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Olympus SZ-30MR vs Panasonic G3 Comparison

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Olympus SZ-30MR

16 MP | 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) CMOS Sensor

Olympus SZ-30MR
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Panasonic G3

16 MP | Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) CMOS Sensor

Panasonic G3
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Olympus SZ-30MR vs Panasonic G3 Comparison Overview

Here we are comparing two cameras with different body types: Olympus SZ-30MR, which was introduced in March 2011 is a Small Sensor Superzoom camera with a 16.0MP 1/2.3-inch sensor whereas Panasonic G3, which was introduced in July 2011 is a Entry-Level Mirrorless camera with a 16.0MP Four Thirds sensor. There is only 4 months difference between SZ-30MR and G3 so we are expecting this to be a fair comparison regarding age and technology level.

Comparing an interchangeble lens camera to a fixed lens camera is a bit tricky but we will do our best to make this a fair comparison.

Here is a brief look at the main features of Olympus SZ-30MR and Panasonic G3 before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Olympus SZ-30MR Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2011-03-02
  • 16MP - 1/2.3-inch CMOS Sensor
  • ISO 80 - 3200
  • 25-600 mm F3.0-6.9 Zoom Lens
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 3.00" Fixed Type Screen
  • 2.0fps continuous shooting
  • Full HD - 1920 x 1080 video resolution
  • 226g. 106 x 69 x 40 mm

Panasonic G3 Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2011-07-11
  • 16MP - Four Thirds CMOS Sensor
  • ISO 160 - 6400
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 3.00" Fully Articulated Screen
  • 1440k dot Electronic viewfinder
  • 4.0fps continuous shooting
  • Full HD - 1920 x 1080 video resolution
  • 336g. 115 x 84 x 47 mm
  • Replaced Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2 Compare

Panasonic G3 was replaced by Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5 vs Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5 vs Olympus SZ-30MR

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Olympus SZ-30MR and Panasonic G3 compares and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one is better for you.


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Reasons to choose Olympus SZ-30MR over Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3
In-built Image Stabilization
Sensor-shift vs None Sharper images at longer focal lengths and slow shutter speeds
Weight
226 g vs 336 g 110 g lighter
CHECK SZ-30MR PRICE


Reasons to choose Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 over Olympus SZ-30MR
LCD Screen
Fully Articulated vs Fixed Type Flexible shooting positions
External Flash Shoe
Yes vs No Better for flash photography
Touch Screen
Yes vs No Easy control of camera functions
Viewfinder
Electronic vs None Better framing and control
RAW Support
Yes vs No Better image quality
Max ISO
6.400 vs 3.200 100% higher Max ISO
Max Mech. Shutter
1/4000s vs 1/1700s faster mechanical shutter
Continuous Shooting
4.0fps vs 2.0fps 2 fps faster
Battery Life
270 shots vs 220 shots 50 more frames with a single charge
Manual Exposure
Yes vs No better exposure control
Flash Coverage
11.0m vs 4.0m 7m longer range
Sensor Pixel Area
14.21µm2 vs 1.76µm2 707% larger pixel area
AE Bracketing
Yes vs No Useful for tough lighting conditions and HDR
Selfie & Vlogger LCD
Yes vs No Rotate LCD for taking Selfies
CHECK G3 PRICE

Common Strengths of Olympus SZ-30MR and Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3
Built-in Flash
Yes vs Yes Useful in low-light
Face Detection Focus
Yes vs Yes very handy for portraits
Common Weaknesses of Olympus SZ-30MR and Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3
LCD Screen Resolution
460k dots vs 460k dots Low resolution screens
Environmental Sealing
No vs No not suitable for tough conditions
Olympus SZ-30MR vs Panasonic G3: Physical Specs and Body features Comparison

Size and weight is a big decision factor when you are trying to find the ideal camera for your needs. In this section, We are going to illustrate Olympus SZ-30MR and Panasonic G3 side-by-side from the front, back and top in their relative dimensions. Olympus SZ-30MR has external dimensions of 106 x 69 x 40 mm (4.17 x 2.72 x 1.57″) and weighs 226 g (0.50 lb / 7.97 oz) (including batteries). Panasonic G3 has external dimensions of 115 x 84 x 47 mm (4.53 x 3.31 x 1.85″) and weighs 336 g (0.74 lb / 11.85 oz) (including batteries).

