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Olympus SZ-10 vs Panasonic FS42

Portability
90
Imaging
37
Features
36
Overall
36
Olympus SZ-10 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS42 front
Portability
95
Imaging
33
Features
10
Overall
23

Olympus SZ-10 vs Panasonic FS42 Key Specs

Olympus SZ-10
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 80 - 1600
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 28-504mm (F3.1-4.4) lens
  • 215g - 106 x 67 x 38mm
  • Launched February 2011
Panasonic FS42
(Full Review)
  • 10MP - 1/2.5" Sensor
  • 2.5" Fixed Display
  • ISO 80 - 1000 (Expand to 6400)
  • 640 x 480 video
  • 33-132mm (F2.8-5.9) lens
  • 132g - 98 x 55 x 22mm
  • Revealed April 2009
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Olympus SZ-10 vs Panasonic FS42 Overview

Lets look much closer at the Olympus SZ-10 and Panasonic FS42, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the other is a Ultracompact by rivals Olympus and Panasonic. There is a considerable difference between the image resolutions of the SZ-10 (14MP) and FS42 (10MP) and the SZ-10 (1/2.3") and FS42 (1/2.5") boast different sensor dimensions.

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The SZ-10 was released 23 months later than the FS42 making them a generation apart from each other. Each of the cameras feature different body design with the Olympus SZ-10 being a Compact camera and the Panasonic FS42 being a Ultracompact camera.

Before getting right into a more detailed comparison, here is a short introduction of how the SZ-10 grades against the FS42 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Olympus SZ-10 over the Panasonic FS42

 SZ-10 FS42 
RevealedFebruary 2011April 2009More recent by 23 months
Display size3"2.5"Larger display (+0.5")
Display resolution460k230kSharper display (+230k dot)

Reasons to pick Panasonic FS42 over the Olympus SZ-10

 FS42 SZ-10 

Common features in the Olympus SZ-10 and Panasonic FS42

 SZ-10 FS42 
Focus manually Lack of manual focusing
Display typeFixed Fixed Fixed display
Selfie screen Neither features selfie screen
Touch friendly display Neither features Touch friendly display

Olympus SZ-10 vs Panasonic FS42 Physical Comparison

For anybody who is planning to lug around your camera frequently, you are going to need to take into account its weight and proportions. The Olympus SZ-10 enjoys external dimensions of 106mm x 67mm x 38mm (4.2" x 2.6" x 1.5") with a weight of 215 grams (0.47 lbs) while the Panasonic FS42 has measurements of 98mm x 55mm x 22mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 0.9") along with a weight of 132 grams (0.29 lbs).

Examine the Olympus SZ-10 and Panasonic FS42 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you are utilising during that time. Below is a front view size comparison of the SZ-10 versus the FS42.

Olympus SZ-10 vs Panasonic FS42 size comparison

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability rating of the SZ-10 and FS42 is 90 and 95 respectively.

Olympus SZ-10 vs Panasonic FS42 top view buttons comparison

Olympus SZ-10 vs Panasonic FS42 Sensor Comparison

Usually, its tough to visualize the contrast between sensor measurements only by reading a spec sheet. The visual underneath might give you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the SZ-10 and FS42.

As you can see, both cameras come with different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The SZ-10 because of its larger sensor is going to make achieving shallow DOF simpler and the Olympus SZ-10 will offer you extra detail as a result of its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also let you crop images a good deal more aggressively. The more modern SZ-10 should have an edge when it comes to sensor tech.

Olympus SZ-10 vs Panasonic FS42 sensor size comparison

Olympus SZ-10 vs Panasonic FS42 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus SZ-10 vs Panasonic FS42 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus SZ-10 as a Portrait photography camera
Panasonic FS42 as a Portrait photography camera
33
decent MP (14 megapixels)
supports face detection autofocus
no manual focus
no manual control
cannot use external flash
sensor is small (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW support
19
lack of manual focus
no manual exposure
external flash not possible
low MP (10MP)
tiny sensor size (1/2.5")
doesn't have RAW support
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Olympus SZ-10
Street photography with Panasonic FS42
60
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
lighter than others in class (215 grams)
no articulating screen
sensor is small (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW support
47
screen does not articulate
no image stabilization
tiny sensor size (1/2.5")
doesn't have RAW support
low max ISO (1,000)
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Sports Comparison

