Olympus E-600 vs Sony HX30V

Here is a in-depth assessment of the Olympus E-600 and Sony HX30V, former being a Entry-Level DSLR while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by companies Olympus and Sony. There exists a large gap among the resolutions of the E-600 (12MP) and HX30V (18MP) and the E-600 (Four Thirds) and HX30V (1/2.3") come with totally different sensor sizes.

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The E-600 was introduced 3 years prior to the HX30V and that is a fairly serious difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-600 being a Compact SLR camera and the Sony HX30V being a Compact camera.

Before we go straight into a step-by-step comparison, below is a concise summary of how the E-600 scores against the HX30V when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Below is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus E-600 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX30V. The whole galleries are provided at Olympus E-600 Gallery & Sony HX30V Gallery.

If you are planning to carry your camera regularly, you have to think about its weight and volume. The Olympus E-600 offers physical dimensions of 130mm x 94mm x 60mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.4") along with a weight of 515 grams (1.14 lbs) whilst the Sony HX30V has sizing of 107mm x 62mm x 35mm (4.2" x 2.4" x 1.4") along with a weight of 254 grams (0.56 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus E-600 and Sony HX30V in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you use at the time. The following is the front view over all size comparison of the E-600 against the HX30V.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-600 and HX30V is 71 and 90 respectively.

Sometimes, it can be hard to see the gap in sensor sizing purely by going through specifications. The photograph below will give you a more clear sense of the sensor sizes in the E-600 and HX30V.

Plainly, both cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The E-600 having a bigger sensor will make shooting shallower DOF simpler and the Sony HX30V will show greater detail using its extra 6 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also enable you to crop pictures somewhat more aggressively. The older E-600 will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor tech.