Olympus SH-50 vs Sony S980

Let's look a bit more in depth at the Olympus SH-50 versus Sony S980, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by brands Olympus and Sony. There exists a noticeable gap among the resolutions of the SH-50 (16MP) and S980 (12MP) but they feature the same exact sensor size (1/2.3").

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The SH-50 was revealed 3 years later than the S980 and that is a fairly sizable difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of these cameras offer the identical body type (Compact).

Before getting in to a complete comparison, below is a quick view of how the SH-50 matches up versus the S980 for portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Here is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus SH-50 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S980. The full galleries are viewable at Olympus SH-50 Gallery & Sony S980 Gallery.

If you are looking to lug around your camera frequently, you need to factor in its weight and size. The Olympus SH-50 enjoys external measurements of 112mm x 63mm x 42mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.7") along with a weight of 269 grams (0.59 lbs) while the Sony S980 has specifications of 93mm x 56mm x 24mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.9") having a weight of 167 grams (0.37 lbs).

Examine the Olympus SH-50 versus Sony S980 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you are utilising at the time. Here is the front view physical size comparison of the SH-50 versus the S980.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability score of the SH-50 and S980 is 88 and 94 respectively.

Quite often, it is tough to see the contrast in sensor measurements simply by checking out a spec sheet. The visual here should give you a stronger sense of the sensor measurements in the SH-50 and S980.

As you can see, both of the cameras enjoy the same exact sensor sizing albeit not the same resolution. You can expect the Olympus SH-50 to provide extra detail because of its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also let you crop pictures far more aggressively. The more recent SH-50 will have an edge in sensor tech.