Olympus E-510 vs Panasonic FH20

Below, we are matching up the Olympus E-510 and Panasonic FH20, one being a Advanced DSLR and the other is a Small Sensor Compact by manufacturers Olympus and Panasonic. There is a huge difference among the resolutions of the E-510 (10MP) and FH20 (14MP) and the E-510 (Four Thirds) and FH20 (1/2.3") feature different sensor sizes.

Photography Glossary

The E-510 was brought out 3 years earlier than the FH20 and that is a fairly significant gap as far as camera tech is concerned. Both of these cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-510 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Panasonic FH20 being a Compact camera.

Before diving through a full comparison, below is a brief highlight of how the E-510 scores vs the FH20 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Here is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus E-510 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH20. The entire galleries are viewable at Olympus E-510 Gallery and Panasonic FH20 Gallery.

For anybody who is aiming to carry your camera frequently, you're going to have to take into account its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-510 has outside measurements of 136mm x 92mm x 68mm (5.4" x 3.6" x 2.7") having a weight of 490 grams (1.08 lbs) and the Panasonic FH20 has dimensions of 100mm x 56mm x 28mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 1.1") with a weight of 178 grams (0.39 lbs).

Examine the Olympus E-510 and Panasonic FH20 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ dependant on the lens you are utilising at the time. The following is the front view measurements comparison of the E-510 compared to the FH20.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability rating of the E-510 and FH20 is 69 and 93 respectively.

Often, its hard to imagine the contrast in sensor sizing merely by going through specs. The graphic underneath will help offer you a greater sense of the sensor sizing in the E-510 and FH20.

As you can plainly see, both of the cameras have got different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The E-510 because of its larger sensor is going to make shooting shallower depth of field simpler and the Panasonic FH20 will provide extra detail having its extra 4MP. Greater resolution will also enable you to crop photos much more aggressively. The older E-510 will be behind in sensor innovation.