Olympus XZ-1 vs Panasonic FZ70

Let's examine more closely at the Olympus XZ-1 and Panasonic FZ70, former is a Small Sensor Compact while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by rivals Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a sizable gap between the sensor resolutions of the XZ-1 (10MP) and FZ70 (16MP) and the XZ-1 (1/1.63") and FZ70 (1/2.3") enjoy different sensor sizing.

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The XZ-1 was launched 3 years before the FZ70 which is quite a significant difference as far as technology is concerned. Both of these cameras come with different body type with the Olympus XZ-1 being a Compact camera and the Panasonic FZ70 being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before going in to a complete comparison, below is a short overview of how the XZ-1 scores against the FZ70 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Below is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus XZ-1 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ70. The complete galleries are provided at Olympus XZ-1 Gallery & Panasonic FZ70 Gallery.

If you're planning to carry around your camera frequently, you will have to take into account its weight and size. The Olympus XZ-1 provides external measurements of 111mm x 65mm x 42mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.7") with a weight of 275 grams (0.61 lbs) and the Panasonic FZ70 has specifications of 130mm x 97mm x 118mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 4.6") having a weight of 606 grams (1.34 lbs).

Examine the Olympus XZ-1 and Panasonic FZ70 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you are using at that time. Following is the front view dimension comparison of the XZ-1 and the FZ70.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the XZ-1 and FZ70 is 88 and 63 respectively.

Quite often, it is very hard to imagine the gap between sensor sizes merely by reviewing a spec sheet. The image below will help give you a much better sense of the sensor measurements in the XZ-1 and FZ70.

As you can see, each of these cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The XZ-1 featuring a bigger sensor is going to make achieving shallow DOF simpler and the Panasonic FZ70 will deliver extra detail utilizing its extra 6MP. Higher resolution will enable you to crop photographs somewhat more aggressively. The more aged XZ-1 is going to be behind in sensor innovation.