Olympus SZ-10 vs Panasonic LX3

The following is a in-depth comparison of the Olympus SZ-10 and Panasonic LX3, former is a Small Sensor Superzoom while the other is a Small Sensor Compact by brands Olympus and Panasonic. There is a considerable difference among the sensor resolutions of the SZ-10 (14MP) and LX3 (10MP) and the SZ-10 (1/2.3") and LX3 (1/1.63") possess totally different sensor dimensions.

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The SZ-10 was manufactured 2 years after the LX3 which is a fairly large difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Both of the cameras offer the identical body type (Compact).

Before diving in to a comprehensive comparison, below is a simple overview of how the SZ-10 matches up versus the LX3 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Below is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus SZ-10 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3. The entire galleries are viewable at Olympus SZ-10 Gallery & Panasonic LX3 Gallery.

If you're going to travel with your camera frequently, you're going to have to take into account its weight and dimensions. The Olympus SZ-10 features outside dimensions of 106mm x 67mm x 38mm (4.2" x 2.6" x 1.5") having a weight of 215 grams (0.47 lbs) whilst the Panasonic LX3 has dimensions of 109mm x 60mm x 27mm (4.3" x 2.4" x 1.1") accompanied by a weight of 265 grams (0.58 lbs).

See the Olympus SZ-10 and Panasonic LX3 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you have at that time. The following is the front view over all size comparison of the SZ-10 against the LX3.

Looking at size and weight, the portability score of the SZ-10 and LX3 is 90 and 91 respectively.

In many cases, it is very difficult to visualise the gap in sensor dimensions only by going through technical specs. The pic below will help provide you a much better sense of the sensor sizes in the SZ-10 and LX3.

As you have seen, each of these cameras offer different resolutions and different sensor dimensions. The SZ-10 featuring a smaller sensor will make achieving shallower depth of field more difficult and the Olympus SZ-10 will provide extra detail due to its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution will let you crop photos a little more aggressively. The more recent SZ-10 is going to have an edge with regard to sensor tech.