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Olympus SZ-30MR and Panasonic G3. Olympus SZ-30MR is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 9mm narrower, 15mm shorter and 7mm thinner than Panasonic G3. As you can tell, actually this is not a fair size comparison since Olympus SZ-30MR has a built-in lens but Panasonic G3 doesn't. Once you put a lens on G3, its thickness will increase significantly.

Olympus SZ-30MR vs Panasonic G3 Camera Size Comparison - Front View
Comparison image of Olympus SZ-30MR and Panasonic G3 Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View

Now lets look at the top view comparison of Olympus SZ-30MR and Panasonic G3.
Olympus SZ-30MR vs Panasonic G3 Camera Size Comparison - Top View
Top View Comparison image of Olympus SZ-30MR and Panasonic G3 Size

Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day. Olympus SZ-30MR is significantly lighter (110g ) than the Panasonic G3 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 G3, the total kit will weigh much higher.

Weather Sealing

Unfortunately neither Olympus SZ-30MR nor Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 provides any type of weather sealing in their body, so you have to give extra care especially when you are shooting outdoors. If weather sealing is a must-have feature for you, check these sections:
Top Compact Cameras with Weather Sealing
Top Mirrorless Cameras with Weather Sealing

LCD Screen Size and Features

Olympus SZ-30MR and Panasonic G3's LCD screens has the same diagonal size of 3.00".

On the other hand, Panasonic G3 sports a Fully Articulated screen which you can change the angle and position of the screen almost freely, making it possible to shoot from waist or over the head levels, and especially very useful for shooting selfies and video. Olympus SZ-30MR's LCD screen is a fixed type which provides almost no flexibility in shooting positions compared to G3.
Olympus SZ-30MR vs Panasonic G3: Sensor Comparison

Both Olympus SZ-30MR and Panasonic G3 have 16.0 MP resolution sensors but Olympus SZ-30MR's sensor is 1/2.3-inch (6.17 x 4.55 mm ) and Panasonic G3's sensor is Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ).

Since Panasonic G3's has a larger sensor area with the same resolution, this means that it also has a larger pixel area hence better light collecting capacity for a given aperture compared to Olympus SZ-30MR.

Below you can see the SZ-30MR and G3 sensor size comparison.

Olympus SZ-30MR vs Panasonic G3 Sensor Size Comparison
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Olympus SZ-30MR and Panasonic G3 Cameras


As seen above, Panasonic G3 has a 8.0x Larger sensor area than Olympus SZ-30MR. Larger sensors give photographer more control on the depth of field and blurry background compared to smaller sensor when shot in same focal length and aperture.

What types of Photography are Olympus SZ-30MR and Panasonic G3 Good for?
In this section, we rank and compare Olympus SZ-30MR and Panasonic G3 for five different photography types in order to make your decision process easier in case you are specifically interested in one or more of these areas.

Olympus SZ-30MR for Portrait Photography

POOR

Panasonic G3 for Portrait Photography

AVERAGE
Image Stabilization
Average Resolution Sensor: 16.0MP
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
No External Flash Shoe
No Built-in Viewfinder
No Manual Focus Mode
No Manual Exposure Mode
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details
Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Average Resolution Sensor: 16.0MP
No Image Stabilization
Read the details

Olympus SZ-30MR for Street Photography

GOOD

Panasonic G3 for Street Photography

GOOD
Image Stabilization
Small Body
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
25 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
No Built-in Viewfinder
No Manual Focus Mode
Read the details
Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Fully Articulated LCD Screen
Medium sized Body
No Image Stabilization
Read the details

Olympus SZ-30MR for Sports Photography

POOR

Panasonic G3 for Sports Photography

GOOD
Image Stabilization
600 mm Tele Lens
No RAW shooting capability
No External Flash Shoe
No Built-in Viewfinder
No Manual Focus Mode
No Manual Exposure Mode
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
Slow Continuous Shooting: 2.0fps
Environmental Sealings
Slow Max shutter speed: 1/1700s
Unknown Focus Points
Poor Battery Life: 220 shots
Slow Lens at Tele: f6.90
Read the details
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
23 Focus Points
Average Continuous Shooting: 4.0fps
No Image Stabilization
Environmental Sealings
Poor Battery Life: 270 shots
Read the details

