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Olympus E-420 vs Panasonic ZS45

Portability
77
Imaging
44
Features
36
Overall
40
Olympus E-420 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS45 front
Portability
91
Imaging
40
Features
55
Overall
46

Olympus E-420 vs Panasonic ZS45 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
  • Older Model is Olympus E-410
Panasonic ZS45
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 100 - 6400
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 24-480mm (F3.3-6.4) lens
  • 249g - 108 x 60 x 32mm
  • Revealed January 2015
  • Alternate Name is Lumix DMC-TZ57
  • Succeeded the Panasonic ZS40
  • Refreshed by Panasonic ZS50
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Olympus E-420 vs Panasonic ZS45 Overview

Here is a in depth overview of the Olympus E-420 and Panasonic ZS45, one being a Entry-Level DSLR and the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by brands Olympus and Panasonic. There is a sizeable difference between the resolutions of the E-420 (10MP) and ZS45 (16MP) and the E-420 (Four Thirds) and ZS45 (1/2.3") posses totally different sensor size.

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The E-420 was introduced 7 years earlier than the ZS45 and that is quite a large gap as far as tech is concerned. Each of these cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-420 being a Compact SLR camera and the Panasonic ZS45 being a Compact camera.

Before getting right into a full comparison, here is a brief summation of how the E-420 scores vs the ZS45 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-420 over the Panasonic ZS45

 E-420 ZS45 
Manual focus Very accurate focus

Reasons to pick Panasonic ZS45 over the Olympus E-420

 ZS45 E-420 
RevealedJanuary 2015June 2008Fresher by 79 months
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen size3"2.7"Bigger screen (+0.3")
Screen resolution1040k230kClearer screen (+810k dot)

Common features in the Olympus E-420 and Panasonic ZS45

 E-420 ZS45 
Selfie screen Missing selfie screen
Touch screen Missing Touch screen

Olympus E-420 vs Panasonic ZS45 Physical Comparison

For those who are intending to carry your camera, you will have to factor its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-420 comes with external dimensions of 130mm x 91mm x 53mm (5.1" x 3.6" x 2.1") along with a weight of 426 grams (0.94 lbs) whilst the Panasonic ZS45 has measurements of 108mm x 60mm x 32mm (4.3" x 2.4" x 1.3") having a weight of 249 grams (0.55 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus E-420 and Panasonic ZS45 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change dependant on the lens you have attached at the time. Below is a front view dimension comparison of the E-420 and the ZS45.

Olympus E-420 vs Panasonic ZS45 size comparison

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability grade of the E-420 and ZS45 is 77 and 91 respectively.

Olympus E-420 vs Panasonic ZS45 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-420 vs Panasonic ZS45 Sensor Comparison

Often, its hard to visualise the contrast between sensor sizing just by checking technical specs. The graphic below should provide you a clearer sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-420 and ZS45.

As you have seen, both of those cameras come with different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The E-420 having a bigger sensor will make getting shallow DOF simpler and the Panasonic ZS45 will give you greater detail using its extra 6MP. Higher resolution can also enable you to crop photographs a good deal more aggressively. The older E-420 is going to be behind when it comes to sensor tech.

