Olympus E-420 vs Panasonic FH3

Lets look more in depth at the Olympus E-420 vs Panasonic FH3, former being a Entry-Level DSLR while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by manufacturers Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a large gap among the resolutions of the E-420 (10MP) and FH3 (14MP) and the E-420 (Four Thirds) and FH3 (1/2.3") offer different sensor sizes.

Photography Glossary

The E-420 was unveiled 18 months before the FH3 which makes them a generation apart from one another. Both the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-420 being a Compact SLR camera and the Panasonic FH3 being a Compact camera.

Before we go straight to a complete comparison, here is a short highlight of how the E-420 scores vs the FH3 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus E-420 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH3. The full galleries are available at Olympus E-420 Gallery & Panasonic FH3 Gallery.

For anyone who is intending to lug around your camera, you need to consider its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-420 has got outside dimensions of 130mm x 91mm x 53mm (5.1" x 3.6" x 2.1") having a weight of 426 grams (0.94 lbs) and the Panasonic FH3 has proportions of 98mm x 55mm x 24mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 0.9") having a weight of 165 grams (0.36 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-420 vs Panasonic FH3 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you are employing at that time. Underneath is a front view dimension comparison of the E-420 compared to the FH3.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-420 and FH3 is 77 and 94 respectively.

Normally, it's difficult to picture the contrast in sensor measurements simply by viewing specifications. The graphic underneath might give you a stronger sense of the sensor sizes in the E-420 and FH3.

To sum up, the 2 cameras provide different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The E-420 using its bigger sensor is going to make achieving shallow DOF simpler and the Panasonic FH3 will result in more detail having an extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also make it easier to crop photographs more aggressively. The older E-420 will be disadvantaged in sensor tech.