Olympus E-400 vs Olympus SZ-11

In this write-up, we will be contrasting the Olympus E-400 vs Olympus SZ-11, former being a Entry-Level DSLR while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom and both are produced by Olympus. There exists a considerable gap between the resolutions of the E-400 (10MP) and SZ-11 (14MP) and the E-400 (Four Thirds) and SZ-11 (1/2.3") use totally different sensor size.

Photography Glossary

The E-400 was unveiled 5 years before the SZ-11 and that is quite a large difference as far as technology is concerned. Both of these cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-400 being a Compact SLR camera and the Olympus SZ-11 being a Compact camera.

Before getting through a more detailed comparison, below is a concise overview of how the E-400 scores against the SZ-11 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

The following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus E-400 & Olympus SZ-11. The full galleries are available at Olympus E-400 Gallery & Olympus SZ-11 Gallery.

In case you're aiming to lug around your camera, you should factor its weight and size. The Olympus E-400 features external dimensions of 130mm x 91mm x 53mm (5.1" x 3.6" x 2.1") with a weight of 435 grams (0.96 lbs) and the Olympus SZ-11 has specifications of 106mm x 69mm x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6") and a weight of 226 grams (0.50 lbs).

See the Olympus E-400 vs Olympus SZ-11 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you are utilizing at that time. Below is the front view dimension comparison of the E-400 and the SZ-11.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-400 and SZ-11 is 77 and 89 respectively.

More often than not, its difficult to envision the contrast between sensor measurements purely by checking a spec sheet. The photograph here will provide you a more clear sense of the sensor sizes in the E-400 and SZ-11.

As you can see, both of the cameras offer different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The E-400 having a bigger sensor will make shooting shallower depth of field easier and the Olympus SZ-11 will resolve more detail having an extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will let you crop pictures a little more aggressively. The older E-400 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor innovation.