Olympus E-510 vs Panasonic S3

Lets examine more closely at the Olympus E-510 vs Panasonic S3, one being a Advanced DSLR and the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by companies Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a sizeable gap between the image resolutions of the E-510 (10MP) and S3 (14MP) and the E-510 (Four Thirds) and S3 (1/2.3") enjoy different sensor size.

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The E-510 was announced 4 years prior to the S3 and that is quite a large gap as far as technology is concerned. The two cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-510 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Panasonic S3 being a Compact camera.

Before going through a full comparison, below is a simple highlight of how the E-510 matches up versus the S3 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

The following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus E-510 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-S3. The whole galleries are available at Olympus E-510 Gallery and Panasonic S3 Gallery.

For anyone who is going to carry your camera regularly, you'll need to consider its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-510 enjoys physical measurements of 136mm x 92mm x 68mm (5.4" x 3.6" x 2.7") with a weight of 490 grams (1.08 lbs) and the Panasonic S3 has proportions of 99mm x 59mm x 21mm (3.9" x 2.3" x 0.8") along with a weight of 117 grams (0.26 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus E-510 vs Panasonic S3 in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ based on the lens you have chosen at the time. Following is the front view physical size comparison of the E-510 against the S3.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-510 and S3 is 69 and 96 respectively.

Sometimes, its hard to visualize the gap between sensor sizing just by looking at specifications. The visual here should offer you a stronger sense of the sensor measurements in the E-510 and S3.

Plainly, each of the cameras offer different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The E-510 using its bigger sensor is going to make getting shallower DOF easier and the Panasonic S3 will give extra detail with its extra 4MP. Higher resolution can also help you crop shots a little more aggressively. The older E-510 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor innovation.