Olympus E-3 vs Panasonic ZS7
56 Imaging
44 Features
56 Overall
48
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91 Imaging
35 Features
33 Overall
34
Olympus E-3 vs Panasonic ZS7 Key Specs
(Full Review)
- 10MP - Four Thirds Sensor
- 2.5" Fully Articulated Display
- ISO 100 - 3200
- Sensor based Image Stabilization
- 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
- No Video
- Micro Four Thirds Mount
- 890g - 142 x 116 x 75mm
- Announced February 2008
- Earlier Model is Olympus E-1
- Newer Model is Olympus E-5
(Full Review)
- 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
- 3" Fixed Screen
- ISO 80 - 6400
- Optical Image Stabilization
- 1280 x 720 video
- 25-300mm (F3.3-4.9) lens
- 218g - 103 x 60 x 33mm
- Launched July 2011
- Alternate Name is Lumix DMC-TZ10
- Updated by Panasonic ZS8
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Olympus E-3 vs Panasonic ZS7 Overview
Lets look a bit more in depth at the Olympus E-3 and Panasonic ZS7, one is a Advanced DSLR and the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by manufacturers Olympus and Panasonic. The resolution of the E-3 (10MP) and the ZS7 (12MP) is relatively close but the E-3 (Four Thirds) and ZS7 (1/2.3") boast different sensor dimensions.
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The E-3 was announced 4 years before the ZS7 which is a fairly significant gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of these cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-3 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Panasonic ZS7 being a Compact camera.
Before getting into a full comparison, here is a concise summation of how the E-3 scores vs the ZS7 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.
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Olympus E-3 vs Panasonic ZS7 Gallery
Here is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus E-3 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7. The whole galleries are available at Olympus E-3 Gallery and Panasonic ZS7 Gallery.
Reasons to pick Olympus E-3 over the Panasonic ZS7
E-3 | ZS7 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Manually focus | ![]() | More precise focus | ||
Screen type | Fully Articulated | ![]() | Fixed | Fully Articulating screen |
Selfie screen | ![]() | Take selfies |
Reasons to pick Panasonic ZS7 over the Olympus E-3
ZS7 | E-3 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Launched | July 2011 | ![]() | February 2008 | Newer by 41 months |
Screen size | 3" | ![]() | 2.5" | Bigger screen (+0.5") |
Screen resolution | 460k | ![]() | 230k | Clearer screen (+230k dot) |
Common features in the Olympus E-3 and Panasonic ZS7
E-3 | ZS7 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Touch friendly screen | ![]() | Lacking Touch friendly screen |
Olympus E-3 vs Panasonic ZS7 Physical Comparison
For anyone who is planning to travel with your camera often, you will need to factor its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-3 comes with external dimensions of 142mm x 116mm x 75mm (5.6" x 4.6" x 3.0") and a weight of 890 grams (1.96 lbs) and the Panasonic ZS7 has measurements of 103mm x 60mm x 33mm (4.1" x 2.4" x 1.3") accompanied by a weight of 218 grams (0.48 lbs).
Contrast the Olympus E-3 and Panasonic ZS7 in the latest Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.
Bear in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change dependant on the lens you are using at that moment. Here is a front view scale comparison of the E-3 and the ZS7.
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Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-3 and ZS7 is 56 and 91 respectively.
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Olympus E-3 vs Panasonic ZS7 Sensor Comparison
Sometimes, it's difficult to visualize the gap in sensor dimensions just by viewing specs. The image here will give you a clearer sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-3 and ZS7.
As you can plainly see, both cameras come with different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The E-3 having a bigger sensor is going to make achieving shallower DOF easier and the Panasonic ZS7 will result in more detail with its extra 2MP. Higher resolution will let you crop photographs a good deal more aggressively. The more aged E-3 will be behind in sensor technology.
