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Olympus E-420 vs Olympus SZ-30MR

Portability
77
Imaging
44
Features
36
Overall
40
Olympus E-420 front
 
Olympus SZ-30MR front
Portability
89
Imaging
39
Features
39
Overall
39

Olympus E-420 vs Olympus SZ-30MR Key Specs

Olympus E-420
(Full Review)
  • 10MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 1600
  • No Video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 426g - 130 x 91 x 53mm
  • Revealed June 2008
  • Replaced the Olympus E-410
Olympus SZ-30MR
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 80 - 3200
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 25-600mm (F3.0-6.9) lens
  • 226g - 106 x 69 x 40mm
  • Announced March 2011
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Olympus E-420 vs Olympus SZ-30MR Overview

On this page, we are matching up the Olympus E-420 vs Olympus SZ-30MR, former is a Entry-Level DSLR while the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom and they are both manufactured by Olympus. There exists a substantial gap among the image resolutions of the E-420 (10MP) and SZ-30MR (16MP) and the E-420 (Four Thirds) and SZ-30MR (1/2.3") have totally different sensor dimensions.

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The E-420 was announced 3 years earlier than the SZ-30MR which is a fairly big difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-420 being a Compact SLR camera and the Olympus SZ-30MR being a Compact camera.

Before getting straight to a thorough comparison, here is a brief introduction of how the E-420 grades versus the SZ-30MR with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-420 over the Olympus SZ-30MR

 E-420 SZ-30MR 
Focus manually Very accurate focus

Reasons to pick Olympus SZ-30MR over the Olympus E-420

 SZ-30MR E-420 
AnnouncedMarch 2011June 2008More modern by 32 months
Display dimensions3"2.7"Larger display (+0.3")
Display resolution460k230kSharper display (+230k dot)

Common features in the Olympus E-420 and Olympus SZ-30MR

 E-420 SZ-30MR 
Display typeFixed Fixed Fixed display
Selfie screen Lacking selfie screen
Touch friendly display Neither features Touch friendly display

Olympus E-420 vs Olympus SZ-30MR Physical Comparison

If you're aiming to carry around your camera frequently, you will need to factor its weight and size. The Olympus E-420 enjoys outer dimensions of 130mm x 91mm x 53mm (5.1" x 3.6" x 2.1") and a weight of 426 grams (0.94 lbs) while the Olympus SZ-30MR has specifications of 106mm x 69mm x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6") with a weight of 226 grams (0.50 lbs).

Look at the Olympus E-420 vs Olympus SZ-30MR in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you are utilising at the time. Underneath is a front view overall size comparison of the E-420 and the SZ-30MR.

Olympus E-420 vs Olympus SZ-30MR size comparison

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-420 and SZ-30MR is 77 and 89 respectively.

Olympus E-420 vs Olympus SZ-30MR top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-420 vs Olympus SZ-30MR Sensor Comparison

Quite often, its hard to visualise the difference in sensor sizes purely by seeing a spec sheet. The picture underneath should give you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-420 and SZ-30MR.

As you can see, both of the cameras have different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The E-420 using its larger sensor will make getting shallow DOF less difficult and the Olympus SZ-30MR will produce greater detail with its extra 6MP. Greater resolution can also allow you to crop images a bit more aggressively. The more aged E-420 will be behind in sensor technology.

Olympus E-420 vs Olympus SZ-30MR sensor size comparison

Olympus E-420 vs Olympus SZ-30MR Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-420 vs Olympus SZ-30MR Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Portrait photography with Olympus E-420
Portrait photography with Olympus SZ-30MR
56
manual focus
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
low megapixels (10MP)
34
good MP (16 megapixels)
provides face detect focusing
lack of manual focus
manual mode not possible
no external flash support
very small sensor (1/2.3")
lacks RAW support
Photography Glossary

