Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS10

Below, we will be looking at the Olympus E-500 and Panasonic ZS10, one is a Advanced DSLR and the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by manufacturers Olympus and Panasonic. There is a huge difference between the image resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and ZS10 (14MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and ZS10 (1/2.3") possess different sensor sizes.

Photography Glossary

The E-500 was manufactured 6 years before the ZS10 which is quite a significant gap as far as tech is concerned. The two cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Panasonic ZS10 being a Compact camera.

Before getting straight into a complete comparison, below is a concise overview of how the E-500 scores vs the ZS10 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Here is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus E-500 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS10. The entire galleries are available at Olympus E-500 Gallery and Panasonic ZS10 Gallery.

When you are going to travel with your camera, you need to think about its weight and size. The Olympus E-500 offers physical measurements of 130mm x 95mm x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") along with a weight of 479 grams (1.06 lbs) whilst the Panasonic ZS10 has specifications of 105mm x 58mm x 33mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 1.3") with a weight of 219 grams (0.48 lbs).

Look at the Olympus E-500 and Panasonic ZS10 in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary dependant on the lens you have at that time. Here is the front view measurement comparison of the E-500 and the ZS10.

Factoring in size and weight, the portability rating of the E-500 and ZS10 is 70 and 91 respectively.

Often, it can be tough to visualize the contrast between sensor dimensions merely by looking at specs. The pic underneath should give you a far better sense of the sensor sizing in the E-500 and ZS10.

As you can plainly see, the two cameras have got different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The E-500 because of its bigger sensor is going to make getting shallower DOF easier and the Panasonic ZS10 will resolve greater detail due to its extra 6MP. Higher resolution can also make it easier to crop shots much more aggressively. The more aged E-500 is going to be behind with regard to sensor innovation.