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Olympus SZ-11 vs Sony NEX-7

Portability
89
Imaging
37
Features
37
Overall
37
Olympus SZ-11 front
 
Sony Alpha NEX-7 front
Portability
84
Imaging
63
Features
71
Overall
66

Olympus SZ-11 vs Sony NEX-7 Key Specs

Olympus SZ-11
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 80 - 1600
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 25-500mm (F3.0-6.9) lens
  • 226g - 106 x 69 x 40mm
  • Revealed July 2011
Sony NEX-7
(Full Review)
  • 24MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Display
  • ISO 100 - 16000
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Sony E Mount
  • 400g - 120 x 67 x 43mm
  • Launched December 2011
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Olympus SZ-11 vs Sony NEX-7 Overview

Its time to look much closer at the Olympus SZ-11 versus Sony NEX-7, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the other is a Advanced Mirrorless by brands Olympus and Sony. There exists a sizable gap among the sensor resolutions of the SZ-11 (14MP) and NEX-7 (24MP) and the SZ-11 (1/2.3") and NEX-7 (APS-C) use different sensor measurements.

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The SZ-11 was announced 4 months prior to the NEX-7 so they are both of a similar age. Each of these cameras offer different body type with the Olympus SZ-11 being a Compact camera and the Sony NEX-7 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before diving straight into a full comparison, below is a brief summary of how the SZ-11 scores versus the NEX-7 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Olympus SZ-11 over the Sony NEX-7

 SZ-11 NEX-7 

Reasons to pick Sony NEX-7 over the Olympus SZ-11

 NEX-7 SZ-11 
Manual focus Very accurate focus
Display typeTiltingFixed Tilting display
Display resolution921k460kCrisper display (+461k dot)

Common features in the Olympus SZ-11 and Sony NEX-7

 SZ-11 NEX-7 
LaunchedJuly 2011December 2011Same age
Display sizing3"3"Equivalent display measurements
Selfie screen Neither includes selfie screen
Touch friendly display Neither includes Touch friendly display

Olympus SZ-11 vs Sony NEX-7 Physical Comparison

For anyone who is planning to lug around your camera regularly, you have to factor its weight and proportions. The Olympus SZ-11 features exterior measurements of 106mm x 69mm x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6") accompanied by a weight of 226 grams (0.50 lbs) while the Sony NEX-7 has measurements of 120mm x 67mm x 43mm (4.7" x 2.6" x 1.7") accompanied by a weight of 400 grams (0.88 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus SZ-11 versus Sony NEX-7 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you are utilizing during that time. Following is the front view dimension comparison of the SZ-11 versus the NEX-7.

Olympus SZ-11 vs Sony NEX-7 size comparison

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the SZ-11 and NEX-7 is 89 and 84 respectively.

Olympus SZ-11 vs Sony NEX-7 top view buttons comparison

Olympus SZ-11 vs Sony NEX-7 Sensor Comparison

Normally, it is very hard to imagine the contrast in sensor measurements merely by looking through a spec sheet. The graphic here will help provide you a clearer sense of the sensor measurements in the SZ-11 and NEX-7.

As you can see, both cameras offer different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The SZ-11 using its smaller sensor is going to make getting shallower DOF more difficult and the Sony NEX-7 will render greater detail with its extra 10 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also make it easier to crop images a little more aggressively.

Olympus SZ-11 vs Sony NEX-7 sensor size comparison

Olympus SZ-11 vs Sony NEX-7 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus SZ-11 vs Sony NEX-7 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus SZ-11 Portrait photography advice
Sony NEX-7 Portrait photography advice
33
good MP (14 megapixels)
comes with face detection focus
lack of manual focus
no manual control
external flash not possible
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
no RAW format
77
focusing manually
MP count good (24MP)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
comes with face detect focus
supports RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Olympus SZ-11 Street photography info
Sony NEX-7 Street photography info
60
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
lighter than competition (226 grams)
screen does not articulate
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
no RAW format
76
screen tilts
nice sensor size (APS-C)
supports RAW formats
does not have image stabilization
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Sports Comparison

