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Olympus E-330 vs Panasonic FS12

Portability
65
Imaging
41
Features
40
Overall
40
Olympus E-330 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS12 front
Portability
95
Imaging
35
Features
14
Overall
26

Olympus E-330 vs Panasonic FS12 Key Specs

Olympus E-330
(Full Review)
  • 7MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 2.5" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 100 - 400 (Raise to 1600)
  • No Video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 616g - 140 x 87 x 72mm
  • Revealed March 2006
  • Also referred to as EVOLT E-330
  • Old Model is Olympus E-300
  • Replacement is Olympus E-450
Panasonic FS12
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Display
  • ISO 80 - 1600 (Expand to 6400)
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 640 x 480 video
  • 31-124mm (F2.8-5.9) lens
  • 129g - 97 x 55 x 22mm
  • Revealed April 2009
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Olympus E-330 vs Panasonic FS12 Overview

Below is a detailed review of the Olympus E-330 and Panasonic FS12, former being a Advanced DSLR while the other is a Ultracompact by competitors Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a sizable gap among the resolutions of the E-330 (7MP) and FS12 (12MP) and the E-330 (Four Thirds) and FS12 (1/2.3") enjoy different sensor dimensions.

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The E-330 was unveiled 4 years before the FS12 and that is a fairly significant difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of these cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-330 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Panasonic FS12 being a Ultracompact camera.

Before diving straight into a more detailed comparison, below is a brief synopsis of how the E-330 matches up against the FS12 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-330 over the Panasonic FS12

 E-330 FS12 
Manually focus More exact focus
Display typeTiltingFixed Tilting display

Reasons to pick Panasonic FS12 over the Olympus E-330

 FS12 E-330 
RevealedApril 2009March 2006More recent by 37 months
Display dimension2.7"2.5"Larger display (+0.2")
Display resolution230k215kClearer display (+15k dot)

Common features in the Olympus E-330 and Panasonic FS12

 E-330 FS12 
Selfie screen Neither comes with selfie screen
Touch friendly display Missing Touch friendly display

Olympus E-330 vs Panasonic FS12 Physical Comparison

For anybody who is aiming to lug around your camera regularly, you should think about its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-330 comes with physical dimensions of 140mm x 87mm x 72mm (5.5" x 3.4" x 2.8") having a weight of 616 grams (1.36 lbs) while the Panasonic FS12 has dimensions of 97mm x 55mm x 22mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.9") with a weight of 129 grams (0.28 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-330 and Panasonic FS12 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you use at that time. Underneath is the front view sizing comparison of the E-330 and the FS12.

Olympus E-330 vs Panasonic FS12 size comparison

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-330 and FS12 is 65 and 95 respectively.

Olympus E-330 vs Panasonic FS12 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-330 vs Panasonic FS12 Sensor Comparison

More often than not, it is difficult to picture the gap in sensor measurements purely by viewing a spec sheet. The visual here will help give you a greater sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-330 and FS12.

As you can see, both of these cameras have got different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The E-330 using its larger sensor is going to make shooting shallower DOF easier and the Panasonic FS12 will render more detail having an extra 5 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also help you crop photos much more aggressively. The older E-330 will be disadvantaged in sensor innovation.

Olympus E-330 vs Panasonic FS12 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-330 vs Panasonic FS12 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-330 vs Panasonic FS12 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
Photography Glossary

Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Portrait photography with Olympus E-330
Portrait photography with Panasonic FS12
54
focusing manually
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW files
low MP (7 megapixels)
21
focusing manually not possible
manual mode not available
can't use external flash
low megapixels (12 megapixels)
small sensor size (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW support
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-330 Street photography factors
Panasonic FS12 Street photography factors
60
tilting screen
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW files
lighter than competition (616 grams)
no image stabilization
max ISO too low (400)
57
built in image stabilization (Optical)
no moving screen
small sensor size (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW support
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Sports Comparison

