Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS30
70 Imaging
41 Features
34 Overall
38
92 Imaging
42 Features
48 Overall
44
Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS30 Key Specs
(Full Review)
- 8MP - Four Thirds Sensor
- 2.5" Fixed Display
- ISO 100 - 400 (Raise to 1600)
- No Video
- Micro Four Thirds Mount
- 479g - 130 x 95 x 66mm
- Announced October 2005
- Additionally referred to as EVOLT E-500
- Updated by Olympus E-510
(Full Review)
- 18MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
- 3" Fixed Screen
- ISO 100 - 6400
- Optical Image Stabilization
- 1920 x 1080 video
- 24-480mm (F3.3-6.4) lens
- 198g - 105 x 59 x 28mm
- Introduced January 2013
- Alternate Name is Lumix DMC-TZ40
- Previous Model is Panasonic ZS25
- New Model is Panasonic ZS35
Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS30 Overview
Let's take a closer look at the Olympus E-500 and Panasonic ZS30, one is a Advanced DSLR and the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by competitors Olympus and Panasonic. There is a huge difference between the image resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and ZS30 (18MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and ZS30 (1/2.3") come with different sensor sizing.
Photography GlossaryThe E-500 was introduced 8 years earlier than the ZS30 which is quite a significant gap as far as tech is concerned. Both cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Panasonic ZS30 being a Compact camera.
Before delving straight into a thorough comparison, below is a simple introduction of how the E-500 scores vs the ZS30 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.
Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS30 Gallery
Below is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus E-500 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS30. The whole galleries are provided at Olympus E-500 Gallery and Panasonic ZS30 Gallery.
Reasons to pick Olympus E-500 over the Panasonic ZS30
E-500 | ZS30 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Focus manually | Very exact focus |
Reasons to pick Panasonic ZS30 over the Olympus E-500
ZS30 | E-500 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Introduced | January 2013 | October 2005 | Newer by 87 months | |
Screen sizing | 3" | 2.5" | Bigger screen (+0.5") | |
Screen resolution | 920k | 215k | Clearer screen (+705k dot) | |
Touch screen | Quickly navigate |
Common features in the Olympus E-500 and Panasonic ZS30
E-500 | ZS30 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Screen type | Fixed | Fixed | Fixed screen | |
Selfie screen | Lacking selfie screen |
Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS30 Physical Comparison
In case you're intending to travel with your camera regularly, you are going to need to factor its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-500 offers outside dimensions of 130mm x 95mm x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") along with a weight of 479 grams (1.06 lbs) and the Panasonic ZS30 has dimensions of 105mm x 59mm x 28mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 1.1") and a weight of 198 grams (0.44 lbs).
Check the Olympus E-500 and Panasonic ZS30 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ depending on the lens you select at the time. Following is the front view over all size comparison of the E-500 vs the ZS30.
Factoring in size and weight, the portability rating of the E-500 and ZS30 is 70 and 92 respectively.
Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS30 Sensor Comparison
Generally, it can be difficult to picture the difference between sensor dimensions only by reading specifications. The picture here may give you a stronger sense of the sensor sizes in the E-500 and ZS30.
Plainly, both of those cameras offer different resolutions and different sensor dimensions. The E-500 using its bigger sensor is going to make shooting shallower depth of field easier and the Panasonic ZS30 will offer greater detail using its extra 10 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also allow you to crop pictures a little more aggressively. The more aged E-500 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor innovation.
Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS30 Screen and ViewFinder
Photography Type Scores
Portrait Comparison
Street Comparison
Sports Comparison
Travel Comparison
Landscape Comparison
Vlogging Comparison
Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS30 Specifications
Olympus E-500 | Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS30 | |
---|---|---|
General Information | ||
Brand Name | Olympus | Panasonic |
Model | Olympus E-500 | Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS30 |
Also called as | EVOLT E-500 | Lumix DMC-TZ40 |
Type | Advanced DSLR | Small Sensor Superzoom |
Announced | 2005-10-21 | 2013-01-07 |
Physical type | Mid-size SLR | Compact |
Sensor Information | ||
Sensor type | CCD | CMOS |
Sensor size | Four Thirds | 1/2.3" |
Sensor dimensions | 17.3 x 13mm | 6.17 x 4.55mm |
Sensor surface area | 224.9mm² | 28.1mm² |
Sensor resolution | 8 megapixels | 18 megapixels |
Anti aliasing filter | ||
Aspect ratio | 4:3 | 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 |
Highest resolution | 3264 x 2448 | 4896 x 3672 |
Highest native ISO | 400 | 6400 |
Highest boosted ISO | 1600 | - |
Lowest native ISO | 100 | 100 |
RAW support | ||
Autofocusing | ||
Focus manually | ||
Touch focus | ||
AF continuous | ||
AF single | ||
Tracking AF | ||
AF selectice | ||
Center weighted AF | ||
Multi area AF | ||
Live view AF | ||
Face detect AF | ||
Contract detect AF | ||
Phase detect AF | ||
Number of focus points | 3 | 23 |
Lens | ||
Lens mounting type | Micro Four Thirds | fixed lens |
Lens focal range | - | 24-480mm (20.0x) |
Largest aperture | - | f/3.3-6.4 |
Macro focus distance | - | 3cm |
Amount of lenses | 45 | - |
Crop factor | 2.1 | 5.8 |
Screen | ||
Display type | Fixed Type | Fixed Type |
Display sizing | 2.5 inch | 3 inch |
Display resolution | 215 thousand dots | 920 thousand dots |
Selfie friendly | ||
Liveview | ||
Touch function | ||
Viewfinder Information | ||
Viewfinder | Optical (pentaprism) | None |
Viewfinder coverage | 95% | - |
Viewfinder magnification | 0.45x | - |
Features | ||
Slowest shutter speed | 60s | 15s |
Maximum shutter speed | 1/4000s | 1/1200s |
Continuous shooting rate | 3.0 frames per second | 10.0 frames per second |
Shutter priority | ||
Aperture priority | ||
Manually set exposure | ||
Exposure compensation | Yes | Yes |
Custom WB | ||
Image stabilization | ||
Inbuilt flash | ||
Flash range | 13.00 m (at ISO 100) | 6.40 m |
Flash settings | Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye | Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow Syncro |
Hot shoe | ||
AEB | ||
WB bracketing | ||
Maximum flash synchronize | 1/180s | - |
Exposure | ||
Multisegment metering | ||
Average metering | ||
Spot metering | ||
Partial metering | ||
AF area metering | ||
Center weighted metering | ||
Video features | ||
Video resolutions | - | 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1280 x 720 (60, 30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (220 fps) |
Highest video resolution | None | 1920x1080 |
Video format | - | MPEG-4, AVCHD |
Mic support | ||
Headphone support | ||
Connectivity | ||
Wireless | None | Built-In |
Bluetooth | ||
NFC | ||
HDMI | ||
USB | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) |
GPS | None | BuiltIn |
Physical | ||
Environment sealing | ||
Water proof | ||
Dust proof | ||
Shock proof | ||
Crush proof | ||
Freeze proof | ||
Weight | 479 gr (1.06 pounds) | 198 gr (0.44 pounds) |
Dimensions | 130 x 95 x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") | 105 x 59 x 28mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 1.1") |
DXO scores | ||
DXO All around score | not tested | not tested |
DXO Color Depth score | not tested | not tested |
DXO Dynamic range score | not tested | not tested |
DXO Low light score | not tested | not tested |
Other | ||
Battery life | - | 260 shots |
Style of battery | - | Battery Pack |
Self timer | Yes (2 or 12 sec) | Yes (2 or 10 sec) |
Time lapse shooting | ||
Type of storage | Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card | SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal |
Card slots | One | One |
Cost at launch | $600 | $250 |