Olympus SZ-10 vs Olympus TG-870

Its time to look more closely at the Olympus SZ-10 vs Olympus TG-870, former is a Small Sensor Superzoom while the other is a Ultracompact and they are both produced by Olympus. The image resolution of the SZ-10 (14MP) and the TG-870 (16MP) is fairly similar and both cameras boast the same sensor sizes (1/2.3").

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The SZ-10 was introduced 5 years prior to the TG-870 which is quite a big difference as far as tech is concerned. The two cameras have different body design with the Olympus SZ-10 being a Compact camera and the Olympus TG-870 being a Ultracompact camera.

Before we go into a step-by-step comparison, here is a short introduction of how the SZ-10 grades versus the TG-870 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

The following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus SZ-10 & Olympus Stylus Tough TG-870. The whole galleries are viewable at Olympus SZ-10 Gallery & Olympus TG-870 Gallery.

In case you're planning to travel with your camera, you'll have to factor its weight and proportions. The Olympus SZ-10 features physical measurements of 106mm x 67mm x 38mm (4.2" x 2.6" x 1.5") accompanied by a weight of 215 grams (0.47 lbs) whilst the Olympus TG-870 has measurements of 113mm x 64mm x 28mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.1") and a weight of 221 grams (0.49 lbs).

Check out the Olympus SZ-10 vs Olympus TG-870 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you use at the time. Below is a front view scale comparison of the SZ-10 compared to the TG-870.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability rating of the SZ-10 and TG-870 is 90 and 91 respectively.

Generally, it is very difficult to visualize the gap between sensor dimensions purely by going over technical specs. The picture below will help give you a far better sense of the sensor measurements in the SZ-10 and TG-870.

As you can tell, each of these cameras have the same sensor dimensions but different MP. You can anticipate the Olympus TG-870 to offer you greater detail using its extra 2MP. Greater resolution will also allow you to crop pics a bit more aggressively. The more aged SZ-10 is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor tech.