Olympus E-510 vs Panasonic ZS45

Its time to take a more detailed look at the Olympus E-510 versus Panasonic ZS45, former is a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by companies Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a large gap between the resolutions of the E-510 (10MP) and ZS45 (16MP) and the E-510 (Four Thirds) and ZS45 (1/2.3") use different sensor size.

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The E-510 was released 8 years earlier than the ZS45 which is quite a serious difference as far as technology is concerned. Both of the cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-510 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Panasonic ZS45 being a Compact camera.

Before diving in to a in depth comparison, below is a concise view of how the E-510 scores versus the ZS45 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Here is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus E-510 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS45. The complete galleries are available at Olympus E-510 Gallery & Panasonic ZS45 Gallery.

When you are looking to travel with your camera often, you need to take into account its weight and volume. The Olympus E-510 features physical dimensions of 136mm x 92mm x 68mm (5.4" x 3.6" x 2.7") accompanied by a weight of 490 grams (1.08 lbs) whilst the Panasonic ZS45 has sizing of 108mm x 60mm x 32mm (4.3" x 2.4" x 1.3") with a weight of 249 grams (0.55 lbs).

Compare the Olympus E-510 versus Panasonic ZS45 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you are employing at that time. Underneath is the front view sizing comparison of the E-510 against the ZS45.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-510 and ZS45 is 69 and 91 respectively.

More often than not, it is very hard to visualize the gap between sensor dimensions just by looking at a spec sheet. The image underneath should offer you a greater sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-510 and ZS45.

Clearly, both of these cameras offer different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The E-510 due to its bigger sensor is going to make getting shallow DOF less difficult and the Panasonic ZS45 will resolve greater detail as a result of its extra 6MP. Higher resolution will let you crop shots a little more aggressively. The more aged E-510 is going to be behind with regard to sensor technology.