Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS100

Its time to take a closer look at the Olympus E-500 and Panasonic ZS100, former is a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Large Sensor Compact by brands Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a large gap among the resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and ZS100 (20MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and ZS100 (1") offer totally different sensor size.

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The E-500 was revealed 11 years before the ZS100 which is a fairly serious difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Panasonic ZS100 being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before we go into a comprehensive comparison, here is a short summary of how the E-500 scores vs the ZS100 for portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

This is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus E-500 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS100. The full galleries are viewable at Olympus E-500 Gallery & Panasonic ZS100 Gallery.

For anybody who is aiming to carry around your camera, you need to think about its weight and size. The Olympus E-500 enjoys physical measurements of 130mm x 95mm x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") with a weight of 479 grams (1.06 lbs) and the Panasonic ZS100 has specifications of 111mm x 65mm x 44mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.7") having a weight of 312 grams (0.69 lbs).

Check the Olympus E-500 and Panasonic ZS100 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you use at that moment. Here is a front view proportions comparison of the E-500 vs the ZS100.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-500 and ZS100 is 70 and 87 respectively.

Typically, its hard to visualise the difference in sensor sizes just by looking through technical specs. The pic below will help provide you a clearer sense of the sensor measurements in the E-500 and ZS100.

As you have seen, both the cameras have different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The E-500 having a bigger sensor will make achieving shallow depth of field easier and the Panasonic ZS100 will provide you with greater detail because of its extra 12MP. Higher resolution will enable you to crop photographs a bit more aggressively. The more aged E-500 will be behind in sensor technology.