Leica V-Lux 4 vs Olympus SZ-15

Let's look much closer at the Leica V-Lux 4 and Olympus SZ-15, both Small Sensor Superzoom cameras by competitors Leica and Olympus. There exists a large gap among the image resolutions of the V-Lux 4 (12MP) and SZ-15 (16MP) but they use the exact same sensor sizing (1/2.3").

Photography Glossary

The V-Lux 4 was released 9 months prior to the SZ-15 and they are both of a similar age. Both the cameras come with different body type with the Leica V-Lux 4 being a SLR-like (bridge) camera and the Olympus SZ-15 being a Compact camera.

Before going in to a full comparison, below is a simple summation of how the V-Lux 4 scores against the SZ-15 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

This is a preview of the gallery images for Leica V-Lux 4 & Olympus SZ-15. The complete galleries are viewable at Leica V-Lux 4 Gallery & Olympus SZ-15 Gallery.

In case you're planning to carry your camera often, you will want to think about its weight and dimensions. The Leica V-Lux 4 enjoys outside measurements of 125mm x 87mm x 110mm (4.9" x 3.4" x 4.3") with a weight of 588 grams (1.30 lbs) whilst the Olympus SZ-15 has dimensions of 108mm x 70mm x 40mm (4.3" x 2.8" x 1.6") with a weight of 250 grams (0.55 lbs).

See the Leica V-Lux 4 and Olympus SZ-15 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you are employing at the time. The following is the front view dimension comparison of the V-Lux 4 against the SZ-15.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the V-Lux 4 and SZ-15 is 65 and 88 respectively.

Typically, it's hard to imagine the difference in sensor sizing purely by going through specs. The photograph underneath will give you a better sense of the sensor sizing in the V-Lux 4 and SZ-15.

As you can plainly see, each of the cameras have got the exact same sensor measurements albeit different megapixels. You can expect the Olympus SZ-15 to show greater detail as a result of its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also let you crop photographs much more aggressively. The older V-Lux 4 will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor technology.