Olympus E-300 vs Sony S980

Lets look much closer at the Olympus E-300 and Sony S980, one being a Advanced DSLR and the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by companies Olympus and Sony. There is a huge difference among the image resolutions of the E-300 (8MP) and S980 (12MP) and the E-300 (Four Thirds) and S980 (1/2.3") offer totally different sensor dimensions.

Photography Glossary

The E-300 was launched 5 years earlier than the S980 and that is a fairly significant gap as far as camera tech is concerned. The two cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-300 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony S980 being a Compact camera.

Before diving straight to a full comparison, here is a brief overview of how the E-300 grades against the S980 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

This is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus E-300 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S980. The complete galleries are provided at Olympus E-300 Gallery and Sony S980 Gallery.

For those who are intending to carry your camera frequently, you will need to take into account its weight and size. The Olympus E-300 provides outer dimensions of 147mm x 85mm x 64mm (5.8" x 3.3" x 2.5") with a weight of 624 grams (1.38 lbs) while the Sony S980 has specifications of 93mm x 56mm x 24mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.9") and a weight of 167 grams (0.37 lbs).

Examine the Olympus E-300 and Sony S980 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary dependant on the lens you choose at that time. Here is a front view measurements comparison of the E-300 against the S980.

Looking at size and weight, the portability grade of the E-300 and S980 is 67 and 94 respectively.

Often, it's tough to see the contrast in sensor sizing purely by viewing a spec sheet. The photograph here will help provide you a better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-300 and S980.

Clearly, both of those cameras have different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The E-300 due to its bigger sensor will make getting bokeh less difficult and the Sony S980 will result in greater detail utilizing its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will let you crop shots a bit more aggressively. The older E-300 will be disadvantaged in sensor tech.