Olympus E-30 vs Olympus SZ-16 iHS

Let's look a bit more in depth at the Olympus E-30 and Olympus SZ-16 iHS, one being a Advanced DSLR and the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom and both of them are manufactured by Olympus. There exists a big gap among the image resolutions of the E-30 (12MP) and SZ-16 iHS (16MP) and the E-30 (Four Thirds) and SZ-16 iHS (1/2.3") boast totally different sensor size.

Photography Glossary

The E-30 was revealed 4 years prior to the SZ-16 iHS and that is a fairly big gap as far as camera technology is concerned. The two cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-30 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Olympus SZ-16 iHS being a Compact camera.

Before we go right into a complete comparison, here is a simple summation of how the E-30 grades vs the SZ-16 iHS when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

This is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus E-30 and Olympus SZ-16 iHS. The full galleries are available at Olympus E-30 Gallery and Olympus SZ-16 iHS Gallery.

When you are intending to carry your camera regularly, you will want to take into account its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-30 has got physical dimensions of 142mm x 108mm x 75mm (5.6" x 4.3" x 3.0") accompanied by a weight of 695 grams (1.53 lbs) while the Olympus SZ-16 iHS has proportions of 108mm x 70mm x 40mm (4.3" x 2.8" x 1.6") and a weight of 226 grams (0.50 lbs).

Look at the Olympus E-30 and Olympus SZ-16 iHS in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change based on the lens you have attached at that moment. The following is a front view physical size comparison of the E-30 and the SZ-16 iHS.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-30 and SZ-16 iHS is 60 and 89 respectively.

Sometimes, it's hard to envision the difference in sensor sizing just by researching specs. The visual here will help provide you a clearer sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-30 and SZ-16 iHS.

As you can plainly see, both of these cameras have different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The E-30 with its bigger sensor will make shooting bokeh simpler and the Olympus SZ-16 iHS will provide you with greater detail because of its extra 4MP. Higher resolution will make it easier to crop pictures a bit more aggressively. The older E-30 will be behind when it comes to sensor technology.