Olympus E-400 vs Panasonic ZS5

Below is a detailed comparison of the Olympus E-400 and Panasonic ZS5, one being a Entry-Level DSLR and the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by competitors Olympus and Panasonic. The image resolution of the E-400 (10MP) and the ZS5 (12MP) is pretty comparable but the E-400 (Four Thirds) and ZS5 (1/2.3") have different sensor dimensions.

Photography Glossary

The E-400 was released 4 years prior to the ZS5 and that is a fairly big gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Both the cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-400 being a Compact SLR camera and the Panasonic ZS5 being a Compact camera.

Before getting straight to a more detailed comparison, here is a concise introduction of how the E-400 matches up versus the ZS5 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus E-400 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS5. The complete galleries are provided at Olympus E-400 Gallery and Panasonic ZS5 Gallery.

In case you're going to lug around your camera, you will want to factor its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-400 has physical measurements of 130mm x 91mm x 53mm (5.1" x 3.6" x 2.1") with a weight of 435 grams (0.96 lbs) whilst the Panasonic ZS5 has dimensions of 103mm x 60mm x 32mm (4.1" x 2.4" x 1.3") and a weight of 214 grams (0.47 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-400 and Panasonic ZS5 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ dependant on the lens you choose at that moment. The following is a front view scale comparison of the E-400 against the ZS5.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-400 and ZS5 is 77 and 92 respectively.

Quite often, it can be hard to imagine the gap in sensor measurements purely by seeing specs. The photograph underneath should give you a more clear sense of the sensor sizing in the E-400 and ZS5.

As you can plainly see, each of the cameras come with different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The E-400 due to its bigger sensor is going to make getting shallower depth of field simpler and the Panasonic ZS5 will show extra detail as a result of its extra 2 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also enable you to crop shots a good deal more aggressively. The older E-400 will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor innovation.