Olympus SH-50 vs Sony HX300

Here is a extensive assessment of the Olympus SH-50 and Sony HX300, both Small Sensor Superzoom cameras by rivals Olympus and Sony. The image resolution of the SH-50 (16MP) and the HX300 (20MP) is pretty close and they feature the exact same sensor size (1/2.3").

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The SH-50 was introduced around the same time to the HX300 so they are both of a similar age. Both the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus SH-50 being a Compact camera and the Sony HX300 being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before getting straight into a more detailed comparison, below is a brief summation of how the SH-50 matches up vs the HX300 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus SH-50 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX300. The whole galleries are provided at Olympus SH-50 Gallery & Sony HX300 Gallery.

In case you're looking to carry your camera regularly, you'll need to factor in its weight and proportions. The Olympus SH-50 has got external dimensions of 112mm x 63mm x 42mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.7") with a weight of 269 grams (0.59 lbs) while the Sony HX300 has measurements of 130mm x 103mm x 93mm (5.1" x 4.1" x 3.7") accompanied by a weight of 623 grams (1.37 lbs).

Examine the Olympus SH-50 and Sony HX300 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you have at the time. Here is the front view scale comparison of the SH-50 vs the HX300.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the SH-50 and HX300 is 88 and 63 respectively.

More often than not, it is tough to visualize the gap in sensor sizing purely by looking through a spec sheet. The visual below will help provide you a stronger sense of the sensor dimensions in the SH-50 and HX300.

Clearly, the two cameras have got the exact same sensor measurements albeit different MP. You can expect the Sony HX300 to result in more detail using its extra 4MP. Higher resolution will also make it easier to crop photographs much more aggressively.