Olympus E-510 vs Panasonic FZ300

Here is a extended comparison of the Olympus E-510 and Panasonic FZ300, former being a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by companies Olympus and Panasonic. The image resolution of the E-510 (10MP) and the FZ300 (12MP) is pretty comparable but the E-510 (Four Thirds) and FZ300 (1/2.3") come with totally different sensor dimensions.

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The E-510 was introduced 8 years prior to the FZ300 and that is a fairly large difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-510 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Panasonic FZ300 being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before going straight into a in-depth comparison, below is a concise summation of how the E-510 grades versus the FZ300 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

This is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus E-510 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ300. The whole galleries are available at Olympus E-510 Gallery & Panasonic FZ300 Gallery.

For those who are planning to carry your camera frequently, you'll need to factor in its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-510 provides external dimensions 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 FZ300 has dimensions of 132mm x 92mm x 117mm (5.2" x 3.6" x 4.6") accompanied by a weight of 691 grams (1.52 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus E-510 and Panasonic FZ300 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you are using at that time. Below is the front view over all size comparison of the E-510 and the FZ300.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-510 and FZ300 is 69 and 59 respectively.

Sometimes, its difficult to visualise the contrast in sensor sizing just by checking out technical specs. The visual below might give you a better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-510 and FZ300.

As you have seen, both of these cameras posses different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The E-510 with its bigger sensor will make achieving shallow depth of field simpler and the Panasonic FZ300 will produce more detail using its extra 2 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also allow you to crop pictures somewhat more aggressively. The older E-510 will be behind with regard to sensor innovation.