Olympus E-510 vs Panasonic FP3

Let's look a bit more in depth at the Olympus E-510 and Panasonic FP3, one being a Advanced DSLR and the latter is a Ultracompact by competitors Olympus and Panasonic. There is a big difference among the sensor resolutions of the E-510 (10MP) and FP3 (14MP) and the E-510 (Four Thirds) and FP3 (1/2.3") enjoy different sensor size.

Apple Innovates by Creating Next-Level Optical Stabilization for iPhone

The E-510 was released 3 years before the FP3 and that is a fairly big gap as far as camera tech is concerned. Each of the cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-510 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Panasonic FP3 being a Ultracompact camera.

Before getting in to a in-depth comparison, below is a short highlight of how the E-510 matches up against the FP3 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Following is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus E-510 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-FP3. The complete galleries are available at Olympus E-510 Gallery and Panasonic FP3 Gallery.

For those who are aiming to carry your camera often, you're going to have to think about its weight and volume. The Olympus E-510 enjoys outer measurements of 136mm x 92mm x 68mm (5.4" x 3.6" x 2.7") along with a weight of 490 grams (1.08 lbs) whilst the Panasonic FP3 has sizing of 99mm x 59mm x 19mm (3.9" x 2.3" x 0.7") and a weight of 155 grams (0.34 lbs).

Examine the Olympus E-510 and Panasonic FP3 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary depending on the lens you have chosen at that moment. Here is the front view over all size comparison of the E-510 compared to the FP3.

Factoring in size and weight, the portability score of the E-510 and FP3 is 69 and 95 respectively.

Generally, its difficult to visualize the contrast in sensor sizing only by viewing a spec sheet. The visual below should provide you a stronger sense of the sensor sizing in the E-510 and FP3.

Clearly, the two cameras enjoy different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The E-510 featuring a bigger sensor is going to make shooting shallower DOF easier and the Panasonic FP3 will result in more detail as a result of its extra 4MP. Higher resolution will make it easier to crop shots far more aggressively. The older E-510 will be behind when it comes to sensor innovation.