Size and weight are big decision factors when you are trying to find the ideal camera for your needs.
In this section, we are going to illustrate the Olympus SP-590 UZ and Panasonic GF7 side-by-side from the front, back and top in their relative dimensions. Olympus SP-590 UZ has external dimensions of 116 x 84 x 81 mm (4.57 x 3.31 x 3.19″) and weighs 413 g (0.91 lb / 14.57 oz) (including batteries). Panasonic GF7 has external dimensions of 107 x 65 x 33 mm (4.21 x 2.56 x 1.3″) and weighs 266 g (0.59 lb / 9.38 oz) (including batteries).
Below you can see the front-view size comparison of the Olympus SP-590 UZ and the Panasonic GF7. Panasonic GF7 is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 9mm narrower, 19mm shorter and 48mm thinner than Olympus SP-590 UZ. As you can tell, actually this is not a fair size comparison since Olympus SP-590 UZ has a built-in lens but Panasonic GF7 doesn't. Once you put a lens on GF7, its thickness will increase significantly.
Here is the back view size comparison of the Olympus SP-590 UZ and Panasonic GF7.
Weight is another important factor, especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day.
Panasonic GF7 is significantly lighter (147g ) than the Olympus SP-590 UZ which may become a big advantage especially on long walking trips.
Again, this comparison may not be very useful in real life as we are comparing the weight of a camera with a built-in lens to the body-only weight of an interchangeable lens camera. Once you put a lens on GF7, the total kit will weigh much higher.
Weather Sealing
With its weather-sealed body, we believe that the SP-590 UZ has a big advantage over the GF7 which doesn't provide any kind of environmental sealing.
LCD Screen Size and Features
Panasonic GF7's 3.00" LCD screen is slightly larger than Olympus SP-590 UZ's 2.7" screen.
In addition to the size advantage, Panasonic GF7 LCD screen also has a
Tilting feature where you can change the angle of the screen to make it easier to shoot from waist or over-the-head levels. On the other hand, Olympus SP-590 UZ has a fixed type screen which provides less flexibility in shooting positions compared to GF7.