Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS3

Its time to take a more detailed look at the Olympus E-500 and Panasonic ZS3, former being a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by competitors Olympus and Panasonic. The resolution of the E-500 (8MP) and the ZS3 (10MP) is relatively similar but the E-500 (Four Thirds) and ZS3 (1/2.3") offer different sensor sizes.

Photography Glossary

The E-500 was unveiled 4 years before the ZS3 and that is quite a big difference as far as technology is concerned. Each of these cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Panasonic ZS3 being a Compact camera.

Before diving into a step-by-step comparison, here is a quick summation of how the E-500 scores against the ZS3 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Following is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus E-500 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3. The full galleries are available at Olympus E-500 Gallery & Panasonic ZS3 Gallery.

If you're aiming to carry your camera regularly, you will need to take into account its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-500 has physical measurements of 130mm x 95mm x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") and a weight of 479 grams (1.06 lbs) while the Panasonic ZS3 has proportions of 103mm x 60mm x 33mm (4.1" x 2.4" x 1.3") having a weight of 229 grams (0.50 lbs).

Compare the Olympus E-500 and Panasonic ZS3 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you are utilising at that moment. The following is a front view proportions comparison of the E-500 compared to the ZS3.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-500 and ZS3 is 70 and 91 respectively.

Sometimes, it is difficult to imagine the gap between sensor sizing purely by reading technical specs. The visual here should give you a clearer sense of the sensor measurements in the E-500 and ZS3.

As you have seen, the 2 cameras come with different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The E-500 using its bigger sensor is going to make achieving shallow depth of field simpler and the Panasonic ZS3 will offer more detail having an extra 2 Megapixels. Higher resolution will make it easier to crop pictures a good deal more aggressively. The older E-500 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor innovation.