Olympus E-300 vs Samsung HZ15W

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.

Photography Glossary

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.

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.

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.

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.