Olympus E-400 vs Panasonic ZS40

Its time to take a deeper look at the Olympus E-400 vs Panasonic ZS40, former is a Entry-Level DSLR while the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom by companies Olympus and Panasonic. There is a noticeable difference between the resolutions of the E-400 (10MP) and ZS40 (18MP) and the E-400 (Four Thirds) and ZS40 (1/2.3") offer totally different sensor size.

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The E-400 was revealed 8 years prior to the ZS40 which is quite a sizable difference as far as tech is concerned. Both of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-400 being a Compact SLR camera and the Panasonic ZS40 being a Compact camera.

Before going into a step-by-step comparison, here is a brief summary of how the E-400 scores versus the ZS40 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Below is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus E-400 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS40. The full galleries are viewable at Olympus E-400 Gallery & Panasonic ZS40 Gallery.

For anyone who is looking to carry around your camera frequently, you will have to think about its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-400 provides outer measurements of 130mm x 91mm x 53mm (5.1" x 3.6" x 2.1") accompanied by a weight of 435 grams (0.96 lbs) while the Panasonic ZS40 has measurements of 111mm x 64mm x 34mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.3") with a weight of 240 grams (0.53 lbs).

Look at the Olympus E-400 vs Panasonic ZS40 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you are working with at that moment. The following is a front view overall size comparison of the E-400 and the ZS40.

Factoring in size and weight, the portability grade of the E-400 and ZS40 is 77 and 90 respectively.

Oftentimes, it's hard to see the contrast between sensor sizes merely by reading specifications. The pic here may provide you a greater sense of the sensor sizing in the E-400 and ZS40.

To sum up, the 2 cameras have different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The E-400 having a larger sensor will make shooting shallower depth of field easier and the Panasonic ZS40 will offer more detail because of its extra 8 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also let you crop images a bit more aggressively. The more aged E-400 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor technology.