Olympus E-420 vs Panasonic LZ40

Lets look much closer at the Olympus E-420 and Panasonic LZ40, one being a Entry-Level DSLR and the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by competitors Olympus and Panasonic. There is a big difference between the resolutions of the E-420 (10MP) and LZ40 (20MP) and the E-420 (Four Thirds) and LZ40 (1/2.3") boast different sensor measurements.

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The E-420 was introduced 6 years earlier than the LZ40 and that is quite a big gap as far as tech is concerned. Both cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-420 being a Compact SLR camera and the Panasonic LZ40 being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before going right into a complete comparison, here is a simple summation of how the E-420 matches up against the LZ40 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus E-420 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ40. The whole galleries are provided at Olympus E-420 Gallery and Panasonic LZ40 Gallery.

When you are going to lug around your camera regularly, you are going to need to take into account its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-420 features 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) and the Panasonic LZ40 has dimensions of 126mm x 87mm x 94mm (5.0" x 3.4" x 3.7") accompanied by a weight of 524 grams (1.16 lbs).

See the Olympus E-420 and Panasonic LZ40 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change based on the lens you are working with at the time. Following is a front view proportions comparison of the E-420 against the LZ40.

Factoring in size and weight, the portability score of the E-420 and LZ40 is 77 and 67 respectively.

Oftentimes, it's tough to picture the contrast between sensor measurements purely by reading technical specs. The photograph underneath will help offer you a more clear sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-420 and LZ40.

As you can tell, both of those cameras come with different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The E-420 having a bigger sensor is going to make achieving shallow DOF easier and the Panasonic LZ40 will offer you greater detail using its extra 10MP. Higher resolution will also enable you to crop shots a good deal more aggressively. The older E-420 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor innovation.