Olympus E-1 vs Panasonic FH2

Its time to look much closer at the Olympus E-1 and Panasonic FH2, former being a Pro DSLR while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by manufacturers Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a sizable gap among the resolutions of the E-1 (5MP) and FH2 (14MP) and the E-1 (Four Thirds) and FH2 (1/2.3") use different sensor size.

Body cameras now worn by bakery staff to deter stealing

The E-1 was revealed 8 years before the FH2 and that is a fairly significant difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of the cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-1 being a Large SLR camera and the Panasonic FH2 being a Compact camera.

Before we go in to a step-by-step comparison, below is a simple summary of how the E-1 grades against the FH2 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus E-1 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH2. The full galleries are viewable at Olympus E-1 Gallery & Panasonic FH2 Gallery.

If you are going to lug around your camera regularly, you are going to need to factor its weight and volume. The Olympus E-1 comes with outer measurements of 141mm x 104mm x 81mm (5.6" x 4.1" x 3.2") and a weight of 735 grams (1.62 lbs) while the Panasonic FH2 has sizing of 94mm x 54mm x 19mm (3.7" x 2.1" x 0.7") accompanied by a weight of 121 grams (0.27 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus E-1 and Panasonic FH2 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you are utilising at the time. Underneath is the front view dimensions comparison of the E-1 and the FH2.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-1 and FH2 is 59 and 96 respectively.

Sometimes, its tough to visualize the gap in sensor measurements merely by researching technical specs. The visual below will give you a greater sense of the sensor measurements in the E-1 and FH2.

As you have seen, both of the cameras enjoy different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-1 using its bigger sensor is going to make shooting shallow DOF simpler and the Panasonic FH2 will provide you with more detail because of its extra 9 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also allow you to crop shots far more aggressively. The older E-1 will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor innovation.