Street Comparison

Olympus E-420 as a Street photography camera
Olympus SZ-30MR as a Street photography camera
64
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
lighter than competition in class (426g)
fixed screen
does not have image stabilization
60
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
lighter than competitors in class (226 grams)
no moving screen
very small sensor (1/2.3")
lacks RAW support
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-420 Sports photography advice
Olympus SZ-30MR Sports photography advice
38
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports phase detect autofocus
very slow continuous shooting (4.0 fps)
does not have image stabilization
low megapixels (10MP)
bad battery (500 per charge)
41
amazing zoom range (25-600mm 24.0 x zoom)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
good MP (16 megapixels)
provides tracking focus
slow frames per second (2.0 frames/s)
lack of shutter priority mode
very small sensor (1/2.3")
not so great battery (220 per charge)
lacks phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-420 as a Travel photography camera
Olympus SZ-30MR as a Travel photography camera
52
lighter than competition in class (426 grams)
built-in flash
missing Timelapse mode
bad battery (500 shots)
low megapixels (10MP)
display is not selfie friendly
65
lighter than competitors in class (226g)
good MP (16 megapixels)
has built in flash
relatively wide (25mm)
long zoom (600mm)
no Timelapse mode
not so great battery (220 CIPA)
display isn't selfie friendly
slow max aperture (f3.0)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-420 Landscape photography info
Olympus SZ-30MR Landscape photography info
47
manual focus
switch lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
screen is small (2.7 inch)
does not have image stabilization
low megapixels (10MP)
bad battery (500 CIPA)
missing Timelapse mode
41
relatively wide (25mm)
screen is a good size (3 inch)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
good MP (16MP)
lack of manual focus
cannot change lens (fixed lens mount)
slow max aperture (f3.0)
manual mode not possible
very small sensor (1/2.3")
lacks RAW support
not so great battery (220 per charge)
no Timelapse mode
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-420 as a Vlogging camera
Olympus SZ-30MR as a Vlogging camera
9
can't shoot video
34
relatively wide (25mm)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
provides face detect focusing
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 pxls)
lighter than competitors in class (226 grams)
slow max aperture (f3.0)
display isn't selfie friendly
no microphone support
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Olympus E-420 vs Olympus SZ-30MR Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-420 and Olympus SZ-30MR
 Olympus E-420Olympus SZ-30MR
General Information
Company Olympus Olympus
Model Olympus E-420 Olympus SZ-30MR
Type Entry-Level DSLR Small Sensor Superzoom
Revealed 2008-06-23 2011-03-02
Physical type Compact SLR Compact
Sensor Information
Processor TruePic III TruePic III+
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 10 megapixel 16 megapixel
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 4:3 and 16:9
Full resolution 3648 x 2736 4608 x 3456
Max native ISO 1600 3200
Min native ISO 100 80
RAW data
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch to focus
Continuous autofocus
Autofocus single
Autofocus tracking
Autofocus selectice
Center weighted autofocus
Autofocus multi area
Live view autofocus
Face detect autofocus
Contract detect autofocus
Phase detect autofocus
Number of focus points 3 -
Cross focus points - -
Lens
Lens mounting type Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens focal range - 25-600mm (24.0x)
Highest aperture - f/3.0-6.9
Macro focus range - 1cm
Available lenses 45 -
Crop factor 2.1 5.8
Screen
Display type Fixed Type Fixed Type
Display diagonal 2.7" 3"
Resolution of display 230k dots 460k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch friendly
Display tech - TFT Hypercrystal III Color LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Optical (pentamirror) None
Viewfinder coverage 95 percent -
Viewfinder magnification 0.46x -
Features
Slowest shutter speed 60 secs 4 secs
Maximum shutter speed 1/4000 secs 1/1700 secs
Continuous shooting rate 4.0fps 2.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual mode
Exposure compensation Yes -
Change white balance
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash range 12.00 m (at ISO 100) 4.00 m
Flash settings Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in
External flash
AEB
WB bracketing
Maximum flash synchronize 1/180 secs -
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Video resolutions - 1920 x 1080 (30 fps)1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 180 (30fps)
Max video resolution None 1920x1080
Video format - MPEG-4
Microphone support
Headphone support
Connectivity
Wireless None Eye-Fi Connected
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 426g (0.94 lbs) 226g (0.50 lbs)
Physical dimensions 130 x 91 x 53mm (5.1" x 3.6" x 2.1") 106 x 69 x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6")
DXO scores
DXO All around score 56 not tested
DXO Color Depth score 21.5 not tested
DXO Dynamic range score 10.4 not tested
DXO Low light score 527 not tested
Other
Battery life 500 images 220 images
Type of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model - LI-50B
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 12 sec)
Time lapse shooting
Type of storage Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card SD/SDHC/SDXC
Card slots One One
Price at launch $999 $279