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Nikon S9900 vs Olympus VH-515

Portability
88
Imaging
41
Features
60
Overall
48
Nikon Coolpix S9900 front
 
Olympus VH-515 front
Portability
95
Imaging
36
Features
34
Overall
35

Nikon S9900 vs Olympus VH-515 Key Specs

Nikon S9900
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fully Articulated Screen
  • ISO 100 - 6400
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 25-750mm (F3.7-6.4) lens
  • 289g - 112 x 66 x 40mm
  • Announced February 2015
  • Succeeded the Nikon S9700
Olympus VH-515
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 1600
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 26-130mm (F2.8-6.5) lens
  • 152g - 102 x 60 x 21mm
  • Announced August 2012
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Nikon S9900 vs Olympus VH-515 Overview

Its time to take a closer look at the Nikon S9900 versus Olympus VH-515, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by manufacturers Nikon and Olympus. There exists a noticeable gap between the sensor resolutions of the S9900 (16MP) and VH-515 (12MP) but they feature the same exact sensor measurements (1/2.3").

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The S9900 was brought out 2 years later than the VH-515 and that is quite a sizable difference as far as technology is concerned. Both of the cameras offer the identical body type (Compact).

Before going through a comprehensive comparison, below is a quick highlight of how the S9900 grades against the VH-515 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Nikon S9900 over the Olympus VH-515

 S9900 VH-515 
AnnouncedFebruary 2015August 2012Fresher by 31 months
Screen typeFully ArticulatedFixed Fully Articulating screen
Screen resolution921k460kClearer screen (+461k dot)
Selfie screen Easy selfies

Reasons to pick Olympus VH-515 over the Nikon S9900

 VH-515 S9900 
Touch friendly screen Quickly navigate

Common features in the Nikon S9900 and Olympus VH-515

 S9900 VH-515 
Focus manually No manual focusing
Screen sizing3"3"Equivalent screen measurements

Nikon S9900 vs Olympus VH-515 Physical Comparison

When you are looking to carry your camera frequently, you'll need to consider its weight and measurements. The Nikon S9900 comes with outer measurements of 112mm x 66mm x 40mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.6") and a weight of 289 grams (0.64 lbs) whilst the Olympus VH-515 has proportions of 102mm x 60mm x 21mm (4.0" x 2.4" x 0.8") and a weight of 152 grams (0.34 lbs).

Take a look at the Nikon S9900 versus Olympus VH-515 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you are utilising during that time. Here is the front view sizing comparison of the S9900 vs the VH-515.

Nikon S9900 vs Olympus VH-515 size comparison

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability score of the S9900 and VH-515 is 88 and 95 respectively.

Nikon S9900 vs Olympus VH-515 top view buttons comparison

Nikon S9900 vs Olympus VH-515 Sensor Comparison

Quite often, its hard to envision the gap between sensor sizing simply by looking at specs. The visual underneath will help provide you a greater sense of the sensor sizing in the S9900 and VH-515.

All in all, both cameras enjoy the same exact sensor sizing albeit not the same resolution. You can count on the Nikon S9900 to give you more detail having its extra 4MP. Higher resolution can also make it easier to crop pictures far more aggressively. The fresher S9900 will have a benefit when it comes to sensor tech.

Nikon S9900 vs Olympus VH-515 sensor size comparison

Nikon S9900 vs Olympus VH-515 Screen and ViewFinder

Nikon S9900 vs Olympus VH-515 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Nikon S9900 Portrait photography information
Olympus VH-515 Portrait photography information
37
MP count good (16 megapixels)
has face detect focusing
lack of manual focus
external flash not possible
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
does not have RAW support
27
has face detection focus
lack of manual focus
no manual control
can't use external flash
megapixel count low (12 megapixels)
sensor is tiny (1/2.3")
no RAW files
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Street Comparison

Nikon S9900 as a Street photography camera
Olympus VH-515 as a Street photography camera
68
fully articulated screen
image stabilization (Optical)
lighter than competitors (289g)
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
does not have RAW support
62
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
comes with touch to focus
screen does not articulate
sensor is tiny (1/2.3")
no RAW files
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Sports Comparison