Olympus SZ-30MR for Daily Photography

AVERAGE

Panasonic G3 for Daily Photography

AVERAGE
Compact Body
226g
24.0X Optical Zoom
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
Body Thickness 40mm
Read the details
Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Medium size Body
336g
Body Thickness 47mm
Read the details

Olympus SZ-30MR for Landscape Photography

POOR

Panasonic G3 for Landscape Photography

POOR
25 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
Average Resolution Sensor: 16.0MP
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
No Manual Focus Mode
No Manual Exposure Mode
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details
Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Live-view
Average Resolution Sensor: 16.0MP
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Olympus SZ-30MR vs Panasonic G3: OUR DECISION

You may have already made your decision about which camera suits better for your needs and your budget so far but in case you wonder how we rated Olympus SZ-30MR and Panasonic G3, below you can find their scores in five different aspects. Our Decision Algorithm dynamically scores cameras using 69 different specs, current price and DxO Mark scores (where possible) in order to make a more objective and consistent comparison.

Here is a summary of how Olympus SZ-30MR and Panasonic G3 scores compare:

Olympus SZ-30MR
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #226 out of 477 in Compact cameras
Ranked #845 out of 1257 in all Cameras
Panasonic G3
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #99 out of 109 in SLR-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked #336 out of 1257 in all Cameras

Panasonic G3 is the overall winner of this comparison. It has a higher Overall Score and beats Olympus SZ-30MR in all criteria except one: Portability.
If small size and light body is a big priority for you, choose Olympus SZ-30MR. Otherwise, Panasonic G3 is the better camera overall.

Olympus SZ-30MR
Olympus SZ-30MR
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Panasonic G3
Panasonic G3
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Panasonic G3 vs Olympus SZ-30MR Specs Table
Detailed comparison of specifications
General Olympus SZ-30MR Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3
Brand Olympus Panasonic
Announced 2011-03-02 2011-07-11
Body Type Compact SLR-style mirrorless
Sensor
Type CMOS CMOS
Size 1/2.3-inch Four Thirds
Dimensions 6.17 x 4.55 mm 17.3 x 13 mm
Area 28.07mm2 224.90mm2
Megapixels 16 megapixels 16 megapixels
Max Resolution 4608 x 3456 4592 x 3448
Max Native Light sensitivity 3,200 ISO 6,400 ISO
Min Native Light sensitivity 80 ISO 160 ISO
RAW Support
Autofocus
AF Touch
AF Continuous
AF Single
AF Tracking
AF Selective
AF Center
AF Multi Area
AF Live View
AF Face Detection
AF Contrast Detection
AF Phase Detection
Number of Focus Points n/a 23
Lens
Manual Focus
Lens Mount fixed lens Micro Four Thirds
Lens Focal Range 25-600 mm (24×) no lens
Max Aperture F3.0-6.9 no lens
Macro Focus Range 1cm no lens
Screen
Type Fixed type Fully Articulated
Size 3.00" 3.00"
Resolution 460k dots 460k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder None Electronic
Viewfinder Resolution no electronic viewfinder 1,440k dots
Viewfinder Coverage n/a 100%
Viewfinder Magnification n/a 0.7x
Photography Features
Max Mechanical Shutter 1/1700s 1/4000s
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Custom White Balance
Built-in Image Stabilization Sensor-shift Optical
Built-in Flash
Flash Range 4.00 m 11.00 m
Max Flash Sync n/a 1/160s
External Flash
Continuous Shooting 2.0 fps 4.0 fps
Multi-Segment Metering
Average Metering
Spot Metering
Partial Metering
AF-Area Metering
Center Weighted Metering
AE Bracketing
WB Bracketing
Video Features
Max Video Resolution 1920 x 1080 1920 x 1080
Video Formats MPEG-4 AVCHD, Motion JPEG
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Connectivity
Wireless Connectivity Eye-Fi Connected None
HDMI
Physical
Environmental Sealing
Weight 226g 336g
Dimensions 106 x 69 x 40mm 115 x 84 x 47mm
Battery Life 220 shots 270 shots
Other Features
Timelapse Recording
GPS None None
DxO Sensor Scores
DxO Overall Score not tested 56
DxO Color Depth not tested 21.0
DxO Dynamic Range not tested 10.6
DxO Low Light ISO not tested 667
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