Olympus E-400 vs Panasonic SZ3

Its time to take a closer look at the Olympus E-400 versus Panasonic SZ3, former is a Entry-Level DSLR while the other is a Small Sensor Compact by brands Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a substantial gap between the image resolutions of the E-400 (10MP) and SZ3 (16MP) and the E-400 (Four Thirds) and SZ3 (1/2.3") boast different sensor size.

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The E-400 was manufactured 7 years before the SZ3 which is quite a big difference as far as technology is concerned. Both the cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-400 being a Compact SLR camera and the Panasonic SZ3 being a Compact camera.

Before getting into a in-depth comparison, here is a short summation of how the E-400 grades versus the SZ3 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus E-400 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ3. The entire galleries are viewable at Olympus E-400 Gallery & Panasonic SZ3 Gallery.

For those who are aiming to travel with your camera often, you'll have to take into account its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-400 enjoys outer dimensions of 130mm x 91mm x 53mm (5.1" x 3.6" x 2.1") along with a weight of 435 grams (0.96 lbs) while the Panasonic SZ3 has measurements of 95mm x 56mm x 22mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.9") accompanied by a weight of 126 grams (0.28 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-400 versus Panasonic SZ3 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you are using at the time. Underneath is a front view overall size comparison of the E-400 versus the SZ3.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-400 and SZ3 is 77 and 96 respectively.

Typically, it's hard to visualize the contrast between sensor dimensions merely by reading through a spec sheet. The image below will help offer you a clearer sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-400 and SZ3.

Clearly, each of these cameras feature different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The E-400 because of its larger sensor is going to make achieving shallower DOF less difficult and the Panasonic SZ3 will resolve more detail due to its extra 6 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also enable you to crop pics way more aggressively. The more aged E-400 is going to be behind with regard to sensor innovation.