Olympus SZ-10 Sports photography info
Panasonic FS42 Sports photography info
40
incredible zoom range (28-504mm 18.0 x zoom)
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
decent MP (14 megapixels)
supports tracking autofocus
very slow continuous shooting (1.0 frames per second)
no shutter priority mode
sensor is small (1/2.3")
low battery life (220 per charge)
doesn't have phase detect autofocus
16
slow continuous shooting (2.0 frames/s)
lack of shutter priority mode
no image stabilization
low MP (10MP)
tiny sensor size (1/2.5")
doesn't have phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Olympus SZ-10
Travel photography with Panasonic FS42
65
lighter than others in class (215 grams)
decent MP (14MP)
flash built-in
rather wide (28mm)
long zoom (504mm)
no Timelapse function
low battery life (220 per charge)
does not posses selfie friendly screen
slow max aperture (f3.1)
51
flash built-in
does not have Time Lapse mode
low MP (10MP)
screen isn't selfie friendly
wide angle not great (33mm)
somewhat slow max aperture (f2.8)
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Olympus SZ-10
Landscape photography with Panasonic FS42
40
rather wide (28mm)
pretty good screen size (3")
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
decent MP (14MP)
no manual focus
cannot change lenses (fixed lens mount)
slow max aperture (f3.1)
no manual control
sensor is small (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW support
low battery life (220 shots)
no Timelapse function
22
lack of manual focus
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
wide angle not great (33mm)
somewhat slow max aperture (f2.8)
tiny screen (2.5 inch)
no manual exposure
no image stabilization
low MP (10MP)
tiny sensor size (1/2.5")
low max ISO (1,000)
doesn't have RAW support
does not have Time Lapse mode
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus SZ-10 Vlogging factors
Panasonic FS42 Vlogging factors
31
rather wide (28mm)
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
supports face detection autofocus
lighter than others in class (215 grams)
slow max aperture (f3.1)
does not posses selfie friendly screen
low quality video (1280 x 720 pixels)
no external microphone support
22
wide angle not great (33mm)
somewhat slow max aperture (f2.8)
screen isn't selfie friendly
no image stabilization
video quality not great (640 x 480 resolution)
does not have mic port
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Olympus SZ-10 vs Panasonic FS42 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus SZ-10 and Panasonic FS42
 Olympus SZ-10Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS42
General Information
Brand Olympus Panasonic
Model Olympus SZ-10 Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS42
Category Small Sensor Superzoom Ultracompact
Launched 2011-02-08 2009-04-17
Body design Compact Ultracompact
Sensor Information
Processor Chip TruePic III+ -
Sensor type CCD CCD
Sensor size 1/2.3" 1/2.5"
Sensor dimensions 6.17 x 4.55mm 5.744 x 4.308mm
Sensor surface area 28.1mm² 24.7mm²
Sensor resolution 14 megapixel 10 megapixel
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 and 16:9 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Max resolution 4288 x 3216 3648 x 2736
Max native ISO 1600 1000
Max enhanced ISO - 6400
Min native ISO 80 80
RAW pictures
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch focus
AF continuous
Single AF
Tracking AF
AF selectice
AF center weighted
Multi area AF
Live view AF
Face detection focusing
Contract detection focusing
Phase detection focusing
Lens
Lens mount fixed lens fixed lens
Lens focal range 28-504mm (18.0x) 33-132mm (4.0x)
Largest aperture f/3.1-4.4 f/2.8-5.9
Macro focus distance 1cm 5cm
Crop factor 5.8 6.3
Screen
Screen type Fixed Type Fixed Type
Screen diagonal 3" 2.5"
Resolution of screen 460 thousand dot 230 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch functionality
Screen technology TFT Color LCD -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder None None
Features
Min shutter speed 4 secs 60 secs
Max shutter speed 1/2000 secs 1/2000 secs
Continuous shutter speed 1.0 frames/s 2.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Change WB
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash range 7.10 m 6.30 m
Flash options Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow Sync
Hot shoe
AE bracketing
WB bracketing
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30, 15fps), 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 240 (30, 15fps) 848 x 480 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps)
Max video resolution 1280x720 640x480
Video format Motion JPEG Motion JPEG
Mic jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless Eye-Fi Connected None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 215 gr (0.47 lb) 132 gr (0.29 lb)
Physical dimensions 106 x 67 x 38mm (4.2" x 2.6" x 1.5") 98 x 55 x 22mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 0.9")
DXO scores
DXO Overall score not tested not tested
DXO Color Depth score not tested not tested
DXO Dynamic range score not tested not tested
DXO Low light score not tested not tested
Other
Battery life 220 pictures -
Type of battery Battery Pack -
Battery model LI-50B -
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse shooting
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC card, Internal
Storage slots One One
Price at release $300 $580