Olympus SZ-11 vs Sony A500

Its time to examine more in depth at the Olympus SZ-11 and Sony A500, one being a Small Sensor Superzoom and the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by manufacturers Olympus and Sony. The image resolution of the SZ-11 (14MP) and the A500 (12MP) is fairly close but the SZ-11 (1/2.3") and A500 (APS-C) come with totally different sensor measurements.

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The SZ-11 was revealed 24 months later than the A500 making the cameras a generation apart from one another. Each of these cameras offer different body type with the Olympus SZ-11 being a Compact camera and the Sony A500 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before going through a complete comparison, below is a quick view of how the SZ-11 grades against the A500 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Here is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus SZ-11 and Sony Alpha DSLR-A500. The full galleries are viewable at Olympus SZ-11 Gallery and Sony A500 Gallery.

For anyone who is planning to carry your camera regularly, you're going to have to take into account its weight and volume. The Olympus SZ-11 offers outer measurements of 106mm x 69mm x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6") along with a weight of 226 grams (0.50 lbs) and the Sony A500 has sizing of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") and a weight of 630 grams (1.39 lbs).

Examine the Olympus SZ-11 and Sony A500 in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary depending on the lens you choose at the time. Below is the front view size comparison of the SZ-11 and the A500.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the SZ-11 and A500 is 89 and 63 respectively.

Quite often, it's tough to visualise the contrast in sensor sizing merely by looking through a spec sheet. The graphic below should give you a clearer sense of the sensor measurements in the SZ-11 and A500.

As you can see, both of these cameras enjoy different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The SZ-11 using its smaller sensor will make getting shallower DOF harder and the Olympus SZ-11 will render greater detail because of its extra 2MP. Greater resolution can also make it easier to crop pics far more aggressively. The more recent SZ-11 will have an advantage with regard to sensor technology.