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Olympus E-3 vs Panasonic ZS7 Screen and ViewFinder
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Photography Type Scores
Portrait Comparison
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Street Comparison
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Sports Comparison
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Travel Comparison
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Landscape Comparison
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Vlogging Comparison
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Olympus E-3 vs Panasonic ZS7 Specifications
Olympus E-3 | Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7 | |
---|---|---|
General Information | ||
Brand Name | Olympus | Panasonic |
Model type | Olympus E-3 | Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7 |
Alternative name | - | Lumix DMC-TZ10 |
Class | Advanced DSLR | Small Sensor Superzoom |
Announced | 2008-02-20 | 2011-07-19 |
Physical type | Mid-size SLR | Compact |
Sensor Information | ||
Powered by | TruePic III | Venus Engine HD II |
Sensor type | CMOS | CCD |
Sensor size | Four Thirds | 1/2.3" |
Sensor measurements | 17.3 x 13mm | 6.08 x 4.56mm |
Sensor surface area | 224.9mm² | 27.7mm² |
Sensor resolution | 10 megapixel | 12 megapixel |
Anti alias filter | ||
Aspect ratio | 4:3 | 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 |
Full resolution | 3648 x 2736 | 4000 x 3000 |
Max native ISO | 3200 | 6400 |
Lowest native ISO | 100 | 80 |
RAW data | ||
Autofocusing | ||
Manual focusing | ||
AF touch | ||
Continuous AF | ||
AF single | ||
AF tracking | ||
AF selectice | ||
Center weighted AF | ||
AF multi area | ||
Live view AF | ||
Face detect focusing | ||
Contract detect focusing | ||
Phase detect focusing | ||
Total focus points | 11 | 11 |
Lens | ||
Lens mount type | Micro Four Thirds | fixed lens |
Lens zoom range | - | 25-300mm (12.0x) |
Maximal aperture | - | f/3.3-4.9 |
Macro focusing distance | - | 3cm |
Number of lenses | 45 | - |
Focal length multiplier | 2.1 | 5.9 |
Screen | ||
Type of display | Fully Articulated | Fixed Type |
Display size | 2.5 inch | 3 inch |
Display resolution | 230k dots | 460k dots |
Selfie friendly | ||
Liveview | ||
Touch display | ||
Viewfinder Information | ||
Viewfinder | Optical (pentaprism) | None |
Viewfinder coverage | 100 percent | - |
Viewfinder magnification | 0.58x | - |
Features | ||
Slowest shutter speed | 60s | 60s |
Maximum shutter speed | 1/8000s | 1/2000s |
Continuous shooting rate | 5.0 frames/s | 2.0 frames/s |
Shutter priority | ||
Aperture priority | ||
Expose Manually | ||
Exposure compensation | Yes | Yes |
Change WB | ||
Image stabilization | ||
Inbuilt flash | ||
Flash distance | 13.00 m | 5.30 m |
Flash options | Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye | Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow Syncro |
Hot shoe | ||
AE bracketing | ||
White balance bracketing | ||
Maximum flash synchronize | 1/250s | - |
Exposure | ||
Multisegment exposure | ||
Average exposure | ||
Spot exposure | ||
Partial exposure | ||
AF area exposure | ||
Center weighted exposure | ||
Video features | ||
Supported video resolutions | - | 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 848 x 480 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps) |
Max video resolution | None | 1280x720 |
Video file format | - | AVCHD Lite |
Microphone support | ||
Headphone support | ||
Connectivity | ||
Wireless | None | None |
Bluetooth | ||
NFC | ||
HDMI | ||
USB | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) |
GPS | None | BuiltIn |
Physical | ||
Environmental sealing | ||
Water proofing | ||
Dust proofing | ||
Shock proofing | ||
Crush proofing | ||
Freeze proofing | ||
Weight | 890 grams (1.96 pounds) | 218 grams (0.48 pounds) |
Physical dimensions | 142 x 116 x 75mm (5.6" x 4.6" x 3.0") | 103 x 60 x 33mm (4.1" x 2.4" x 1.3") |
DXO scores | ||
DXO All around rating | 56 | not tested |
DXO Color Depth rating | 21.6 | not tested |
DXO Dynamic range rating | 10.5 | not tested |
DXO Low light rating | 571 | not tested |
Other | ||
Self timer | Yes (2 or 12 sec) | Yes (2 or 10 sec) |
Time lapse shooting | ||
Storage type | Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card | SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal |
Card slots | One | One |
Price at launch | $670 | $350 |