Olympus E-420 vs Panasonic SZ8

In this article, we are contrasting the Olympus E-420 and Panasonic SZ8, former being a Entry-Level DSLR while the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom by competitors Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a considerable gap among the sensor resolutions of the E-420 (10MP) and SZ8 (16MP) and the E-420 (Four Thirds) and SZ8 (1/2.3") enjoy different sensor measurements.

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The E-420 was announced 6 years before the SZ8 and that is a fairly large difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of the cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-420 being a Compact SLR camera and the Panasonic SZ8 being a Compact camera.

Before diving straight into a comprehensive comparison, below is a short introduction of how the E-420 matches up versus the SZ8 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

The following is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus E-420 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ8. The whole galleries are available at Olympus E-420 Gallery & Panasonic SZ8 Gallery.

For anybody who is intending to lug around your camera often, you'll need to factor its weight and size. The Olympus E-420 enjoys outside dimensions of 130mm x 91mm x 53mm (5.1" x 3.6" x 2.1") and a weight of 426 grams (0.94 lbs) while the Panasonic SZ8 has specifications of 100mm x 60mm x 27mm (3.9" x 2.4" x 1.1") with a weight of 159 grams (0.35 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-420 and Panasonic SZ8 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you are using at that moment. Following is the front view overall size comparison of the E-420 and the SZ8.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-420 and SZ8 is 77 and 94 respectively.

Typically, it can be tough to imagine the contrast in sensor measurements just by checking out specifications. The photograph here might give you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-420 and SZ8.

Plainly, both cameras offer different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The E-420 having a larger sensor is going to make achieving shallower depth of field simpler and the Panasonic SZ8 will provide more detail with its extra 6 Megapixels. Greater resolution will allow you to crop pics a little more aggressively. The older E-420 will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor innovation.