Olympus E-300 vs Panasonic GH1

Below is a comprehensive assessment of the Olympus E-300 and Panasonic GH1, former being a Advanced DSLR while the other is a Advanced Mirrorless by manufacturers Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a noticeable gap among the image resolutions of the E-300 (8MP) and GH1 (12MP) but they enjoy the same exact sensor sizes (Four Thirds).

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The E-300 was launched 5 years before the GH1 and that is a fairly sizable difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of these cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-300 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Panasonic GH1 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera.

Before diving through a thorough comparison, below is a simple highlight of how the E-300 matches up vs the GH1 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus E-300 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1. The complete galleries are available at Olympus E-300 Gallery & Panasonic GH1 Gallery.

For anybody who is aiming to lug around your camera often, you'll have to factor its weight and size. The Olympus E-300 offers physical measurements of 147mm x 85mm x 64mm (5.8" x 3.3" x 2.5") accompanied by a weight of 624 grams (1.38 lbs) while the Panasonic GH1 has specifications of 124mm x 90mm x 45mm (4.9" x 3.5" x 1.8") having a weight of 385 grams (0.85 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-300 and Panasonic GH1 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you select at the time. Here is the front view proportions comparison of the E-300 against the GH1.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-300 and GH1 is 67 and 81 respectively.

Quite often, it can be tough to picture the contrast in sensor measurements purely by seeing a spec sheet. The photograph below should offer you a stronger sense of the sensor sizing in the E-300 and GH1.

Clearly, both of those cameras offer the same exact sensor sizing but different MP. You can expect to see the Panasonic GH1 to provide more detail utilizing its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also enable you to crop pics a little more aggressively. The older E-300 will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor tech.