Olympus E-3 vs Panasonic FZ60

Its time to look more closely at the Olympus E-3 vs Panasonic FZ60, one being a Advanced DSLR and the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom by brands Olympus and Panasonic. There is a significant difference between the sensor resolutions of the E-3 (10MP) and FZ60 (16MP) and the E-3 (Four Thirds) and FZ60 (1/2.3") provide different sensor sizes.

Photography Glossary

The E-3 was revealed 5 years prior to the FZ60 and that is quite a sizable gap as far as tech is concerned. Both of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-3 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Panasonic FZ60 being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before going straight to a comprehensive comparison, here is a simple summation of how the E-3 matches up versus the FZ60 for portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus E-3 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ60. The full galleries are viewable at Olympus E-3 Gallery and Panasonic FZ60 Gallery.

For anyone who is aiming to lug around your camera often, you are going to need to take into account its weight and size. The Olympus E-3 offers external measurements of 142mm x 116mm x 75mm (5.6" x 4.6" x 3.0") accompanied by a weight of 890 grams (1.96 lbs) while the Panasonic FZ60 has specifications of 120mm x 81mm x 92mm (4.7" x 3.2" x 3.6") with a weight of 493 grams (1.09 lbs).

Check the Olympus E-3 vs Panasonic FZ60 in the latest Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ based on the lens you are employing at the time. Underneath is a front view proportions comparison of the E-3 and the FZ60.

Looking at size and weight, the portability score of the E-3 and FZ60 is 56 and 68 respectively.

In many cases, it's tough to visualize the contrast between sensor measurements only by checking technical specs. The visual underneath will offer you a far better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-3 and FZ60.

As you can tell, both of the cameras provide different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-3 with its larger sensor is going to make shooting shallower depth of field less difficult and the Panasonic FZ60 will resolve greater detail because of its extra 6MP. Greater resolution will also make it easier to crop images more aggressively. The older E-3 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor innovation.