Canon A490 vs Olympus XZ-2 iHS

Let's examine more closely at the Canon A490 vs Olympus XZ-2 iHS, both Small Sensor Compact digital cameras by brands Canon and Olympus. The image resolution of the A490 (10MP) and the XZ-2 iHS (12MP) is fairly well matched but the A490 (1/2.3") and XZ-2 iHS (1/1.7") come with totally different sensor dimensions.

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The A490 was unveiled 3 years earlier than the XZ-2 iHS and that is quite a big difference as far as technology is concerned. Both of these cameras come with the identical body type (Compact).

Before we go straight into a step-by-step comparison, below is a short summation of how the A490 grades versus the XZ-2 iHS for portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Here is a sample of the gallery pictures for Canon PowerShot A490 & Olympus XZ-2 iHS. The full galleries are provided at Canon A490 Gallery & Olympus XZ-2 iHS Gallery.

For anyone who is planning to lug around your camera often, you will need to factor in its weight and dimensions. The Canon A490 offers outer dimensions of 94mm x 62mm x 31mm (3.7" x 2.4" x 1.2") with a weight of 175 grams (0.39 lbs) whilst the Olympus XZ-2 iHS has dimensions of 113mm x 65mm x 48mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.9") accompanied by a weight of 346 grams (0.76 lbs).

Check out the Canon A490 vs Olympus XZ-2 iHS in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you choose at the time. Following is the front view overall size comparison of the A490 versus the XZ-2 iHS.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the A490 and XZ-2 iHS is 93 and 85 respectively.

Normally, its hard to envision the difference between sensor measurements purely by checking a spec sheet. The visual here should offer you a greater sense of the sensor sizes in the A490 and XZ-2 iHS.

Clearly, both cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The A490 with its tinier sensor will make getting shallower depth of field harder and the Olympus XZ-2 iHS will give you extra detail having an extra 2MP. Greater resolution will also make it easier to crop photos somewhat more aggressively. The older A490 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor technology.