Olympus SP-590 UZ vs Sony A850

Lets look a little more closely at the Olympus SP-590 UZ vs Sony A850, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the other is a Advanced DSLR by brands Olympus and Sony. There exists a substantial gap between the resolutions of the SP-590 UZ (12MP) and A850 (25MP) and the SP-590 UZ (1/2.3") and A850 (Full frame) posses different sensor dimensions.

Photography Glossary

The SP-590 UZ was revealed 15 months prior to the A850 making them a generation apart from one another. Both of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus SP-590 UZ being a SLR-like (bridge) camera and the Sony A850 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before going straight to a full comparison, here is a brief overview of how the SP-590 UZ grades versus the A850 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus SP-590 UZ & Sony Alpha DSLR-A850. The full galleries are viewable at Olympus SP-590 UZ Gallery & Sony A850 Gallery.

For anyone who is intending to lug around your camera regularly, you'll have to consider its weight and measurements. The Olympus SP-590 UZ has exterior dimensions of 116mm x 84mm x 81mm (4.6" x 3.3" x 3.2") having a weight of 413 grams (0.91 lbs) while the Sony A850 has proportions of 156mm x 117mm x 82mm (6.1" x 4.6" x 3.2") with a weight of 895 grams (1.97 lbs).

Compare the Olympus SP-590 UZ vs Sony A850 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you have during that time. Here is a front view measurement comparison of the SP-590 UZ and the A850.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability score of the SP-590 UZ and A850 is 72 and 54 respectively.

Quite often, its tough to visualize the gap between sensor measurements purely by going over technical specs. The visual underneath might offer you a clearer sense of the sensor sizes in the SP-590 UZ and A850.

As you can tell, the 2 cameras have different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The SP-590 UZ using its tinier sensor is going to make getting shallow depth of field more challenging and the Sony A850 will offer greater detail because of its extra 13MP. Greater resolution will also help you crop images a bit more aggressively. The older SP-590 UZ is going to be behind when it comes to sensor technology.