Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS8

Let's take a deeper look at the Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS8, former is a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by competitors Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a considerable gap among the resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and ZS8 (14MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and ZS8 (1/2.3") enjoy totally different sensor size.

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The E-500 was manufactured 6 years prior to the ZS8 which is a fairly large difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of the cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Panasonic ZS8 being a Compact camera.

Before we go straight into a more detailed comparison, below is a short highlight of how the E-500 scores vs the ZS8 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus E-500 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS8. The entire galleries are provided at Olympus E-500 Gallery & Panasonic ZS8 Gallery.

For anybody who is aiming to travel with your camera, you need to factor its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-500 comes with outer measurements of 130mm x 95mm x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") with a weight of 479 grams (1.06 lbs) while the Panasonic ZS8 has dimensions of 105mm x 58mm x 33mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 1.3") with a weight of 210 grams (0.46 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic ZS8 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you are employing at that time. Underneath is the front view physical size comparison of the E-500 and the ZS8.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-500 and ZS8 is 70 and 92 respectively.

Typically, it's hard to envision the contrast in sensor dimensions purely by going through specifications. The pic underneath should provide you a more clear sense of the sensor measurements in the E-500 and ZS8.

To sum up, both of those cameras enjoy different resolutions and different sensor dimensions. The E-500 due to its bigger sensor will make achieving shallow depth of field simpler and the Panasonic ZS8 will show more detail due to its extra 6 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also allow you to crop pictures far more aggressively. The more aged E-500 will be disadvantaged in sensor tech.