Olympus E-510 vs Panasonic SZ7

Let's look a little more closely at the Olympus E-510 and Panasonic SZ7, former being a Advanced DSLR while the other is a Small Sensor Compact by manufacturers Olympus and Panasonic. There is a noticeable difference between the image resolutions of the E-510 (10MP) and SZ7 (14MP) and the E-510 (Four Thirds) and SZ7 (1/2.3") posses different sensor sizes.

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The E-510 was released 5 years earlier than the SZ7 and that is quite a sizable difference as far as tech is concerned. Both of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-510 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Panasonic SZ7 being a Compact camera.

Before diving right into a more detailed comparison, here is a brief summary of how the E-510 scores vs the SZ7 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Here is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus E-510 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ7. The complete galleries are available at Olympus E-510 Gallery & Panasonic SZ7 Gallery.

For anyone who is aiming to carry your camera regularly, you need to think about its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-510 enjoys 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) whilst the Panasonic SZ7 has measurements of 99mm x 59mm x 21mm (3.9" x 2.3" x 0.8") with a weight of 133 grams (0.29 lbs).

Compare the Olympus E-510 and Panasonic SZ7 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you are working with at the time. Below is a front view measurements comparison of the E-510 versus the SZ7.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability rating of the E-510 and SZ7 is 69 and 95 respectively.

Generally, it's tough to imagine the gap between sensor sizing merely by going over specs. The photograph here might provide you a greater sense of the sensor measurements in the E-510 and SZ7.

As you can plainly see, both of these cameras provide different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The E-510 featuring a larger sensor is going to make achieving shallower DOF simpler and the Panasonic SZ7 will deliver greater detail as a result of its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also let you crop pics more aggressively. The older E-510 is going to be behind with regard to sensor tech.