Olympus E-M10 vs Panasonic ZS3

Its time to look a little more in depth at the Olympus E-M10 and Panasonic ZS3, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom by rivals Olympus and Panasonic. There is a large difference among the sensor resolutions of the E-M10 (16MP) and ZS3 (10MP) and the E-M10 (Four Thirds) and ZS3 (1/2.3") boast different sensor dimensions.

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The E-M10 was released 4 years later than the ZS3 and that is a fairly serious difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Both the cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-M10 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic ZS3 being a Compact camera.

Before going straight to a more detailed comparison, here is a concise summation of how the E-M10 matches up versus the ZS3 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Below is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus OM-D E-M10 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3. The complete galleries are viewable at Olympus E-M10 Gallery & Panasonic ZS3 Gallery.

If you're intending to lug around your camera regularly, you'll need to consider its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-M10 enjoys exterior dimensions of 119mm x 82mm x 46mm (4.7" x 3.2" x 1.8") and a weight of 396 grams (0.87 lbs) and the Panasonic ZS3 has measurements of 103mm x 60mm x 33mm (4.1" x 2.4" x 1.3") having a weight of 229 grams (0.50 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-M10 and Panasonic ZS3 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you are employing at that moment. Below is a front view measurements comparison of the E-M10 vs the ZS3.

Using size and weight, the portability grade of the E-M10 and ZS3 is 82 and 91 respectively.

In many cases, it can be difficult to picture the contrast in sensor measurements purely by looking through specifications. The visual here will help give you a greater sense of the sensor sizes in the E-M10 and ZS3.

To sum up, the 2 cameras come with different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-M10 due to its larger sensor is going to make getting shallower DOF simpler and the Olympus E-M10 will provide you with greater detail as a result of its extra 6 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also allow you to crop pics a good deal more aggressively. The newer E-M10 provides an advantage when it comes to sensor technology.