Olympus E-510 vs Panasonic ZR3

Lets look a bit more closely at the Olympus E-510 vs Panasonic ZR3, one is a Advanced DSLR and the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by companies Olympus and Panasonic. There is a big difference between the image resolutions of the E-510 (10MP) and ZR3 (14MP) and the E-510 (Four Thirds) and ZR3 (1/2.3") feature different sensor sizing.

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The E-510 was manufactured 3 years prior to the ZR3 which is quite a big gap as far as tech is concerned. Both of the cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-510 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Panasonic ZR3 being a Compact camera.

Before diving in to a thorough comparison, below is a simple synopsis of how the E-510 grades versus the ZR3 for portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

This is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus E-510 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZR3. The entire galleries are viewable at Olympus E-510 Gallery and Panasonic ZR3 Gallery.

For anyone who is intending to travel with your camera regularly, you are going to need to take into account its weight and size. The Olympus E-510 has got external dimensions of 136mm x 92mm x 68mm (5.4" x 3.6" x 2.7") with a weight of 490 grams (1.08 lbs) whilst the Panasonic ZR3 has specifications of 98mm x 55mm x 26mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 1.0") having a weight of 159 grams (0.35 lbs).

Look at the Olympus E-510 vs Panasonic ZR3 in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change based on the lens you are using at that moment. Underneath is the front view scale comparison of the E-510 versus the ZR3.

Looking at size and weight, the portability grade of the E-510 and ZR3 is 69 and 94 respectively.

In many cases, its hard to picture the contrast between sensor dimensions only by looking at technical specs. The picture here will help give you a more clear sense of the sensor sizes in the E-510 and ZR3.

As you can tell, both of these cameras offer different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The E-510 due to its bigger sensor is going to make getting bokeh easier and the Panasonic ZR3 will resolve more detail due to its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also help you crop pictures a little more aggressively. The more aged E-510 is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor innovation.