Olympus E-420 vs Panasonic ZS45 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-420 vs Panasonic ZS45 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-420 vs Panasonic ZS45 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-420 as a Portrait photography camera
Panasonic ZS45 as a Portrait photography camera
56
has manual focus
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
supports RAW formats
MP count low (10MP)
37
sensor resolution is decent (16 megapixels)
has face detect autofocus
no manual focus
cannot use external flash
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
lack of RAW format
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-420 as a Street photography camera
Panasonic ZS45 as a Street photography camera
64
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
supports RAW formats
lighter than others (426 grams)
no articulating screen
lack of image stabilization
69
has a tilting screen
image stabilization (Optical)
lighter than competition (249g)
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
lack of RAW format
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-420 Sports photography info
Panasonic ZS45 Sports photography info
38
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
has phase detect autofocus
low fps (4.0 fps)
lack of image stabilization
MP count low (10 megapixels)
not so great battery pack (500 per charge)
55
incredible zoom range (24-480mm 20.0 x zoom)
image stabilization (Optical)
sensor resolution is decent (16MP)
has tracking focus
good battery power (350 shots)
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
lack of phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Olympus E-420
Travel photography with Panasonic ZS45
52
lighter than others (426g)
flash built-in
does not have Timelapse mode
not so great battery pack (500 per charge)
MP count low (10 megapixels)
screen is not selfie friendly
71
good battery power (350 shots)
lighter than competition (249g)
sensor resolution is decent (16 megapixels)
has built in flash
rather wide (24mm)
great reach (480mm)
no Time Lapse function
screen is not selfie friendly
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.3)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-420 Landscape photography details
Panasonic ZS45 Landscape photography details
47
has manual focus
swap lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
supports RAW formats
small screen (2.7 inches)
lack of image stabilization
MP count low (10MP)
not so great battery pack (500 shots)
does not have Timelapse mode
47
rather wide (24mm)
screen size is decent (3")
image stabilization (Optical)
sensor resolution is decent (16 megapixels)
good battery power (350 shots)
no manual focus
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.3)
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
lack of RAW format
no Time Lapse function
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-420 Vlogging details
Panasonic ZS45 Vlogging details
9
no video shooting
34
rather wide (24mm)
image stabilization (Optical)
has face detect autofocus
high res video (1920 x 1080 pixels)
lighter than competition (249g)
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.3)
screen is not selfie friendly
no mic jack
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Olympus E-420 vs Panasonic ZS45 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-420 and Panasonic ZS45
 Olympus E-420Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS45
General Information
Company Olympus Panasonic
Model type Olympus E-420 Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS45
Also called - Lumix DMC-TZ57
Class Entry-Level DSLR Small Sensor Superzoom
Announced 2008-06-23 2015-01-06
Body design Compact SLR Compact
Sensor Information
Processor Chip TruePic III -
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 6.08 x 4.56mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 27.7mm²
Sensor resolution 10 megapixels 16 megapixels
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Full resolution 3648 x 2736 4608 x 3456
Max native ISO 1600 6400
Min native ISO 100 100
RAW format
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
Touch focus
Continuous AF
Single AF
Tracking AF
Selective AF
Center weighted AF
AF multi area
AF live view
Face detection focusing
Contract detection focusing
Phase detection focusing
Total focus points 3 21
Lens
Lens support Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 24-480mm (20.0x)
Largest aperture - f/3.3-6.4
Macro focusing range - 3cm
Total lenses 45 -
Crop factor 2.1 5.9
Screen
Range of screen Fixed Type Tilting
Screen size 2.7 inches 3 inches
Screen resolution 230 thousand dot 1,040 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch functionality
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Optical (pentamirror) None
Viewfinder coverage 95% -
Viewfinder magnification 0.46x -
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60s 4s
Highest shutter speed 1/4000s 1/2000s
Continuous shooting speed 4.0fps 10.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Custom WB
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash distance 12.00 m (at ISO 100) 6.00 m
Flash modes Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Slow Sync./Red-eye Reduction, Forced Off
Hot shoe
AEB
White balance bracketing
Highest flash sync 1/180s -
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions - 1920 x 1080 (30p), 1280 x 720 (30p), 640 x 480 (30p)
Max video resolution None 1920x1080
Video file format - MPEG-4
Mic input
Headphone input
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 proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 426 grams (0.94 lb) 249 grams (0.55 lb)
Physical dimensions 130 x 91 x 53mm (5.1" x 3.6" x 2.1") 108 x 60 x 32mm (4.3" x 2.4" x 1.3")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating 56 not tested
DXO Color Depth rating 21.5 not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating 10.4 not tested
DXO Low light rating 527 not tested
Other
Battery life 500 photographs 350 photographs
Form of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse shooting
Storage media Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal
Storage slots One One
Launch price $999 $300