Olympus E-420 vs Olympus SZ-30MR
77 Imaging
44 Features
36 Overall
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89 Imaging
38 Features
39 Overall
38
Olympus E-420 vs Olympus SZ-30MR Key Specs
(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
(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
Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a Landslide 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.
Japan-exclusive Leica Leitz Phone 3 features big sensor and new modesThe 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.
Photography Glossary Olympus E-420 vs Olympus SZ-30MR Gallery
Below is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus E-420 & Olympus SZ-30MR. The whole galleries are provided at Olympus E-420 Gallery & Olympus SZ-30MR Gallery.
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 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Announced | March 2011 | June 2008 | More modern by 32 months | |
| Display dimensions | 3" | 2.7" | Larger display (+0.3") | |
| Display resolution | 460k | 230k | Sharper display (+230k dot) |
Common features in the Olympus E-420 and Olympus SZ-30MR
| E-420 | SZ-30MR | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display type | Fixed | 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.
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.

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