Olympus E-510 vs Panasonic SZ5

Below is a thorough overview of the Olympus E-510 versus Panasonic SZ5, one being a Advanced DSLR and the other is a Small Sensor Compact by companies Olympus and Panasonic. There is a huge difference between the image resolutions of the E-510 (10MP) and SZ5 (14MP) and the E-510 (Four Thirds) and SZ5 (1/2.3") have totally different sensor size.

Photography Glossary

The E-510 was manufactured 5 years before the SZ5 and that is quite a significant gap as far as tech is concerned. Both of the cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-510 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Panasonic SZ5 being a Compact camera.

Before delving right into a step-by-step comparison, here is a simple highlight of how the E-510 grades vs the SZ5 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus E-510 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ5. The entire galleries are viewable at Olympus E-510 Gallery and Panasonic SZ5 Gallery.

For those who are intending to lug around your camera often, you will need to factor its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-510 enjoys outer dimensions of 136mm x 92mm x 68mm (5.4" x 3.6" x 2.7") and a weight of 490 grams (1.08 lbs) whilst the Panasonic SZ5 has measurements of 104mm x 58mm x 21mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 0.8") having a weight of 136 grams (0.30 lbs).

Check the Olympus E-510 versus Panasonic SZ5 in the latest Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change dependant on the lens you have at the time. Below is a front view overall size comparison of the E-510 vs the SZ5.

Looking at size and weight, the portability score of the E-510 and SZ5 is 69 and 95 respectively.

In many cases, it can be hard to envision the gap between sensor measurements only by reviewing technical specs. The photograph here may provide you a stronger sense of the sensor sizes in the E-510 and SZ5.

As you have seen, each of these cameras feature different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The E-510 featuring a larger sensor will make getting shallower depth of field simpler and the Panasonic SZ5 will offer extra detail due to its extra 4MP. Greater resolution will help you crop images way more aggressively. The older E-510 is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor technology.