Olympus VR-330 vs Panasonic FZ1000

Let's look more closely at the Olympus VR-330 versus Panasonic FZ1000, former is a Small Sensor Superzoom while the latter is a Large Sensor Superzoom by manufacturers Olympus and Panasonic. There is a substantial difference between the sensor resolutions of the VR-330 (14MP) and FZ1000 (20MP) and the VR-330 (1/2.3") and FZ1000 (1") have totally different sensor sizing.

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The VR-330 was announced 4 years prior to the FZ1000 which is quite a big difference as far as tech is concerned. Both of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus VR-330 being a Compact camera and the Panasonic FZ1000 being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before going into a comprehensive comparison, here is a brief introduction of how the VR-330 scores against the FZ1000 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

This is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus VR-330 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000. The whole galleries are available at Olympus VR-330 Gallery & Panasonic FZ1000 Gallery.

If you are looking to carry around your camera regularly, you are going to need to think about its weight and size. The Olympus VR-330 comes with physical dimensions of 101mm x 58mm x 29mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.1") having a weight of 158 grams (0.35 lbs) while the Panasonic FZ1000 has specifications of 137mm x 99mm x 131mm (5.4" x 3.9" x 5.2") and a weight of 831 grams (1.83 lbs).

Look at the Olympus VR-330 versus Panasonic FZ1000 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you are working with during that time. The following is a front view scale comparison of the VR-330 versus the FZ1000.

Looking at size and weight, the portability score of the VR-330 and FZ1000 is 94 and 55 respectively.

In many cases, it's hard to visualise the contrast between sensor sizes only by reading through a spec sheet. The image underneath will provide you a greater sense of the sensor sizes in the VR-330 and FZ1000.

As you can see, both cameras provide different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The VR-330 having a tinier sensor will make achieving shallow DOF more challenging and the Panasonic FZ1000 will give you greater detail with its extra 6MP. Higher resolution can also enable you to crop pictures more aggressively. The more aged VR-330 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor innovation.