Olympus E-P3 vs Panasonic ZS30

Here is a in-depth review of the Olympus E-P3 and Panasonic ZS30, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by companies Olympus and Panasonic. There is a sizable difference among the image resolutions of the E-P3 (12MP) and ZS30 (18MP) and the E-P3 (Four Thirds) and ZS30 (1/2.3") feature totally different sensor measurements.

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The E-P3 was manufactured 16 months earlier than the ZS30 which makes the cameras a generation apart from each other. Both the cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-P3 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic ZS30 being a Compact camera.

Before getting in to a detailed comparison, below is a simple overview of how the E-P3 grades versus the ZS30 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

The following is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus PEN E-P3 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS30. The entire galleries are viewable at Olympus E-P3 Gallery & Panasonic ZS30 Gallery.

For anyone who is going to carry your camera often, you will need to factor in its weight and size. The Olympus E-P3 has external dimensions of 122mm x 69mm x 34mm (4.8" x 2.7" x 1.3") accompanied by a weight of 369 grams (0.81 lbs) whilst the Panasonic ZS30 has specifications of 105mm x 59mm x 28mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 1.1") having a weight of 198 grams (0.44 lbs).

Look at the Olympus E-P3 and Panasonic ZS30 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you are utilising during that time. Here is the front view scale comparison of the E-P3 against the ZS30.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability score of the E-P3 and ZS30 is 86 and 92 respectively.

Generally, it's hard to envision the contrast in sensor sizing only by looking through technical specs. The visual here will help offer you a far better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-P3 and ZS30.

As you have seen, both of the cameras offer different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The E-P3 due to its bigger sensor will make shooting shallower depth of field simpler and the Panasonic ZS30 will render more detail due to its extra 6 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also enable you to crop photographs a little more aggressively. The older E-P3 will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor technology.