Olympus E-3 vs Panasonic ZS30

On this page, we are contrasting the Olympus E-3 versus Panasonic ZS30, former being a Advanced DSLR while the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom by brands Olympus and Panasonic. There is a considerable difference between the image resolutions of the E-3 (10MP) and ZS30 (18MP) and the E-3 (Four Thirds) and ZS30 (1/2.3") offer different sensor sizing.

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The E-3 was revealed 5 years before the ZS30 and that is quite a large difference as far as tech is concerned. The two cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-3 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Panasonic ZS30 being a Compact camera.

Before going right into a thorough comparison, here is a brief highlight of how the E-3 matches up vs the ZS30 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus E-3 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS30. The full galleries are available at Olympus E-3 Gallery & Panasonic ZS30 Gallery.

In case you're planning to lug around your camera frequently, you will need to take into account its weight and volume. The Olympus E-3 provides physical dimensions of 142mm x 116mm x 75mm (5.6" x 4.6" x 3.0") having a weight of 890 grams (1.96 lbs) while the Panasonic ZS30 has sizing of 105mm x 59mm x 28mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 1.1") with a weight of 198 grams (0.44 lbs).

Check the Olympus E-3 versus Panasonic ZS30 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you are utilizing at that time. The following is a front view scale comparison of the E-3 compared to the ZS30.

Considering size and weight, the portability rating of the E-3 and ZS30 is 56 and 92 respectively.

Oftentimes, it is difficult to imagine the gap between sensor measurements only by looking at a spec sheet. The visual here may offer you a far better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-3 and ZS30.

Clearly, the 2 cameras have different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-3 using its larger sensor is going to make getting shallow depth of field simpler and the Panasonic ZS30 will give extra detail because of its extra 8MP. Greater resolution will let you crop pics a bit more aggressively. The older E-3 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor innovation.