Olympus E-300 vs Samsung HZ15W
67 Imaging
41 Features
31 Overall
37


90 Imaging
34 Features
31 Overall
32
Olympus E-300 vs Samsung HZ15W Key Specs
(Full Review)
- 8MP - Four Thirds Sensor
- 1.8" Fixed Display
- ISO 100 - 400 (Boost to 1600)
- No Video
- Micro Four Thirds Mount
- 624g - 147 x 85 x 64mm
- Launched January 2005
- Additionally Known as EVOLT E-300
- Later Model is Olympus E-330
(Full Review)
- 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
- 3" Fixed Display
- ISO 80 - 3200
- Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
- 1280 x 720 video
- 24-240mm (F3.3-5.8) lens
- 249g - 105 x 61 x 37mm
- Introduced February 2009
- Additionally Known as WB550

Olympus E-300 vs Samsung HZ15W Overview
Here is a in-depth comparison of the Olympus E-300 vs Samsung HZ15W, former being a Advanced DSLR while the other is a Small Sensor Compact by companies Olympus and Samsung. There exists a noticeable gap between the resolutions of the E-300 (8MP) and HZ15W (12MP) and the E-300 (Four Thirds) and HZ15W (1/2.3") use totally different sensor measurements.

The E-300 was launched 5 years prior to the HZ15W and that is quite a sizable difference as far as 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 Samsung HZ15W being a Compact camera.
Before diving through a full comparison, below is a quick summation of how the E-300 grades vs the HZ15W in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Olympus E-300 vs Samsung HZ15W Gallery
Below is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus E-300 & Samsung HZ15W. The complete galleries are viewable at Olympus E-300 Gallery & Samsung HZ15W Gallery.
Reasons to pick Olympus E-300 over the Samsung HZ15W
E-300 | HZ15W |
---|
Reasons to pick Samsung HZ15W over the Olympus E-300
HZ15W | E-300 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Introduced | February 2009 | ![]() | January 2005 | Fresher by 50 months |
Display dimension | 3" | ![]() | 1.8" | Larger display (+1.2") |
Display resolution | 460k | ![]() | 134k | Crisper display (+326k dot) |
Common features in the Olympus E-300 and Samsung HZ15W
E-300 | HZ15W | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Focus manually | ![]() | More accurate focusing | ||
Display type | Fixed | ![]() | Fixed | Fixed display |
Selfie screen | ![]() | Neither includes selfie screen | ||
Touch display | ![]() | Neither includes Touch display |
Olympus E-300 vs Samsung HZ15W Physical Comparison
For anyone who is going to carry your camera often, you will need to think about its weight and size. The Olympus E-300 features outer dimensions of 147mm x 85mm x 64mm (5.8" x 3.3" x 2.5") having a weight of 624 grams (1.38 lbs) whilst the Samsung HZ15W has specifications of 105mm x 61mm x 37mm (4.1" x 2.4" x 1.5") having a weight of 249 grams (0.55 lbs).
Contrast the Olympus E-300 vs Samsung HZ15W in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.
Remember, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you have attached at that moment. Below is the front view proportions comparison of the E-300 and the HZ15W.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-300 and HZ15W is 67 and 90 respectively.

Olympus E-300 vs Samsung HZ15W Sensor Comparison
Sometimes, its hard to envision the difference between sensor sizing only by reading specifications. The graphic below will give you a better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-300 and HZ15W.
To sum up, both of the cameras posses different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The E-300 because of its larger sensor will make achieving shallower DOF simpler and the Samsung HZ15W will offer you greater detail utilizing its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also make it easier to crop images somewhat more aggressively. The older E-300 is going to be behind with regard to sensor innovation.

