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Olympus E-420 vs Panasonic SZ5

Portability
77
Imaging
44
Features
36
Overall
40
Olympus E-420 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ5 front
Portability
95
Imaging
38
Features
34
Overall
36

Olympus E-420 vs Panasonic SZ5 Key Specs

Olympus E-420
(Full Review)
  • 10MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 1600
  • No Video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 426g - 130 x 91 x 53mm
  • Announced June 2008
  • Succeeded the Olympus E-410
Panasonic SZ5
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 1600 (Bump to 6400)
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 25-250mm (F3.1-5.9) lens
  • 136g - 104 x 58 x 21mm
  • Introduced July 2012
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Olympus E-420 vs Panasonic SZ5 Overview

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.

Photography Glossary
	
	

Reasons to pick Olympus E-420 over the Panasonic SZ5

 E-420 SZ5 
Manual focus Dial exact focusing

Reasons to pick Panasonic SZ5 over the Olympus E-420

 SZ5 E-420 
IntroducedJuly 2012June 2008Newer by 49 months
Screen dimension3"2.7"Bigger screen (+0.3")

Common features in the Olympus E-420 and Panasonic SZ5

 E-420 SZ5 
Screen typeFixed Fixed Fixed screen
Screen resolution230k230kExact same screen resolution
Selfie screen Neither offers selfie screen
Touch screen No Touch screen

Olympus E-420 vs Panasonic SZ5 Physical Comparison

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. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

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.

Olympus E-420 vs Panasonic SZ5 size comparison

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

Olympus E-420 vs Panasonic SZ5 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-420 vs Panasonic SZ5 Sensor Comparison

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.

Olympus E-420 vs Panasonic SZ5 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-420 vs Panasonic SZ5 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-420 vs Panasonic SZ5 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Portrait photography with Olympus E-420
Portrait photography with Panasonic SZ5
56
you can focus manually
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW formats
megapixel count low (10 megapixels)
34
decent megapixels (14MP)
comes with face detection focus
focusing manually not possible
no manual mode
no external flash support
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
has no RAW support
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-420 as a Street photography camera
Panasonic SZ5 as a Street photography camera
64
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW formats
lighter than others in class (426g)
screen does not articulate
no image stabilization
63
image stabilization (Optical)
lighter than competition (136 grams)
screen does not articulate
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
has no RAW support
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-420 Sports photography info
Panasonic SZ5 Sports photography info
38
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports phase detect auto focus
slow continuous shooting (4.0 fps)
no image stabilization
megapixel count low (10MP)
low battery life (500 per charge)
40
image stabilization (Optical)
decent megapixels (14MP)
comes with tracking autofocus
slow continuous shooting (2.0 frames/s)
lack of shutter priority mode
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
has no phase detect auto focus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-420 as a Travel photography camera
Panasonic SZ5 as a Travel photography camera
52
lighter than others in class (426 grams)
flash built-in
lack of Time Lapse recording
low battery life (500 CIPA)
megapixel count low (10 megapixels)
screen is not selfie friendly
70
lighter than competition (136 grams)
decent megapixels (14 megapixels)
built-in flash
really wide (25mm)
long zoom (250mm)
missing Time Lapse function
screen isn't selfie friendly
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.1)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-420 Landscape photography highlights
Panasonic SZ5 Landscape photography highlights
47
you can focus manually
change lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW formats
screen is somewhat small (2.7")
no image stabilization
megapixel count low (10 megapixels)
low battery life (500 shots)
lack of Time Lapse recording
42
really wide (25mm)
nice screen size (3")
image stabilization (Optical)
decent megapixels (14MP)
focusing manually not possible
cannot switch lenses (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.1)
no manual mode
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
has no RAW support
missing Time Lapse function
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-420 Vlogging factors
Panasonic SZ5 Vlogging factors
9
no video
32
really wide (25mm)
image stabilization (Optical)
comes with face detection focus
lighter than competition (136g)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.1)
screen isn't selfie friendly
low res video (1280 x 720 pixels)
missing external mic port
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Olympus E-420 vs Panasonic SZ5 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-420 and Panasonic SZ5
 Olympus E-420Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ5
General Information
Brand Name Olympus Panasonic
Model Olympus E-420 Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ5
Type Entry-Level DSLR Small Sensor Compact
Announced 2008-06-23 2012-07-18
Body design Compact SLR Compact
Sensor Information
Powered by TruePic III -
Sensor type CMOS CCD
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 6.08 x 4.56mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 27.7mm²
Sensor resolution 10MP 14MP
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Maximum resolution 3648 x 2736 4320 x 3240
Maximum native ISO 1600 1600
Maximum boosted ISO - 6400
Lowest native ISO 100 100
RAW pictures
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch focus
Continuous AF
AF single
Tracking AF
AF selectice
Center weighted AF
AF multi area
Live view AF
Face detection focusing
Contract detection focusing
Phase detection focusing
Number of focus points 3 23
Lens
Lens mount Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens focal range - 25-250mm (10.0x)
Highest aperture - f/3.1-5.9
Macro focus range - 5cm
Number of lenses 45 -
Crop factor 2.1 5.9
Screen
Screen type Fixed Type Fixed Type
Screen size 2.7 inch 3 inch
Resolution of screen 230k dot 230k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch functionality
Screen technology - TFT Screen LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Optical (pentamirror) None
Viewfinder coverage 95 percent -
Viewfinder magnification 0.46x -
Features
Slowest shutter speed 60s 8s
Maximum shutter speed 1/4000s 1/1600s
Continuous shooting speed 4.0fps 2.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual exposure
Exposure compensation Yes -
Set WB
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash range 12.00 m (at ISO 100) 5.60 m
Flash modes Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow Sync
External flash
AE bracketing
White balance bracketing
Maximum flash sync 1/180s -
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Video resolutions - 1280 x 720p ( 30,25 fps), 640 x 480 (30, 25 fps)
Maximum video resolution None 1280x720
Video data format - MPEG-4
Mic jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 426 gr (0.94 lb) 136 gr (0.30 lb)
Dimensions 130 x 91 x 53mm (5.1" x 3.6" x 2.1") 104 x 58 x 21mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 0.8")
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 250 images
Battery form Battery Pack Battery Pack
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 secs)
Time lapse recording
Type of storage Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal
Storage slots Single Single
Cost at launch $999 $195