Olympus E-420 vs Panasonic SZ5

Below, we will be comparing the Olympus E-420 vs Panasonic SZ5, one is a Entry-Level DSLR and the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by manufacturers Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a significant gap between the sensor resolutions of the E-420 (10MP) and SZ5 (14MP) and the E-420 (Four Thirds) and SZ5 (1/2.3") use different sensor sizes.

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The E-420 was brought out 5 years before the SZ5 which is quite a sizable gap as far as technology is concerned. Each of these cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-420 being a Compact SLR camera and the Panasonic SZ5 being a Compact camera.

Before getting through a in depth comparison, below is a brief summary of how the E-420 matches up versus the SZ5 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus E-420 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ5. The entire galleries are available at Olympus E-420 Gallery and Panasonic SZ5 Gallery.

For anybody who is going to travel with your camera regularly, you are going to need to think about its weight and volume. The Olympus E-420 offers external measurements of 130mm x 91mm x 53mm (5.1" x 3.6" x 2.1") having a weight of 426 grams (0.94 lbs) while the Panasonic SZ5 has sizing of 104mm x 58mm x 21mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 0.8") along with a weight of 136 grams (0.30 lbs).

See the Olympus E-420 vs Panasonic SZ5 in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary dependant on the lens you have at that time. Underneath is the front view sizing comparison of the E-420 vs the SZ5.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-420 and SZ5 is 77 and 95 respectively.

Sometimes, it can be difficult to imagine the contrast between sensor dimensions simply by going over technical specs. The pic here should provide you a much better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-420 and SZ5.

As you can tell, both the cameras posses different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The E-420 because of its bigger sensor is going to make getting shallower DOF less difficult and the Panasonic SZ5 will deliver greater detail having its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also help you crop pictures somewhat more aggressively. The more aged E-420 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor tech.