Olympus E-300 vs Samsung HZ15W Screen and ViewFinder


Photography Type Scores
Portrait Comparison

Street Comparison

Sports Comparison

Travel Comparison

Landscape Comparison

Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-300 vs Samsung HZ15W Specifications
Olympus E-300 | Samsung HZ15W | |
---|---|---|
General Information | ||
Make | Olympus | Samsung |
Model type | Olympus E-300 | Samsung HZ15W |
Also Known as | EVOLT E-300 | WB550 |
Class | Advanced DSLR | Small Sensor Compact |
Launched | 2005-01-10 | 2009-02-23 |
Physical type | Mid-size SLR | Compact |
Sensor Information | ||
Sensor type | CCD | CCD |
Sensor size | Four Thirds | 1/2.3" |
Sensor dimensions | 17.3 x 13mm | 6.08 x 4.56mm |
Sensor surface area | 224.9mm² | 27.7mm² |
Sensor resolution | 8 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
Anti alias filter | ||
Aspect ratio | 4:3 | 16:9, 4:3 and 3:2 |
Peak resolution | 3264 x 2448 | 4000 x 3000 |
Highest native ISO | 400 | 3200 |
Highest enhanced ISO | 1600 | - |
Lowest native ISO | 100 | 80 |
RAW images | ||
Autofocusing | ||
Manual focusing | ||
Touch focus | ||
Autofocus continuous | ||
Single autofocus | ||
Autofocus tracking | ||
Selective autofocus | ||
Center weighted autofocus | ||
Multi area autofocus | ||
Autofocus live view | ||
Face detect focus | ||
Contract detect focus | ||
Phase detect focus | ||
Total focus points | 3 | - |
Lens | ||
Lens support | Micro Four Thirds | fixed lens |
Lens zoom range | - | 24-240mm (10.0x) |
Maximum aperture | - | f/3.3-5.8 |
Macro focusing range | - | 5cm |
Amount of lenses | 45 | - |
Crop factor | 2.1 | 5.9 |
Screen | ||
Type of display | Fixed Type | Fixed Type |
Display size | 1.8" | 3" |
Resolution of display | 134k dots | 460k dots |
Selfie friendly | ||
Liveview | ||
Touch function | ||
Viewfinder Information | ||
Viewfinder | Optical (pentamirror) | None |
Features | ||
Min shutter speed | 60 seconds | 16 seconds |
Max shutter speed | 1/4000 seconds | 1/2000 seconds |
Continuous shutter rate | 3.0fps | - |
Shutter priority | ||
Aperture priority | ||
Manually set exposure | ||
Exposure compensation | Yes | - |
Custom white balance | ||
Image stabilization | ||
Built-in flash | ||
Flash distance | - | 4.70 m |
Flash options | Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye | Auto, Auto & Red-eye reduction, Fill-in flash, Slow sync, Flash off, Red eye fix |
External flash | ||
AEB | ||
WB bracketing | ||
Max flash synchronize | 1/180 seconds | - |
Exposure | ||
Multisegment metering | ||
Average metering | ||
Spot metering | ||
Partial metering | ||
AF area metering | ||
Center weighted metering | ||
Video features | ||
Supported video resolutions | - | 1280 x 720 (30, 15 fps), 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 240 (60, 30, 15 fps) |
Highest video resolution | None | 1280x720 |
Video file format | - | Motion JPEG |
Mic support | ||
Headphone support | ||
Connectivity | ||
Wireless | None | None |
Bluetooth | ||
NFC | ||
HDMI | ||
USB | USB 1.0 (1.5 Mbit/sec) | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) |
GPS | None | None |
Physical | ||
Environment sealing | ||
Water proofing | ||
Dust proofing | ||
Shock proofing | ||
Crush proofing | ||
Freeze proofing | ||
Weight | 624g (1.38 lb) | 249g (0.55 lb) |
Dimensions | 147 x 85 x 64mm (5.8" x 3.3" x 2.5") | 105 x 61 x 37mm (4.1" x 2.4" x 1.5") |
DXO scores | ||
DXO Overall rating | not tested | not tested |
DXO Color Depth rating | not tested | not tested |
DXO Dynamic range rating | not tested | not tested |
DXO Low light rating | not tested | not tested |
Other | ||
Self timer | Yes (2 or 12 sec) | Yes (10 sec, 2 sec, Double, Motion Timer) |
Time lapse recording | ||
Storage type | Compact Flash (Type I or II) | SC/SDHC/MMC/MMCplus, internal |
Card slots | One | One |
Price at release | $800 | $330 |