Olympus E-510 vs Panasonic FH2

Here, we are analyzing the Olympus E-510 versus Panasonic FH2, one being a Advanced DSLR and the other is a Small Sensor Compact by companies Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a sizeable gap among the resolutions of the E-510 (10MP) and FH2 (14MP) and the E-510 (Four Thirds) and FH2 (1/2.3") posses totally different sensor measurements.

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The E-510 was launched 4 years before the FH2 and that is a fairly large gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of the cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-510 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Panasonic FH2 being a Compact camera.

Before delving right into a in depth comparison, here is a short summary of how the E-510 scores against the FH2 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

The following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus E-510 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH2. The complete galleries are available at Olympus E-510 Gallery and Panasonic FH2 Gallery.

If you are aiming to lug around your camera frequently, you're going to have to factor its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-510 offers physical measurements of 136mm x 92mm x 68mm (5.4" x 3.6" x 2.7") with a weight of 490 grams (1.08 lbs) while the Panasonic FH2 has measurements of 94mm x 54mm x 19mm (3.7" x 2.1" x 0.7") with a weight of 121 grams (0.27 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus E-510 versus Panasonic FH2 in the latest Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change based on the lens you use at that moment. Underneath is a front view size comparison of the E-510 versus the FH2.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-510 and FH2 is 69 and 96 respectively.

Quite often, it is very tough to visualise the gap in sensor measurements simply by viewing a spec sheet. The photograph below might give you a better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-510 and FH2.

As you can see, both cameras come with different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-510 featuring a larger sensor will make achieving shallow DOF simpler and the Panasonic FH2 will result in more detail utilizing its extra 4MP. Greater resolution can also enable you to crop photos a good deal more aggressively. The older E-510 will be behind in sensor tech.