Olympus E-420 vs Panasonic FH7

Below is a extensive overview of the Olympus E-420 versus Panasonic FH7, former being a Entry-Level DSLR while the other is a Small Sensor Compact by brands Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a large gap among the image resolutions of the E-420 (10MP) and FH7 (16MP) and the E-420 (Four Thirds) and FH7 (1/2.3") come with different sensor dimensions.

Photography Glossary

The E-420 was revealed 4 years prior to the FH7 and that is a fairly serious difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-420 being a Compact SLR camera and the Panasonic FH7 being a Compact camera.

Before going through a step-by-step comparison, below is a brief overview of how the E-420 scores versus the FH7 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus E-420 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH7. The full galleries are provided at Olympus E-420 Gallery & Panasonic FH7 Gallery.

For anybody who is aiming to lug around your camera regularly, you should take into account its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-420 features outer dimensions of 130mm x 91mm x 53mm (5.1" x 3.6" x 2.1") along with a weight of 426 grams (0.94 lbs) whilst the Panasonic FH7 has proportions of 95mm x 56mm x 19mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.7") accompanied by a weight of 126 grams (0.28 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-420 versus Panasonic FH7 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you are using at that time. Following is the front view dimension comparison of the E-420 versus the FH7.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-420 and FH7 is 77 and 96 respectively.

More often than not, it's difficult to picture the gap in sensor measurements merely by looking through a spec sheet. The graphic underneath may give you a greater sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-420 and FH7.

Clearly, both of these cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-420 having a larger sensor is going to make shooting shallow DOF less difficult and the Panasonic FH7 will provide you with greater detail because of its extra 6MP. Greater resolution will let you crop photos somewhat more aggressively. The older E-420 will be behind with regard to sensor tech.