Olympus E-600 vs Panasonic LZ30

Following is a complete assessment of the Olympus E-600 versus Panasonic LZ30, one is a Entry-Level DSLR and the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by rivals Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a huge gap between the sensor resolutions of the E-600 (12MP) and LZ30 (16MP) and the E-600 (Four Thirds) and LZ30 (1/2.3") use different sensor dimensions.

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The E-600 was announced 4 years earlier than the LZ30 which is quite a significant gap as far as technology is concerned. Both the cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-600 being a Compact SLR camera and the Panasonic LZ30 being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before delving through a complete comparison, below is a concise view of how the E-600 scores against the LZ30 for portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus E-600 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ30. The whole galleries are provided at Olympus E-600 Gallery and Panasonic LZ30 Gallery.

If you're going to carry around your camera, you will want to consider its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-600 enjoys outside measurements of 130mm x 94mm x 60mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.4") with a weight of 515 grams (1.14 lbs) and the Panasonic LZ30 has measurements of 124mm x 84mm x 92mm (4.9" x 3.3" x 3.6") and a weight of 552 grams (1.22 lbs).

Look at the Olympus E-600 versus Panasonic LZ30 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary dependant on the lens you use at the time. Underneath is the front view dimensions comparison of the E-600 against the LZ30.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-600 and LZ30 is 71 and 66 respectively.

Sometimes, it's difficult to picture the contrast between sensor sizes merely by looking at specs. The image here may offer you a greater sense of the sensor measurements in the E-600 and LZ30.

As you can plainly see, the 2 cameras offer different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The E-600 using its bigger sensor is going to make achieving shallow DOF easier and the Panasonic LZ30 will give you greater detail with its extra 4MP. Higher resolution will make it easier to crop photographs a little more aggressively. The more aged E-600 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor innovation.