Olympus E-300 vs Olympus SH-50

Below is a thorough review of the Olympus E-300 and Olympus SH-50, one being a Advanced DSLR and the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom and they are both designed by Olympus. There exists a huge gap among the resolutions of the E-300 (8MP) and SH-50 (16MP) and the E-300 (Four Thirds) and SH-50 (1/2.3") provide totally different sensor sizing.

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The E-300 was released 9 years prior to the SH-50 and that is a fairly significant gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Both cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-300 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Olympus SH-50 being a Compact camera.

Before delving straight to a complete comparison, here is a brief overview of how the E-300 grades versus the SH-50 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus E-300 and Olympus SH-50. The complete galleries are available at Olympus E-300 Gallery and Olympus SH-50 Gallery.

When you are planning to lug around your camera, you need to take into account its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-300 has physical measurements of 147mm x 85mm x 64mm (5.8" x 3.3" x 2.5") having a weight of 624 grams (1.38 lbs) whilst the Olympus SH-50 has measurements of 112mm x 63mm x 42mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.7") having a weight of 269 grams (0.59 lbs).

Compare the Olympus E-300 and Olympus SH-50 in the latest Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ dependant on the lens you are employing at that time. The following is a front view dimension comparison of the E-300 against the SH-50.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-300 and SH-50 is 67 and 88 respectively.

Quite often, its tough to see the gap in sensor measurements simply by going through a spec sheet. The visual here might give you a more clear sense of the sensor measurements in the E-300 and SH-50.

As you can see, both of those cameras have different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The E-300 due to its bigger sensor will make shooting shallower depth of field easier and the Olympus SH-50 will produce more detail as a result of its extra 8 Megapixels. Higher resolution will allow you to crop shots a bit more aggressively. The older E-300 will be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor innovation.