Olympus SP-800 UZ vs Sony RX100

Following is a extended assessment of the Olympus SP-800 UZ versus Sony RX100, former is a Small Sensor Superzoom while the other is a Large Sensor Compact by companies Olympus and Sony. There exists a sizable gap among the resolutions of the SP-800 UZ (14MP) and RX100 (20MP) and the SP-800 UZ (1/2.3") and RX100 (1") have totally different sensor size.

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The SP-800 UZ was revealed 3 years before the RX100 which is a fairly significant difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both cameras feature different body design with the Olympus SP-800 UZ being a Compact camera and the Sony RX100 being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before getting right into a complete comparison, here is a short overview of how the SP-800 UZ matches up against the RX100 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Below is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus SP-800 UZ & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100. The full galleries are provided at Olympus SP-800 UZ Gallery & Sony RX100 Gallery.

If you're going to carry around your camera frequently, you'll have to take into account its weight and size. The Olympus SP-800 UZ features physical dimensions of 110mm x 90mm x 91mm (4.3" x 3.5" x 3.6") having a weight of 455 grams (1.00 lbs) whilst the Sony RX100 has specifications of 102mm x 58mm x 36mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.4") having a weight of 240 grams (0.53 lbs).

Check out the Olympus SP-800 UZ versus Sony RX100 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you have chosen during that time. Below is a front view dimension comparison of the SP-800 UZ against the RX100.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the SP-800 UZ and RX100 is 69 and 91 respectively.

Sometimes, its hard to see the difference in sensor sizes simply by looking through technical specs. The picture underneath will provide you a far better sense of the sensor dimensions in the SP-800 UZ and RX100.

As you have seen, both of these cameras come with different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The SP-800 UZ with its smaller sensor will make shooting shallow depth of field harder and the Sony RX100 will result in greater detail because of its extra 6MP. Greater resolution will also make it easier to crop images a good deal more aggressively. The more aged SP-800 UZ will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor innovation.