Olympus E-600 vs Panasonic SZ10

Here, we will be evaluating the Olympus E-600 and Panasonic SZ10, one being a Entry-Level DSLR and the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by companies Olympus and Panasonic. There is a huge difference between the sensor resolutions of the E-600 (12MP) and SZ10 (16MP) and the E-600 (Four Thirds) and SZ10 (1/2.3") boast totally different sensor measurements.

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The E-600 was brought out 6 years earlier than the SZ10 and that is quite a significant gap as far as tech is concerned. Both of the cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-600 being a Compact SLR camera and the Panasonic SZ10 being a Compact camera.

Before getting straight to a complete comparison, here is a quick summary of how the E-600 grades vs the SZ10 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus E-600 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ10. The entire galleries are available at Olympus E-600 Gallery and Panasonic SZ10 Gallery.

When you are going to lug around your camera frequently, you'll have to think about its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-600 has got 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) whilst the Panasonic SZ10 has measurements of 99mm x 60mm x 30mm (3.9" x 2.4" x 1.2") accompanied by a weight of 177 grams (0.39 lbs).

Look at the Olympus E-600 and Panasonic SZ10 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change dependant on the lens you use at that time. Underneath is a front view measurement comparison of the E-600 versus the SZ10.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability score of the E-600 and SZ10 is 71 and 93 respectively.

Generally, it's difficult to visualise the difference between sensor measurements purely by checking technical specs. The graphic here will provide you a better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-600 and SZ10.

As you can tell, each of these cameras feature different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The E-600 due to its bigger sensor will make getting bokeh simpler and the Panasonic SZ10 will give you more detail having its extra 4MP. Higher resolution can also let you crop shots way more aggressively. The older E-600 is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor innovation.