Olympus E-520 vs Panasonic ZS40

Below is a in depth comparison of the Olympus E-520 versus Panasonic ZS40, one being a Entry-Level DSLR and the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by brands Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a big gap among the sensor resolutions of the E-520 (10MP) and ZS40 (18MP) and the E-520 (Four Thirds) and ZS40 (1/2.3") provide totally different sensor sizes.

Photography Glossary

The E-520 was revealed 6 years earlier than the ZS40 and that is a fairly big gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of these cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-520 being a Compact SLR camera and the Panasonic ZS40 being a Compact camera.

Before we go right into a detailed comparison, here is a simple view of how the E-520 scores vs the ZS40 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus E-520 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS40. The full galleries are available at Olympus E-520 Gallery and Panasonic ZS40 Gallery.

In case you're going to lug around your camera often, you'll need to consider its weight and volume. The Olympus E-520 comes with outside dimensions of 136mm x 92mm x 68mm (5.4" x 3.6" x 2.7") and a weight of 552 grams (1.22 lbs) whilst the Panasonic ZS40 has sizing of 111mm x 64mm x 34mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.3") accompanied by a weight of 240 grams (0.53 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-520 versus Panasonic ZS40 in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ dependant on the lens you are working with during that time. Following is a front view size comparison of the E-520 and the ZS40.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-520 and ZS40 is 68 and 90 respectively.

Normally, it's hard to envision the gap in sensor measurements purely by checking out technical specs. The visual underneath might provide you a far better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-520 and ZS40.

As you have seen, both of those cameras come with different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The E-520 with its bigger sensor will make getting shallow depth of field less difficult and the Panasonic ZS40 will produce extra detail because of its extra 8 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also let you crop pictures a good deal more aggressively. The older E-520 will be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor tech.