Olympus E-330 vs Panasonic ZS45

Lets look a little more in depth at the Olympus E-330 versus Panasonic ZS45, former being a Advanced DSLR while the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom by rivals Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a considerable gap among the image resolutions of the E-330 (7MP) and ZS45 (16MP) and the E-330 (Four Thirds) and ZS45 (1/2.3") enjoy different sensor sizes.

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The E-330 was launched 9 years prior to the ZS45 and that is a fairly large difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-330 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Panasonic ZS45 being a Compact camera.

Before diving through a step-by-step comparison, below is a concise highlight of how the E-330 grades vs the ZS45 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Following is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus E-330 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS45. The complete galleries are viewable at Olympus E-330 Gallery & Panasonic ZS45 Gallery.

For anyone who is looking to carry your camera regularly, you will want to consider its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-330 has physical measurements of 140mm x 87mm x 72mm (5.5" x 3.4" x 2.8") and a weight of 616 grams (1.36 lbs) whilst the Panasonic ZS45 has dimensions of 108mm x 60mm x 32mm (4.3" x 2.4" x 1.3") having a weight of 249 grams (0.55 lbs).

Look at the Olympus E-330 versus Panasonic ZS45 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you have chosen at that time. The following is the front view over all size comparison of the E-330 against the ZS45.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-330 and ZS45 is 65 and 91 respectively.

More often than not, it is difficult to picture the gap in sensor sizing purely by checking out a spec sheet. The photograph below may provide you a stronger sense of the sensor sizing in the E-330 and ZS45.

As you can see, both cameras posses different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The E-330 because of its larger sensor is going to make shooting shallow depth of field less difficult and the Panasonic ZS45 will provide greater detail utilizing its extra 9MP. Greater resolution can also allow you to crop images somewhat more aggressively. The older E-330 will be behind when it comes to sensor technology.