"3"Identical screen sizing

Olympus VH-515 vs Panasonic FZ1000 Physical Comparison

For those who are planning to carry around your camera often, you will need to think about its weight and dimensions. The Olympus VH-515 offers external measurements of 102mm x 60mm x 21mm (4.0" x 2.4" x 0.8") accompanied by a weight of 152 grams (0.34 lbs) while the Panasonic FZ1000 has dimensions of 137mm x 99mm x 131mm (5.4" x 3.9" x 5.2") along with a weight of 831 grams (1.83 lbs).

Check out the Olympus VH-515 versus Panasonic FZ1000 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Bear in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ based on the lens you are utilizing at the time. Following is the front view measurements comparison of the VH-515 vs the FZ1000.

Olympus VH-515 vs Panasonic FZ1000 size comparison

Taking into account size and weight, the portability rating of the VH-515 and FZ1000 is 95 and 55 respectively.

Olympus VH-515 vs Panasonic FZ1000 top view buttons comparison

Olympus VH-515 vs Panasonic FZ1000 Sensor Comparison

Usually, it's hard to see the difference in sensor sizes purely by researching specs. The image here should give you a stronger sense of the sensor sizing in the VH-515 and FZ1000.

As you can plainly see, each of the cameras posses different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The VH-515 using its smaller sensor will make getting shallow depth of field harder and the Panasonic FZ1000 will result in more detail using its extra 8 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also make it easier to crop pictures somewhat more aggressively. The more aged VH-515 will be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor innovation.

Olympus VH-515 vs Panasonic FZ1000 sensor size comparison

Olympus VH-515 vs Panasonic FZ1000 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus VH-515 vs Panasonic FZ1000 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
Photography Glossary

Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus VH-515 Portrait photography highlights
Panasonic FZ1000 Portrait photography highlights
27
provides face detection autofocus
no manual focus
manual exposure not possible
no external flash support
megapixel count low (12MP)
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
does not have RAW support
70
has manual focus
decent MP (20 megapixels)
sensor size is good (1")
has face detection focusing
delivers RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Olympus VH-515
Street photography with Panasonic FZ1000
62
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
boasts touch focus
screen is fixed
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
does not have RAW support
70
screen can move to multiple angles
built in image stabilization (Optical)
sensor size is good (1")
delivers RAW formats
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Sports Comparison

Olympus VH-515 Sports photography details
Panasonic FZ1000 Sports photography details
32
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
provides tracking autofocus
slow frames per second (2.0 fps)
no shutter priority
megapixel count low (12 megapixels)
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
does not have phase detect autofocus
67
long zoom range (25-400mm 16.0 x zoom)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
decent MP (20MP)
sensor size is good (1")
has tracking autofocus
lack of phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Olympus VH-515
Travel photography with Panasonic FZ1000
62
boasts touch focus
built-in flash
pretty wide (26mm)
no Time Lapse function
megapixel count low (12 megapixels)
does not feature selfie friendly screen
somewhat slow max aperture (f2.8)
65
decent MP (20 megapixels)
has built in flash
selfie friendly screen
rather wide (25mm)
very long reach (400mm)
sluggish maximum aperture (f2.8)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus VH-515 Landscape photography info
Panasonic FZ1000 Landscape photography info
37
pretty wide (26mm)
decent sized screen (3 inch)
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
no manual focus
can't swap lenses (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow max aperture (f2.8)
manual exposure not possible
megapixel count low (12MP)
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
does not have RAW support
no Time Lapse function
64
has manual focus
rather wide (25mm)
nice screen size (3 inches)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
decent MP (20 megapixels)
sensor size is good (1")
delivers RAW formats
can't switch lenses (fixed lens mount)
sluggish maximum aperture (f2.8)
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Olympus VH-515
Vlogging with Panasonic FZ1000
35
pretty wide (26mm)
built-in touchscreen
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
provides face detection autofocus
high quality video (1920 x 1080 pxls)
somewhat slow max aperture (f2.8)
does not feature selfie friendly screen
no external mic port
66
rather wide (25mm)
selfie friendly screen
built in image stabilization (Optical)
has face detection focusing
video res high (3840 x 2160 pixels)
does have external mic port
sluggish maximum aperture (f2.8)
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Olympus VH-515 vs Panasonic FZ1000 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus VH-515 and Panasonic FZ1000
 Olympus VH-515Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000
General Information
Company Olympus Panasonic
Model type Olympus VH-515 Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000
Category Small Sensor Compact Large Sensor Superzoom
Released 2012-08-21 2014-06-12
Body design Compact SLR-like (bridge)
Sensor Information
Powered by TruePic III+ Venus Engine
Sensor type BSI-CMOS CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" 1"
Sensor dimensions 6.17 x 4.55mm 13.2 x 8.8mm
Sensor area 28.1mm² 116.2mm²
Sensor resolution 12 megapixels 20 megapixels
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 and 16:9 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Highest Possible resolution 4608 x 3456 5472 x 3648
Maximum native ISO 1600 12800
Maximum enhanced ISO - 25600
Lowest native ISO 100 125
RAW format
Lowest enhanced ISO - 80
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
AF touch
AF continuous
AF single
AF tracking
Selective AF
Center weighted AF
Multi area AF
AF live view
Face detection AF
Contract detection AF
Phase detection AF
Total focus points - 49
Lens
Lens mount type fixed lens fixed lens
Lens zoom range 26-130mm (5.0x) 25-400mm (16.0x)
Largest aperture f/2.8-6.5 f/2.8-4.0
Macro focusing distance 5cm 3cm
Focal length multiplier 5.8 2.7
Screen
Range of screen Fixed Type Fully Articulated
Screen diagonal 3 inch 3 inch
Resolution of screen 460k dot 921k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch functionality
Screen technology TFT Color LCD -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder None Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 2,359k dot
Viewfinder coverage - 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification - 0.7x
Features
Minimum shutter speed 4 secs 60 secs
Fastest shutter speed 1/2000 secs 1/4000 secs
Continuous shutter speed 2.0fps 12.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation - Yes
Set WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash distance 4.70 m 13.50 m (at Auto ISO)
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Forced On/Red-eye Reduction, Slow Sync, Slow Sync/Red-eye Reduction, Forced Off
Hot shoe
AEB
WB bracketing
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (30 fps), 1280 x 720 (30,15 fps), 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 180 (30,15 fps) 3840x2160 (30p), 1920 x 1080 (60p, 60i, 30p, 24p) 1280x720 (30p), 640 x 480 (30p)
Maximum video resolution 1920x1080 3840x2160
Video file format MPEG-4, H.264 MPEG-4, AVCHD
Mic jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless Eye-Fi Connected Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 152g (0.34 lbs) 831g (1.83 lbs)
Dimensions 102 x 60 x 21mm (4.0" x 2.4" x 0.8") 137 x 99 x 131mm (5.4" x 3.9" x 5.2")
DXO scores
DXO Overall rating not tested 64
DXO Color Depth rating not tested 22.1
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested 11.7
DXO Low light rating not tested 517
Other
Battery life - 360 photos
Form of battery - Battery Pack
Battery ID LI-50B DMW-BLC12PP
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes
Time lapse recording
Storage media SD/SDHC/SDXC -
Storage slots One One
Price at release $648 $800