Olympus SZ-10 vs Sony RX100 VA

Here, we will be evaluating the Olympus SZ-10 versus Sony RX100 VA, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the latter is a Large Sensor Compact by brands Olympus and Sony. There is a sizable difference between the image resolutions of the SZ-10 (14MP) and RX100 VA (20MP) and the SZ-10 (1/2.3") and RX100 VA (1") provide totally different sensor sizing.

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The SZ-10 was announced 8 years prior to the RX100 VA and that is quite a significant difference as far as tech is concerned. Both of these cameras feature different body design with the Olympus SZ-10 being a Compact camera and the Sony RX100 VA being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before delving straight to a in-depth comparison, here is a simple summary of how the SZ-10 scores against the RX100 VA in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

This is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus SZ-10 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 V(A). The whole galleries are available at Olympus SZ-10 Gallery & Sony RX100 VA Gallery.

When you are aiming to carry your camera often, you will need to think about its weight and proportions. The Olympus SZ-10 comes with outside dimensions of 106mm x 67mm x 38mm (4.2" x 2.6" x 1.5") accompanied by a weight of 215 grams (0.47 lbs) and the Sony RX100 VA has measurements of 102mm x 58mm x 41mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.6") and a weight of 299 grams (0.66 lbs).

See the Olympus SZ-10 versus Sony RX100 VA in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you are utilising at that time. The following is a front view measurements comparison of the SZ-10 against the RX100 VA.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability rating of the SZ-10 and RX100 VA is 90 and 89 respectively.

In many cases, its difficult to see the difference between sensor sizing purely by checking specs. The photograph below may provide you a much better sense of the sensor sizes in the SZ-10 and RX100 VA.

As you can plainly see, both cameras feature different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The SZ-10 with its tinier sensor will make achieving shallow DOF more difficult and the Sony RX100 VA will resolve greater detail with its extra 6 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also make it easier to crop photographs way more aggressively. The older SZ-10 is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor innovation.