Olympus E-600 vs Panasonic ZS40

Lets look a little more in depth at the Olympus E-600 and Panasonic ZS40, former is a Entry-Level DSLR while the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom by manufacturers Olympus and Panasonic. There is a large difference among the resolutions of the E-600 (12MP) and ZS40 (18MP) and the E-600 (Four Thirds) and ZS40 (1/2.3") provide different sensor size.

Photography Glossary

The E-600 was announced 5 years earlier than the ZS40 which is a fairly serious difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Both cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-600 being a Compact SLR camera and the Panasonic ZS40 being a Compact camera.

Before delving right into a more detailed comparison, here is a short summary of how the E-600 matches up against the ZS40 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Here is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus E-600 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS40. The whole galleries are available at Olympus E-600 Gallery & Panasonic ZS40 Gallery.

For those who are aiming to travel with your camera regularly, you should think about its weight and size. The Olympus E-600 has outer dimensions of 130mm x 94mm x 60mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.4") along with a weight of 515 grams (1.14 lbs) whilst the Panasonic ZS40 has specifications of 111mm x 64mm x 34mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.3") and a weight of 240 grams (0.53 lbs).

Compare the Olympus E-600 and Panasonic ZS40 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you are working with at that time. Below is a front view measurements comparison of the E-600 compared to the ZS40.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability grade of the E-600 and ZS40 is 71 and 90 respectively.

In many cases, it is hard to picture the difference in sensor dimensions only by looking through specs. The pic here will provide you a better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-600 and ZS40.

As you can plainly see, both cameras have different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The E-600 using its larger sensor is going to make shooting shallow depth of field easier and the Panasonic ZS40 will result in greater detail with its extra 6 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also help you crop pics a bit more aggressively. The more aged E-600 will be disadvantaged in sensor tech.