Leica V-Lux 4 vs Olympus SH-1

Its time to look closer at the Leica V-Lux 4 and Olympus SH-1, both Small Sensor Superzoom cameras by competitors Leica and Olympus. There exists a large gap among the resolutions of the V-Lux 4 (12MP) and SH-1 (16MP) but they use the exact same sensor dimensions (1/2.3").

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The V-Lux 4 was introduced 18 months prior to the SH-1 making the cameras a generation away from one another. Each of the cameras come with different body type with the Leica V-Lux 4 being a SLR-like (bridge) camera and the Olympus SH-1 being a Compact camera.

Before delving in to a comprehensive comparison, below is a short summation of how the V-Lux 4 scores versus the SH-1 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Here is a sample of the gallery pictures for Leica V-Lux 4 & Olympus Stylus SH-1. The whole galleries are provided at Leica V-Lux 4 Gallery & Olympus SH-1 Gallery.

When you are looking to carry around your camera regularly, you'll need to take into account its weight and size. The Leica V-Lux 4 comes with exterior measurements of 125mm x 87mm x 110mm (4.9" x 3.4" x 4.3") having a weight of 588 grams (1.30 lbs) whilst the Olympus SH-1 has specifications of 109mm x 63mm x 42mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.7") with a weight of 271 grams (0.60 lbs).

Check out the Leica V-Lux 4 and Olympus SH-1 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you have attached at that time. Below is the front view sizing comparison of the V-Lux 4 and the SH-1.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability score of the V-Lux 4 and SH-1 is 65 and 88 respectively.

Quite often, it can be tough to visualize the gap in sensor sizes purely by going through specs. The pic here will give you a clearer sense of the sensor sizing in the V-Lux 4 and SH-1.

As you can plainly see, both of the cameras have got the exact same sensor measurements but different megapixels. You can anticipate the Olympus SH-1 to produce more detail using its extra 4MP. Greater resolution will make it easier to crop images much more aggressively. The more aged V-Lux 4 will be behind in sensor innovation.