Olympus E-300 vs Panasonic ZS10

Let's examine more in depth at the Olympus E-300 vs Panasonic ZS10, one being a Advanced DSLR and the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom by rivals Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a sizeable gap among the sensor resolutions of the E-300 (8MP) and ZS10 (14MP) and the E-300 (Four Thirds) and ZS10 (1/2.3") possess different sensor sizes.

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The E-300 was unveiled 7 years earlier than the ZS10 and that is a fairly large gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-300 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Panasonic ZS10 being a Compact camera.

Before delving in to a complete comparison, below is a quick view of how the E-300 matches up versus the ZS10 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Below is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus E-300 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS10. The full galleries are available at Olympus E-300 Gallery and Panasonic ZS10 Gallery.

For anybody who is going to carry your camera regularly, you are going to need to take into account its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-300 comes with outside measurements of 147mm x 85mm x 64mm (5.8" x 3.3" x 2.5") and a weight of 624 grams (1.38 lbs) whilst the Panasonic ZS10 has proportions of 105mm x 58mm x 33mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 1.3") accompanied by a weight of 219 grams (0.48 lbs).

Check the Olympus E-300 vs Panasonic ZS10 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary dependant on the lens you are using at that time. Following is the front view overall size comparison of the E-300 compared to the ZS10.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-300 and ZS10 is 67 and 91 respectively.

More often than not, it is very difficult to imagine the difference in sensor sizing simply by researching a spec sheet. The graphic underneath will help provide you a greater sense of the sensor measurements in the E-300 and ZS10.

As you can see, each of these cameras have got different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The E-300 having a larger sensor is going to make getting shallower depth of field less difficult and the Panasonic ZS10 will provide you with extra detail having an extra 6MP. Greater resolution will make it easier to crop photos much more aggressively. The older E-300 will be disadvantaged in sensor tech.