Nikon S9900 Sports photography details
Olympus VH-515 Sports photography details
53
great zoom range (25-750mm 30.0 x zoom)
image stabilization (Optical)
MP count good (16 megapixels)
has tracking focus
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
does not have phase detect AF
32
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
has tracking autofocus
slow continuous shooting (2.0 frames/s)
lack of shutter priority mode
megapixel count low (12 megapixels)
sensor is tiny (1/2.3")
no phase detect auto focus
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Nikon S9900
Travel photography with Olympus VH-515
77
lighter than competitors (289 grams)
MP count good (16 megapixels)
has built in flash
selfie friendly display
quite wide (25mm)
long zoom (750mm)
slow max aperture (f3.7)
62
comes with touch to focus
built-in flash
rather wide (26mm)
does not have Time Lapse recording
megapixel count low (12MP)
doesn't have a selfie friendly screen
sluggish maximum aperture (f2.8)
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Landscape Comparison

Nikon S9900 Landscape photography advice
Olympus VH-515 Landscape photography advice
47
quite wide (25mm)
screen size is good (3")
image stabilization (Optical)
MP count good (16 megapixels)
lack of manual focus
cannot swap lens (fixed lens mount)
slow max aperture (f3.7)
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
does not have RAW support
37
rather wide (26mm)
screen size is good (3 inches)
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
lack of manual focus
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
sluggish maximum aperture (f2.8)
no manual control
megapixel count low (12MP)
sensor is tiny (1/2.3")
no RAW files
does not have Time Lapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Nikon S9900 Vlogging advice
Olympus VH-515 Vlogging advice
73
quite wide (25mm)
selfie friendly display
image stabilization (Optical)
has face detect focusing
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 resolution)
lighter than competitors (289g)
slow max aperture (f3.7)
does not have mic socket
35
rather wide (26mm)
touchscreen functionality
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
has face detection focus
video res high (1920 x 1080 resolution)
sluggish maximum aperture (f2.8)
doesn't have a selfie friendly screen
does not have external mic socket
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Nikon S9900 vs Olympus VH-515 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Nikon S9900 and Olympus VH-515
 Nikon Coolpix S9900Olympus VH-515
General Information
Brand Name Nikon Olympus
Model Nikon Coolpix S9900 Olympus VH-515
Class Small Sensor Superzoom Small Sensor Compact
Announced 2015-02-10 2012-08-21
Physical type Compact Compact
Sensor Information
Chip - TruePic III+
Sensor type CMOS BSI-CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" 1/2.3"
Sensor dimensions 6.17 x 4.55mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor surface area 28.1mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 16 megapixel 12 megapixel
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 4:3 and 16:9
Highest resolution 4608 x 3456 4608 x 3456
Highest native ISO 6400 1600
Minimum native ISO 100 100
RAW photos
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch focus
Autofocus continuous
Autofocus single
Autofocus tracking
Selective autofocus
Center weighted autofocus
Multi area autofocus
Autofocus live view
Face detection focus
Contract detection focus
Phase detection focus
Lens
Lens mounting type fixed lens fixed lens
Lens focal range 25-750mm (30.0x) 26-130mm (5.0x)
Maximal aperture f/3.7-6.4 f/2.8-6.5
Macro focus range 1cm 5cm
Crop factor 5.8 5.8
Screen
Screen type Fully Articulated Fixed Type
Screen sizing 3 inch 3 inch
Screen resolution 921 thousand dots 460 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch display
Screen technology - TFT Color LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder None None
Features
Lowest shutter speed 8 seconds 4 seconds
Highest shutter speed 1/4000 seconds 1/2000 seconds
Continuous shooting rate 7.0fps 2.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes -
Change white balance
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash range 6.00 m (at Auto ISO) 4.70 m
Flash settings - Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in
External flash
AE bracketing
White balance bracketing
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60i, 50i, 30p, 25p), 1280 x 720 (30p, 25p), 640 x 480 (30p, 25p) 1920 x 1080 (30 fps), 1280 x 720 (30,15 fps), 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 180 (30,15 fps)
Highest video resolution 1920x1080 1920x1080
Video data format MPEG-4, H.264 MPEG-4, H.264
Mic port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless Built-In Eye-Fi Connected
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS BuiltIn None
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 289g (0.64 lb) 152g (0.34 lb)
Dimensions 112 x 66 x 40mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.6") 102 x 60 x 21mm (4.0" x 2.4" x 0.8")
DXO scores
DXO All around score not tested not tested
DXO Color Depth score not tested not tested
DXO Dynamic range score not tested not tested
DXO Low light score not tested not tested
Other
Battery life 300 pictures -
Style of battery Battery Pack -
Battery model EN-EL19 LI-50B
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 secs) Yes (2 or 12 sec)
Time lapse recording
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/SDXC
Card slots 1 1
Launch pricing $300 $648