Olympus E-300 vs Panasonic ZR3

Here is a detailed assessment of the Olympus E-300 and Panasonic ZR3, one being a Advanced DSLR and the other is a Small Sensor Compact by competitors Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a huge gap between the resolutions of the E-300 (8MP) and ZR3 (14MP) and the E-300 (Four Thirds) and ZR3 (1/2.3") enjoy different sensor sizing.

Photography Glossary

The E-300 was manufactured 6 years earlier than the ZR3 and that is quite a significant gap as far as technology is concerned. Both of these cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-300 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Panasonic ZR3 being a Compact camera.

Before we go in to a complete comparison, below is a quick introduction of how the E-300 scores vs the ZR3 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Below is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus E-300 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZR3. The entire galleries are provided at Olympus E-300 Gallery and Panasonic ZR3 Gallery.

In case you're looking to carry your camera regularly, you're going to have to take into account its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-300 has physical dimensions of 147mm x 85mm x 64mm (5.8" x 3.3" x 2.5") having a weight of 624 grams (1.38 lbs) and the Panasonic ZR3 has dimensions of 98mm x 55mm x 26mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 1.0") having a weight of 159 grams (0.35 lbs).

Look at the Olympus E-300 and Panasonic ZR3 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary dependant on the lens you have attached during that time. Here is the front view measurement comparison of the E-300 against the ZR3.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-300 and ZR3 is 67 and 94 respectively.

Quite often, its tough to picture the contrast between sensor sizing simply by checking a spec sheet. The visual underneath may give you a stronger sense of the sensor sizes in the E-300 and ZR3.

Clearly, both of these cameras have got different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The E-300 featuring a larger sensor is going to make shooting shallow DOF simpler and the Panasonic ZR3 will give you extra detail due to its extra 6MP. Greater resolution will make it easier to crop photos much more aggressively. The older E-300 is going to be behind when it comes to sensor innovation.