Olympus SP-590 UZ vs Sony HX99

Let's look more closely at the Olympus SP-590 UZ and Sony HX99, both Small Sensor Superzoom digital cameras by manufacturers Olympus and Sony. There exists a sizeable gap between the image resolutions of the SP-590 UZ (12MP) and HX99 (18MP) and the SP-590 UZ (1/2.3") and HX99 (1/2.3-inch) posses different sensor sizes.

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The SP-590 UZ was brought out 10 years earlier than the HX99 and that is quite a large gap as far as technology is concerned. Both of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus SP-590 UZ being a SLR-like (bridge) camera and the Sony HX99 being a Compact camera.

Before getting straight to a thorough comparison, here is a simple synopsis of how the SP-590 UZ grades vs the HX99 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus SP-590 UZ and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX99. The entire galleries are provided at Olympus SP-590 UZ Gallery and Sony HX99 Gallery.

When you are aiming to lug around your camera, you are going to need to factor in its weight and proportions. The Olympus SP-590 UZ has outside dimensions of 116mm x 84mm x 81mm (4.6" x 3.3" x 3.2") and a weight of 413 grams (0.91 lbs) and the Sony HX99 has measurements of 102mm x 58mm x 36mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.4") with a weight of 242 grams (0.53 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus SP-590 UZ and Sony HX99 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary depending on the lens you have chosen at that moment. Underneath is a front view dimensions comparison of the SP-590 UZ against the HX99.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the SP-590 UZ and HX99 is 72 and 91 respectively.

Typically, its hard to visualize the difference between sensor measurements purely by reading through specs. The visual here will help offer you a greater sense of the sensor sizes in the SP-590 UZ and HX99.

As you can plainly see, the two cameras provide different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The SP-590 UZ because of its bigger sensor is going to make achieving shallow DOF less difficult and the Sony HX99 will resolve greater detail having its extra 6 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also help you crop pictures more aggressively. The older SP-590 UZ is going to be behind in sensor tech.