Olympus E-3 vs Panasonic ZS45

Below is a thorough comparison of the Olympus E-3 and Panasonic ZS45, one being a Advanced DSLR and the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by competitors Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a significant gap among the image resolutions of the E-3 (10MP) and ZS45 (16MP) and the E-3 (Four Thirds) and ZS45 (1/2.3") enjoy totally different sensor measurements.

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The E-3 was revealed 7 years before the ZS45 and that is a fairly sizable gap as far as camera technology is concerned. The two cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-3 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Panasonic ZS45 being a Compact camera.

Before getting in to a full comparison, below is a short synopsis of how the E-3 matches up against the ZS45 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus E-3 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS45. The full galleries are available at Olympus E-3 Gallery and Panasonic ZS45 Gallery.

For anyone who is looking to lug around your camera frequently, you will want to factor its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-3 has external measurements 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 ZS45 has measurements of 108mm x 60mm x 32mm (4.3" x 2.4" x 1.3") and a weight of 249 grams (0.55 lbs).

Look at the Olympus E-3 and Panasonic ZS45 in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change dependant on the lens you have at the time. The following is the front view dimensions comparison of the E-3 vs the ZS45.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-3 and ZS45 is 56 and 91 respectively.

More often than not, its hard to see the contrast in sensor measurements purely by seeing a spec sheet. The photograph below may offer you a more clear sense of the sensor measurements in the E-3 and ZS45.

As you can see, each of these cameras offer different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The E-3 with its bigger sensor will make shooting shallower DOF less difficult and the Panasonic ZS45 will produce more detail because of its extra 6 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also make it easier to crop pictures a little more aggressively. The older E-3 will be behind in sensor technology.