Olympus E-420 vs Panasonic XS1

Its time to look a little more closely at the Olympus E-420 and Panasonic XS1, one being a Entry-Level DSLR and the other is a Small Sensor Compact by manufacturers Olympus and Panasonic. There is a huge difference between the sensor resolutions of the E-420 (10MP) and XS1 (16MP) and the E-420 (Four Thirds) and XS1 (1/2.3") enjoy totally different sensor measurements.

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The E-420 was released 5 years before the XS1 and that is quite a significant gap as far as tech is concerned. The two cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-420 being a Compact SLR camera and the Panasonic XS1 being a Compact camera.

Before going straight into a detailed comparison, below is a quick summary of how the E-420 matches up against the XS1 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Below is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus E-420 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-XS1. The complete galleries are viewable at Olympus E-420 Gallery and Panasonic XS1 Gallery.

In case you're going to carry your camera frequently, you're going to have to take into account its weight and volume. The Olympus E-420 features outer dimensions of 130mm x 91mm x 53mm (5.1" x 3.6" x 2.1") accompanied by a weight of 426 grams (0.94 lbs) while the Panasonic XS1 has sizing of 94mm x 54mm x 14mm (3.7" x 2.1" x 0.6") accompanied by a weight of 103 grams (0.23 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-420 and Panasonic XS1 in the latest Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change based on the lens you have at the time. Here is the front view measurements comparison of the E-420 versus the XS1.

Considering size and weight, the portability score of the E-420 and XS1 is 77 and 97 respectively.

Generally, it is tough to envision the contrast between sensor sizing just by checking specs. The visual below will help provide you a more clear sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-420 and XS1.

As you can plainly see, each of the cameras offer different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The E-420 featuring a larger sensor will make achieving shallow depth of field easier and the Panasonic XS1 will give extra detail as a result of its extra 6MP. Greater resolution can also let you crop photos a little more aggressively. The older E-420 is going to be behind with regard to sensor tech.