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Olympus SZ-10 vs Panasonic LX3

Portability
90
Imaging
37
Features
36
Overall
36
Olympus SZ-10 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 front
Portability
91
Imaging
34
Features
40
Overall
36

Olympus SZ-10 vs Panasonic LX3 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
  • Announced February 2011
Panasonic LX3
(Full Review)
  • 10MP - 1/1.63" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 80 - 6400
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 24-60mm (F2.0-2.8) lens
  • 265g - 109 x 60 x 27mm
  • Revealed November 2008
  • Replacement is Panasonic LX5
Photography Glossary

Olympus SZ-10 vs Panasonic LX3 Overview

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.

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Reasons to pick Olympus SZ-10 over the Panasonic LX3

 SZ-10 LX3 
RevealedFebruary 2011November 2008Newer by 28 months

Reasons to pick Panasonic LX3 over the Olympus SZ-10

 LX3 SZ-10 
Focus manually More exact focusing

Common features in the Olympus SZ-10 and Panasonic LX3

 SZ-10 LX3 
Display typeFixed Fixed Fixed display
Display sizing3"3"Equivalent display sizing
Display resolution460k460kExact same display resolution
Selfie screen Neither includes selfie screen
Touch display Neither includes Touch display

Olympus SZ-10 vs Panasonic LX3 Physical Comparison

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. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

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.

Olympus SZ-10 vs Panasonic LX3 size comparison

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

Olympus SZ-10 vs Panasonic LX3 top view buttons comparison

Olympus SZ-10 vs Panasonic LX3 Sensor Comparison

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.

Olympus SZ-10 vs Panasonic LX3 sensor size comparison

Olympus SZ-10 vs Panasonic LX3 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus SZ-10 vs Panasonic LX3 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus SZ-10 Portrait photography highlights
Panasonic LX3 Portrait photography highlights
33
good megapixels (14MP)
provides face detect focus
lack of manual focus
manual mode not possible
cannot use external flash
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
no RAW format
40
focusing manually
delivers RAW files
megapixel count low (10 megapixels)
tiny sensor (1/1.63")
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Street Comparison

Olympus SZ-10 Street photography features
Panasonic LX3 Street photography features
60
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
lighter than average (215g)
screen does not articulate
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
no RAW format
60
image stabilization (Optical)
delivers RAW files
fixed screen
tiny sensor (1/1.63")
more heavy than competition (265g)
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Sports Comparison

Olympus SZ-10 Sports photography factors
Panasonic LX3 Sports photography factors
40
long zoom range (28-504mm 18.0 x zoom)
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
good megapixels (14MP)
provides tracking focus
max frames per second very slow (1.0 frames/s)
lack of shutter priority mode
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
low battery pack (220 CIPA)
no phase detect auto focus
27
image stabilization (Optical)
painfully slow continuous shooting (3.0 fps)
megapixel count low (10 megapixels)
tiny sensor (1/1.63")
no phase detect auto focus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus SZ-10 Travel photography info
Panasonic LX3 Travel photography info
65
lighter than average (215g)
good megapixels (14MP)
flash built-in
quite wide (28mm)
long reach (504mm)
no Timelapse function
low battery pack (220 shots)
does not have selfie friendly display
slow max aperture (f3.1)
60
flash built-in
pretty wide (24mm)
great max aperture (f2.0)
does not have Timelapse recording
more heavy than competition (265 grams)
megapixel count low (10 megapixels)
does not offer selfie friendly screen
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Olympus SZ-10
Landscape photography with Panasonic LX3
40
quite wide (28mm)
pretty good screen size (3 inch)
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
good megapixels (14 megapixels)
lack of manual focus
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
slow max aperture (f3.1)
manual mode not possible
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
no RAW format
low battery pack (220 shots)
no Timelapse function
52
focusing manually
pretty wide (24mm)
great max aperture (f2.0)
screen size is good (3 inch)
image stabilization (Optical)
delivers RAW files
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
megapixel count low (10MP)
tiny sensor (1/1.63")
does not have Timelapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus SZ-10 Vlogging advice
Panasonic LX3 Vlogging advice
31
quite wide (28mm)
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
provides face detect focus
lighter than average (215 grams)
slow max aperture (f3.1)
does not have selfie friendly display
low video resolution (1280 x 720 pxls)
no microphone jack
30
pretty wide (24mm)
great max aperture (f2.0)
image stabilization (Optical)
does not offer selfie friendly screen
low video resolution (1280 x 720 pixels)
does not have external microphone support
more heavy than competition (265 grams)
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Olympus SZ-10 vs Panasonic LX3 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus SZ-10 and Panasonic LX3
 Olympus SZ-10Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3
General Information
Company Olympus Panasonic
Model Olympus SZ-10 Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3
Type Small Sensor Superzoom Small Sensor Compact
Announced 2011-02-08 2008-11-04
Physical type Compact Compact
Sensor Information
Powered by TruePic III+ -
Sensor type CCD CCD
Sensor size 1/2.3" 1/1.63"
Sensor measurements 6.17 x 4.55mm 8.07 x 5.56mm
Sensor area 28.1mm² 44.9mm²
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 6400
Minimum native ISO 80 80
RAW data
Autofocusing
Manual focus
Touch focus
Continuous autofocus
Single autofocus
Autofocus tracking
Selective autofocus
Autofocus center weighted
Autofocus multi area
Autofocus live view
Face detection autofocus
Contract detection autofocus
Phase detection autofocus
Lens
Lens mount fixed lens fixed lens
Lens focal range 28-504mm (18.0x) 24-60mm (2.5x)
Largest aperture f/3.1-4.4 f/2.0-2.8
Macro focus range 1cm 1cm
Crop factor 5.8 4.5
Screen
Screen type Fixed Type Fixed Type
Screen diagonal 3 inches 3 inches
Resolution of screen 460 thousand dots 460 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch friendly
Screen tech TFT Color LCD -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder None None
Features
Minimum shutter speed 4 seconds 60 seconds
Fastest shutter speed 1/2000 seconds 1/2000 seconds
Continuous shutter rate 1.0 frames/s 3.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual mode
Exposure compensation - Yes
Custom white balance
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash range 7.10 m 8.30 m
Flash settings Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync
External flash
AEB
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) 1280 x 720 (HD 24 fps), 848 x 480 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30fps), 320 x 240 (10fps)
Max video resolution 1280x720 1280x720
Video format Motion JPEG -
Microphone support
Headphone support
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 sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 215 grams (0.47 lb) 265 grams (0.58 lb)
Dimensions 106 x 67 x 38mm (4.2" x 2.6" x 1.5") 109 x 60 x 27mm (4.3" x 2.4" x 1.1")
DXO scores
DXO Overall score not tested 39
DXO Color Depth score not tested 19.6
DXO Dynamic range score not tested 10.8
DXO Low light score not tested 94
Other
Battery life 220 shots -
Battery style Battery Pack -
Battery model LI-50B -
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse recording
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/MMC/SDHC card, Internal
Card slots Single Single
Cost at release $300 $449