Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS30

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.

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The 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.

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.

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.

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.