Olympus E-300 vs Panasonic F5

Here is a complete overview of the Olympus E-300 and Panasonic F5, former being a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by brands Olympus and Panasonic. There is a noticeable difference between the sensor resolutions of the E-300 (8MP) and F5 (14MP) and the E-300 (Four Thirds) and F5 (1/2.3") enjoy different sensor sizes.

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The E-300 was released 9 years prior to the F5 and that is quite a sizable difference as far as tech is concerned. Both of the cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-300 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Panasonic F5 being a Compact camera.

Before we go straight into a more detailed comparison, below is a simple view of how the E-300 grades versus the F5 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

This is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus E-300 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-F5. The complete galleries are provided at Olympus E-300 Gallery & Panasonic F5 Gallery.

When you are aiming to carry your camera, you're going to have to factor in its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-300 has outer measurements of 147mm x 85mm x 64mm (5.8" x 3.3" x 2.5") with a weight of 624 grams (1.38 lbs) while the Panasonic F5 has dimensions of 97mm x 58mm x 22mm (3.8" x 2.3" x 0.9") with a weight of 121 grams (0.27 lbs).

See the Olympus E-300 and Panasonic F5 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you have at the time. Following is the front view scale comparison of the E-300 compared to the F5.

Considering size and weight, the portability score of the E-300 and F5 is 67 and 96 respectively.

Generally, it can be tough to visualize the gap between sensor sizing purely by reviewing a spec sheet. The photograph here may offer you a far better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-300 and F5.

As you can see, each of the cameras offer different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The E-300 because of its bigger sensor is going to make shooting shallower DOF less difficult and the Panasonic F5 will offer you more detail as a result of its extra 6 Megapixels. Higher resolution will help you crop pictures a little more aggressively. The older E-300 is going to be behind when it comes to sensor technology.