Olympus E-30 vs Panasonic SZ8

Following is a detailed review of the Olympus E-30 versus Panasonic SZ8, one is a Advanced DSLR and the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by brands Olympus and Panasonic. There is a big difference between the image resolutions of the E-30 (12MP) and SZ8 (16MP) and the E-30 (Four Thirds) and SZ8 (1/2.3") provide different sensor sizing.

Photography Glossary

The E-30 was announced 5 years before the SZ8 which is quite a big gap as far as tech is concerned. Both of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-30 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Panasonic SZ8 being a Compact camera.

Before diving into a detailed comparison, here is a brief view of how the E-30 grades versus the SZ8 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Here is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus E-30 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ8. The whole galleries are viewable at Olympus E-30 Gallery and Panasonic SZ8 Gallery.

For anyone who is intending to carry around your camera often, you are going to need to take into account its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-30 enjoys external dimensions of 142mm x 108mm x 75mm (5.6" x 4.3" x 3.0") with a weight of 695 grams (1.53 lbs) and the Panasonic SZ8 has proportions of 100mm x 60mm x 27mm (3.9" x 2.4" x 1.1") with a weight of 159 grams (0.35 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus E-30 versus Panasonic SZ8 in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change based on the lens you are utilizing at the time. The following is a front view proportions comparison of the E-30 against the SZ8.

Using size and weight, the portability score of the E-30 and SZ8 is 60 and 94 respectively.

Usually, it's tough to picture the gap between sensor sizes purely by reading through specs. The picture here might offer you a greater sense of the sensor sizes in the E-30 and SZ8.

As you can plainly see, the two cameras have different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The E-30 using its bigger sensor is going to make getting bokeh less difficult and the Panasonic SZ8 will give greater detail with its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will allow you to crop pictures a bit more aggressively. The more aged E-30 is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor tech.