Olympus SP-590 UZ vs Panasonic ZS100

Here, we will be comparing the Olympus SP-590 UZ and Panasonic ZS100, one being a Small Sensor Superzoom and the latter is a Large Sensor Compact by companies Olympus and Panasonic. There is a big difference among the sensor resolutions of the SP-590 UZ (12MP) and ZS100 (20MP) and the SP-590 UZ (1/2.3") and ZS100 (1") have different sensor sizing.

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The SP-590 UZ was manufactured 8 years before the ZS100 and that is a fairly big gap as far as camera tech is concerned. Both the cameras feature different body design with the Olympus SP-590 UZ being a SLR-like (bridge) camera and the Panasonic ZS100 being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before going right into a thorough comparison, here is a short highlight of how the SP-590 UZ scores versus the ZS100 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

This is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus SP-590 UZ and Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS100. The entire galleries are available at Olympus SP-590 UZ Gallery and Panasonic ZS100 Gallery.

For those who are aiming to carry your camera frequently, you are going to need to take into account its weight and volume. The Olympus SP-590 UZ comes with exterior measurements of 116mm x 84mm x 81mm (4.6" x 3.3" x 3.2") having a weight of 413 grams (0.91 lbs) while the Panasonic ZS100 has sizing of 111mm x 65mm x 44mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.7") along with a weight of 312 grams (0.69 lbs).

Examine the Olympus SP-590 UZ and Panasonic ZS100 in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary dependant on the lens you are working with at that moment. The following is a front view proportions comparison of the SP-590 UZ against the ZS100.

Looking at size and weight, the portability score of the SP-590 UZ and ZS100 is 72 and 87 respectively.

In many cases, its difficult to picture the gap in sensor sizing simply by going through a spec sheet. The graphic here should give you a better sense of the sensor measurements in the SP-590 UZ and ZS100.

Clearly, both cameras feature different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The SP-590 UZ because of its smaller sensor is going to make achieving shallow DOF more difficult and the Panasonic ZS100 will show more detail due to its extra 8MP. Higher resolution can also allow you to crop photographs way more aggressively. The older SP-590 UZ will be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor tech.