Olympus E-510 vs Panasonic FP1

Below, we will be looking at the Olympus E-510 and Panasonic FP1, former being a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Ultracompact by competitors Olympus and Panasonic. The resolution of the E-510 (10MP) and the FP1 (12MP) is relatively close but the E-510 (Four Thirds) and FP1 (1/2.3") enjoy totally different sensor dimensions.

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The E-510 was manufactured 3 years prior to the FP1 and that is a fairly big difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Both of the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-510 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Panasonic FP1 being a Ultracompact camera.

Before we go through a more detailed comparison, below is a quick overview of how the E-510 grades against the FP1 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Below is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus E-510 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-FP1. The entire galleries are provided at Olympus E-510 Gallery & Panasonic FP1 Gallery.

If you are aiming to lug around your camera regularly, you'll need to factor its weight and size. The Olympus E-510 has outer dimensions of 136mm x 92mm x 68mm (5.4" x 3.6" x 2.7") having a weight of 490 grams (1.08 lbs) while the Panasonic FP1 has specifications of 99mm x 59mm x 19mm (3.9" x 2.3" x 0.7") accompanied by a weight of 151 grams (0.33 lbs).

Look at the Olympus E-510 and Panasonic FP1 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you have at that moment. The following is the front view measurements comparison of the E-510 vs the FP1.

Considering size and weight, the portability grade of the E-510 and FP1 is 69 and 95 respectively.

Usually, it is very difficult to see the gap in sensor measurements purely by looking through specifications. The photograph below will help offer you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-510 and FP1.

To sum up, both of these cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-510 featuring a bigger sensor will make shooting bokeh simpler and the Panasonic FP1 will render more detail due to its extra 2 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also enable you to crop photographs somewhat more aggressively. The older E-510 will be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor technology.