Olympus SZ-11 Sports photography details
Sony NEX-7 Sports photography details
43
amazing zoom range (25-500mm 20.0 x zoom)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
good MP (14MP)
comes with tracking autofocus
no shutter priority
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
terrible battery (200 CIPA)
no phase detect auto focus
61
MP count good (24MP)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
great battery pack (430 CIPA)
does not have image stabilization
lack of phase detect auto focus
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Olympus SZ-11
Travel photography with Sony NEX-7
65
lighter than competition (226 grams)
good MP (14MP)
flash built-in
decently wide (25mm)
long zoom (500mm)
does not have Time Lapse mode
terrible battery (200 per charge)
display isn't selfie friendly
slow max aperture (f3.0)
70
great battery pack (430 CIPA)
MP count good (24MP)
flash built-in
does not have Time Lapse function
does not have a selfie friendly display
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus SZ-11 Landscape photography advice
Sony NEX-7 Landscape photography advice
40
decently wide (25mm)
nice screen size (3 inch)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
good MP (14 megapixels)
lack of manual focus
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
slow max aperture (f3.0)
no manual control
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
no RAW format
terrible battery (200 shots)
does not have Time Lapse mode
72
focusing manually
switch lenses (Sony E mount)
nice screen size (3 inch)
MP count good (24MP)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
supports RAW formats
great battery pack (430 shots)
does not have image stabilization
does not have Time Lapse function
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus SZ-11 Vlogging advice
Sony NEX-7 Vlogging advice
31
decently wide (25mm)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
comes with face detection focus
lighter than competition (226 grams)
slow max aperture (f3.0)
display isn't selfie friendly
low res video (1280 x 720 pixels)
does not have external mic jack
35
comes with face detect focus
high video quality (1920 x 1080 resolution)
has mic support
does not have a selfie friendly display
does not have image stabilization
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Olympus SZ-11 vs Sony NEX-7 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus SZ-11 and Sony NEX-7
 Olympus SZ-11Sony Alpha NEX-7
General Information
Brand Name Olympus Sony
Model type Olympus SZ-11 Sony Alpha NEX-7
Category Small Sensor Superzoom Advanced Mirrorless
Revealed 2011-07-27 2011-12-13
Physical type Compact Rangefinder-style mirrorless
Sensor Information
Processor TruePic III+ Bionz
Sensor type CCD CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" APS-C
Sensor dimensions 6.17 x 4.55mm 23.5 x 15.6mm
Sensor area 28.1mm² 366.6mm²
Sensor resolution 14MP 24MP
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 and 16:9 3:2 and 16:9
Peak resolution 4288 x 3216 6000 x 4000
Highest native ISO 1600 16000
Min native ISO 80 100
RAW format
Autofocusing
Focus manually
AF touch
AF continuous
Single AF
Tracking AF
Selective AF
AF center weighted
Multi area AF
AF live view
Face detect AF
Contract detect AF
Phase detect AF
Total focus points - 25
Cross type focus points - -
Lens
Lens mount type fixed lens Sony E
Lens zoom range 25-500mm (20.0x) -
Max aperture f/3.0-6.9 -
Macro focusing range 1cm -
Available lenses - 121
Crop factor 5.8 1.5
Screen
Display type Fixed Type Tilting
Display size 3" 3"
Resolution of display 460k dots 921k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch operation
Display technology TFT Color LCD -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type None Electronic
Viewfinder coverage - 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification - 0.73x
Features
Min shutter speed 4 seconds 30 seconds
Max shutter speed 1/2000 seconds 1/4000 seconds
Continuous shutter rate 7.0 frames/s 10.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation - Yes
Set WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash distance 9.30 m (@ ISO 1600) 6.00 m
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in, Wireless
Hot shoe
AEB
WB bracketing
Max flash synchronize - 1/160 seconds
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30, 15fps), 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 240 (30, 15fps) 1920 x 1080 (60, 24 fps), 1440 x 1080 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Highest video resolution 1280x720 1920x1080
Video data format Motion JPEG MPEG-4, AVCHD
Mic support
Headphone support
Connectivity
Wireless None Eye-Fi Connected
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 226 gr (0.50 lbs) 400 gr (0.88 lbs)
Dimensions 106 x 69 x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6") 120 x 67 x 43mm (4.7" x 2.6" x 1.7")
DXO scores
DXO Overall rating not tested 81
DXO Color Depth rating not tested 24.1
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested 13.4
DXO Low light rating not tested 1016
Other
Battery life 200 photos 430 photos
Battery style Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID LI-50B NPFW50
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec, 10sec (3 or 5 images))
Time lapse shooting
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo
Card slots 1 1
Price at release $253 $699