Sports photography with Olympus E-330
Sports photography with Panasonic FS12
40
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
comes with phase detect auto focus
slow continuous shooting (3.0 frames per second)
no image stabilization
low MP (7MP)
25
built in image stabilization (Optical)
max fps very slow (2.0 fps)
no shutter priority mode
low megapixels (12 megapixels)
small sensor size (1/2.3")
doesn't have phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Olympus E-330
Travel photography with Panasonic FS12
50
lighter than competition (616g)
built-in flash
does not have Time Lapse mode
low MP (7MP)
doesn't feature selfie friendly screen
51
flash built-in
lack of Time Lapse function
low megapixels (12 megapixels)
screen isn't selfie friendly
wide angle not good (31mm)
slow maximum aperture (f2.8)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-330 Landscape photography information
Panasonic FS12 Landscape photography information
45
focusing manually
change lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW files
screen is small (2.5")
no image stabilization
low MP (7MP)
max ISO too low (400)
does not have Time Lapse mode
28
built in image stabilization (Optical)
focusing manually not possible
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
wide angle not good (31mm)
slow maximum aperture (f2.8)
tiny screen (2.7 inch)
manual mode not available
low megapixels (12MP)
small sensor size (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW support
lack of Time Lapse function
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-330 Vlogging advice
Panasonic FS12 Vlogging advice
9
no video shooting
25
built in image stabilization (Optical)
wide angle not good (31mm)
slow maximum aperture (f2.8)
screen isn't selfie friendly
video resolution low (640 x 480 resolution)
lack of external mic port
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Olympus E-330 vs Panasonic FS12 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-330 and Panasonic FS12
 Olympus E-330Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS12
General Information
Brand Olympus Panasonic
Model Olympus E-330 Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS12
Also called as EVOLT E-330 -
Category Advanced DSLR Ultracompact
Revealed 2006-03-18 2009-04-17
Body design Mid-size SLR Ultracompact
Sensor Information
Sensor type CMOS 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 7 megapixels 12 megapixels
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Maximum resolution 3136 x 2352 4000 x 3000
Maximum native ISO 400 1600
Maximum boosted ISO 1600 6400
Min native ISO 100 80
RAW photos
Autofocusing
Focus manually
AF touch
AF continuous
AF single
Tracking AF
AF selectice
AF center weighted
Multi area AF
Live view AF
Face detection focusing
Contract detection focusing
Phase detection focusing
Number of focus points 3 -
Lens
Lens mounting type Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens focal range - 31-124mm (4.0x)
Highest aperture - f/2.8-5.9
Macro focus range - 5cm
Amount of lenses 45 -
Crop factor 2.1 5.9
Screen
Screen type Tilting Fixed Type
Screen sizing 2.5 inch 2.7 inch
Resolution of screen 215 thousand dot 230 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch function
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Optical (pentamirror) None
Viewfinder coverage 95% -
Viewfinder magnification 0.47x -
Features
Slowest shutter speed 60s 60s
Maximum shutter speed 1/4000s 1/2000s
Continuous shooting speed 3.0fps 2.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual exposure
Exposure compensation Yes -
Set WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash range - 6.30 m
Flash settings Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow Sync
Hot shoe
AE bracketing
WB bracketing
Maximum flash sync 1/180s -
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Video resolutions - 848 x 480 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps)
Maximum video resolution None 640x480
Video data format - Motion JPEG
Mic jack
Headphone jack
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 seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 616 grams (1.36 lb) 129 grams (0.28 lb)
Dimensions 140 x 87 x 72mm (5.5" x 3.4" x 2.8") 97 x 55 x 22mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.9")
DXO scores
DXO All around score not tested not tested
DXO Color Depth score not tested not tested
DXO Dynamic range score not tested not tested
DXO Low light score not tested not tested
Other
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse feature
Type of storage Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card SD/SDHC card, Internal
Storage slots 1 1
Pricing at launch $1,100 $228