Olympus E-510 vs Panasonic ZS5

Lets look closer at the Olympus E-510 versus Panasonic ZS5, one is a Advanced DSLR and the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom by companies Olympus and Panasonic. The sensor resolution of the E-510 (10MP) and the ZS5 (12MP) is very close but the E-510 (Four Thirds) and ZS5 (1/2.3") enjoy different sensor size.

Photography Glossary

The E-510 was brought out 3 years prior to the ZS5 which is a fairly serious gap as far as camera tech is concerned. Each of these cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-510 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Panasonic ZS5 being a Compact camera.

Before delving through a thorough comparison, below is a brief synopsis of how the E-510 scores vs the ZS5 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Following is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus E-510 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS5. The entire galleries are available at Olympus E-510 Gallery and Panasonic ZS5 Gallery.

For anybody who is looking to carry around your camera often, you'll have to take into account 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) and the Panasonic ZS5 has measurements of 103mm x 60mm x 32mm (4.1" x 2.4" x 1.3") along with a weight of 214 grams (0.47 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-510 versus Panasonic ZS5 in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary based on the lens you have attached at that moment. Following is the front view proportions comparison of the E-510 against the ZS5.

Using size and weight, the portability rating of the E-510 and ZS5 is 69 and 92 respectively.

Generally, it is tough to picture the difference in sensor sizes purely by looking through specifications. The pic here should offer you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-510 and ZS5.

To sum up, both of those cameras have got different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The E-510 due to its larger sensor is going to make getting shallow depth of field less difficult and the Panasonic ZS5 will render more detail having its extra 2MP. Greater resolution can also let you crop images much more aggressively. The more aged E-510 will be behind when it comes to sensor tech.