Olympus E-300 vs Panasonic ZS70

Following is a complete analysis of the Olympus E-300 and Panasonic ZS70, former is a Advanced DSLR while the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom by competitors Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a considerable gap among the resolutions of the E-300 (8MP) and ZS70 (20MP) and the E-300 (Four Thirds) and ZS70 (1/2.3") come with different sensor dimensions.

Photography Glossary

The E-300 was brought out 13 years earlier than the ZS70 which is a fairly large difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-300 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Panasonic ZS70 being a Compact camera.

Before going through a full comparison, below is a brief introduction of how the E-300 scores versus the ZS70 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Here is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus E-300 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS70. The entire galleries are available at Olympus E-300 Gallery & Panasonic ZS70 Gallery.

In case you're intending to carry around your camera regularly, you will want to factor its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-300 provides external measurements of 147mm x 85mm x 64mm (5.8" x 3.3" x 2.5") with a weight of 624 grams (1.38 lbs) whilst the Panasonic ZS70 has proportions of 112mm x 67mm x 41mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.6") having a weight of 322 grams (0.71 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-300 and Panasonic ZS70 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you have attached at that moment. Following is the front view sizing comparison of the E-300 and the ZS70.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-300 and ZS70 is 67 and 87 respectively.

Quite often, it is very difficult to imagine the difference in sensor sizes purely by checking out specs. The pic below may provide you a much better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-300 and ZS70.

All in all, both cameras enjoy different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The E-300 featuring a larger sensor is going to make achieving shallow DOF less difficult and the Panasonic ZS70 will provide greater detail having its extra 12 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also enable you to crop images far more aggressively. The more aged E-300 will be disadvantaged in sensor innovation.