Olympus E-510 vs Panasonic FZ2500

Here is a detailed analysis of the Olympus E-510 and Panasonic FZ2500, one being a Advanced DSLR and the latter is a Large Sensor Superzoom by competitors Olympus and Panasonic. There is a big difference among the resolutions of the E-510 (10MP) and FZ2500 (20MP) and the E-510 (Four Thirds) and FZ2500 (1") offer different sensor size.

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The E-510 was unveiled 9 years earlier than the FZ2500 and that is a fairly big gap as far as camera tech is concerned. Each of the cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-510 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Panasonic FZ2500 being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before diving straight to a full comparison, here is a concise summary of how the E-510 scores vs the FZ2500 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Below is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus E-510 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ2500. The full galleries are provided at Olympus E-510 Gallery and Panasonic FZ2500 Gallery.

If you're planning to carry your camera often, you are going to need to think about its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-510 has exterior measurements of 136mm x 92mm x 68mm (5.4" x 3.6" x 2.7") and a weight of 490 grams (1.08 lbs) while the Panasonic FZ2500 has proportions of 138mm x 102mm x 135mm (5.4" x 4.0" x 5.3") and a weight of 915 grams (2.02 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus E-510 and Panasonic FZ2500 in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary depending on the lens you have attached at the time. The following is a front view measurement comparison of the E-510 versus the FZ2500.

Using size and weight, the portability grade of the E-510 and FZ2500 is 69 and 53 respectively.

Usually, it can be tough to imagine the contrast in sensor sizing only by going through a spec sheet. The graphic below will provide you a clearer sense of the sensor measurements in the E-510 and FZ2500.

Clearly, both the cameras feature different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The E-510 with its bigger sensor is going to make getting shallower depth of field simpler and the Panasonic FZ2500 will show extra detail having an extra 10MP. Higher resolution can also make it easier to crop pictures way more aggressively. The older E-510 will be disadvantaged in sensor innovation.