Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS45

Its time to look closer at the Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS45, former is a Advanced DSLR while the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom by companies Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a large gap among the resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and ZS45 (16MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and ZS45 (1/2.3") have totally different sensor dimensions.

Photography Glossary

The E-500 was introduced 10 years earlier than the ZS45 which is a fairly serious difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Panasonic ZS45 being a Compact camera.

Before diving right into a comprehensive comparison, here is a quick highlight of how the E-500 scores versus the ZS45 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Here is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus E-500 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS45. The whole galleries are viewable at Olympus E-500 Gallery & Panasonic ZS45 Gallery.

For anyone who is intending to travel with your camera regularly, you will have to factor its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-500 features physical measurements of 130mm x 95mm x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") accompanied by a weight of 479 grams (1.06 lbs) whilst the Panasonic ZS45 has proportions of 108mm x 60mm x 32mm (4.3" x 2.4" x 1.3") having a weight of 249 grams (0.55 lbs).

See the Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS45 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you choose at that time. Following is a front view size comparison of the E-500 and the ZS45.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-500 and ZS45 is 70 and 91 respectively.

Typically, its difficult to visualise the contrast in sensor dimensions only by looking through specifications. The picture below might offer you a stronger sense of the sensor sizing in the E-500 and ZS45.

To sum up, each of these cameras have different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The E-500 with its larger sensor will make getting shallower depth of field less difficult and the Panasonic ZS45 will result in greater detail using its extra 8MP. Greater resolution can also enable you to crop pics a bit more aggressively. The more aged E-500 will be behind with regard to sensor innovation.