Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic SZ8

Here is a extensive overview of the Olympus E-500 versus Panasonic SZ8, former being a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by manufacturers Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a large gap between the image resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and SZ8 (16MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and SZ8 (1/2.3") have different sensor dimensions.

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The E-500 was brought out 9 years earlier than the SZ8 and that is quite a serious difference as far as technology is concerned. Both of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Panasonic SZ8 being a Compact camera.

Before going straight to a full comparison, here is a short introduction of how the E-500 scores against the SZ8 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

This is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus E-500 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ8. The entire galleries are provided at Olympus E-500 Gallery & Panasonic SZ8 Gallery.

For anyone who is aiming to carry your camera, you have to factor its weight and size. The Olympus E-500 provides exterior measurements of 130mm x 95mm x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") and a weight of 479 grams (1.06 lbs) and the Panasonic SZ8 has specifications of 100mm x 60mm x 27mm (3.9" x 2.4" x 1.1") accompanied by a weight of 159 grams (0.35 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-500 versus Panasonic SZ8 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you select during that time. The following is a front view over all size comparison of the E-500 and the SZ8.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-500 and SZ8 is 70 and 94 respectively.

Quite often, it is very tough to picture the difference between sensor sizing simply by reading through technical specs. The photograph underneath will give you a far better sense of the sensor sizing in the E-500 and SZ8.

As you have seen, both the cameras have different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The E-500 due to its bigger sensor is going to make getting shallow depth of field less difficult and the Panasonic SZ8 will resolve extra detail having its extra 8 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also let you crop pictures a bit more aggressively. The older E-500 is going to be behind in sensor tech.