Olympus E-510 vs Panasonic ZS70

Let's take a deeper look at the Olympus E-510 and Panasonic ZS70, former being a Advanced DSLR while the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom by manufacturers Olympus and Panasonic. There is a sizable difference among the resolutions of the E-510 (10MP) and ZS70 (20MP) and the E-510 (Four Thirds) and ZS70 (1/2.3") boast totally different sensor measurements.

Photography Glossary

The E-510 was manufactured 10 years earlier than the ZS70 and that is a fairly significant difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Each of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-510 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Panasonic ZS70 being a Compact camera.

Before delving into a comprehensive comparison, here is a simple overview of how the E-510 scores versus the ZS70 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus E-510 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS70. The entire galleries are provided at Olympus E-510 Gallery & Panasonic ZS70 Gallery.

When you are looking to lug around your camera frequently, you need to factor in its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-510 offers outer dimensions of 136mm x 92mm x 68mm (5.4" x 3.6" x 2.7") with a weight of 490 grams (1.08 lbs) and the Panasonic ZS70 has proportions of 112mm x 67mm x 41mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.6") accompanied by a weight of 322 grams (0.71 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus E-510 and Panasonic ZS70 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you are utilizing at that moment. Here is a front view proportions comparison of the E-510 and the ZS70.

Using size and weight, the portability score of the E-510 and ZS70 is 69 and 87 respectively.

Usually, it can be difficult to visualise the gap in sensor measurements just by seeing specifications. The visual below may provide you a better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-510 and ZS70.

To sum up, the two cameras provide different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The E-510 featuring a larger sensor will make getting shallow depth of field less difficult and the Panasonic ZS70 will provide extra detail due to its extra 10 Megapixels. Greater resolution will enable you to crop images more aggressively. The older E-510 will be behind with regard to sensor tech.