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Olympus SZ-12 vs Olympus VH-515

Portability
89
Imaging
37
Features
36
Overall
36
Olympus SZ-12 front
 
Olympus VH-515 front
Portability
95
Imaging
36
Features
34
Overall
35

Olympus SZ-12 vs Olympus VH-515 Key Specs

Olympus SZ-12
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 80 - 1600
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 25-600mm (F3.0-6.9) lens
  • 226g - 106 x 69 x 40mm
  • Announced January 2012
Olympus VH-515
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 1600
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 26-130mm (F2.8-6.5) lens
  • 152g - 102 x 60 x 21mm
  • Announced August 2012
Photography Glossary

Olympus SZ-12 vs Olympus VH-515 Overview

Here is a extended analysis of the Olympus SZ-12 vs Olympus VH-515, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the other is a Small Sensor Compact and they are both offered by Olympus. The sensor resolution of the SZ-12 (14MP) and the VH-515 (12MP) is very close and both cameras posses the same sensor sizes (1/2.3").

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The SZ-12 was launched 7 months prior to the VH-515 which means that they are both of a similar age. The two cameras have the same body design (Compact).

Before going right into a complete comparison, here is a concise summation of how the SZ-12 scores against the VH-515 for portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Olympus SZ-12 over the Olympus VH-515

 SZ-12 VH-515 

Reasons to pick Olympus VH-515 over the Olympus SZ-12

 VH-515 SZ-12 
AnnouncedAugust 2012January 2012Fresher by 7 months
Touch friendly display Easily navigate

Common features in the Olympus SZ-12 and Olympus VH-515

 SZ-12 VH-515 
Manual focus Lack of manual focusing
Display typeFixed Fixed Fixed display
Display dimensions3"3"Equal display dimensions
Display resolution460k460kIdentical display resolution
Selfie screen Neither provides selfie screen

Olympus SZ-12 vs Olympus VH-515 Physical Comparison

For anybody who is looking to carry your camera regularly, you will have to take into account its weight and measurements. The Olympus SZ-12 provides physical dimensions of 106mm x 69mm x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6") having a weight of 226 grams (0.50 lbs) and the Olympus VH-515 has proportions of 102mm x 60mm x 21mm (4.0" x 2.4" x 0.8") having a weight of 152 grams (0.34 lbs).

Look at the Olympus SZ-12 vs Olympus VH-515 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Always remember, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you are working with at that moment. Below is a front view scale comparison of the SZ-12 and the VH-515.

Olympus SZ-12 vs Olympus VH-515 size comparison

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the SZ-12 and VH-515 is 89 and 95 respectively.

Olympus SZ-12 vs Olympus VH-515 top view buttons comparison

Olympus SZ-12 vs Olympus VH-515 Sensor Comparison

Sometimes, it can be difficult to see the gap in sensor sizing only by looking through specs. The visual here will help offer you a greater sense of the sensor dimensions in the SZ-12 and VH-515.

As you can plainly see, both the cameras provide the same sensor dimensions but not the same megapixels. You can expect to see the Olympus SZ-12 to render more detail utilizing its extra 2 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also enable you to crop images more aggressively. The older SZ-12 will be behind in sensor innovation.

Olympus SZ-12 vs Olympus VH-515 sensor size comparison

Olympus SZ-12 vs Olympus VH-515 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus SZ-12 vs Olympus VH-515 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus SZ-12 Portrait photography features
Olympus VH-515 Portrait photography features
33
megapixel count decent (14MP)
features face detect focusing
focusing manually not possible
manual exposure not available
cannot use external flash
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
does not have RAW format
27
features face detection autofocus
focusing manually not possible
manual mode not possible
no external flash support
low resolution (12 megapixels)
very small sensor (1/2.3")
no RAW support
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Street Comparison

Olympus SZ-12 Street photography details
Olympus VH-515 Street photography details
60
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
lighter than competition (226 grams)
screen is fixed
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
does not have RAW format
62
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
comes with touch to focus
screen is fixed
very small sensor (1/2.3")
no RAW support
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Sports Comparison

Olympus SZ-12 Sports photography advice
Olympus VH-515 Sports photography advice
40
great zoom range (25-600mm 24.0 x zoom)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
megapixel count decent (14 megapixels)
features tracking focus
max fps low (1.0 frames per second)
no shutter priority
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
bad battery power (220 shots)
does not have phase detect AF
32
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
features tracking autofocus
very slow continuous shooting (2.0 frames per second)
no shutter priority
low resolution (12 megapixels)
very small sensor (1/2.3")
no phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus SZ-12 as a Travel photography camera
Olympus VH-515 as a Travel photography camera
65
lighter than competition (226g)
megapixel count decent (14MP)
has built in flash
rather wide (25mm)
very long zoom (600mm)
does not have Time Lapse recording
bad battery power (220 CIPA)
doesn't have selfie friendly screen
slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
62
comes with touch to focus
flash built-in
quite wide (26mm)
doesn't have Time Lapse recording
low resolution (12MP)
display isn't selfie friendly
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f2.8)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus SZ-12 Landscape photography advice
Olympus VH-515 Landscape photography advice
40
rather wide (25mm)
decent sized screen (3 inch)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
megapixel count decent (14 megapixels)
focusing manually not possible
cannot swap lenses (fixed lens mount)
slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
manual exposure not available
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
does not have RAW format
bad battery power (220 per charge)
does not have Time Lapse recording
37
quite wide (26mm)
nice screen size (3")
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
focusing manually not possible
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f2.8)
manual mode not possible
low resolution (12MP)
very small sensor (1/2.3")
no RAW support
doesn't have Time Lapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Olympus SZ-12
Vlogging with Olympus VH-515
31
rather wide (25mm)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
features face detect focusing
lighter than competition (226g)
slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
doesn't have selfie friendly screen
video res low (1280 x 720 pxls)
does not have mic jack
35
quite wide (26mm)
has touchscreen
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
features face detection autofocus
good video quality (1920 x 1080 pxls)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f2.8)
display isn't selfie friendly
doesn't have external mic support
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Olympus SZ-12 vs Olympus VH-515 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus SZ-12 and Olympus VH-515
 Olympus SZ-12Olympus VH-515
General Information
Make Olympus Olympus
Model Olympus SZ-12 Olympus VH-515
Class Small Sensor Superzoom Small Sensor Compact
Announced 2012-01-10 2012-08-21
Physical type Compact Compact
Sensor Information
Chip - TruePic III+
Sensor type CCD BSI-CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" 1/2.3"
Sensor dimensions 6.17 x 4.55mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor area 28.1mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 14MP 12MP
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio - 4:3 and 16:9
Maximum resolution 4288 x 3216 4608 x 3456
Maximum native ISO 1600 1600
Min native ISO 80 100
RAW photos
Autofocusing
Manual focus
Touch to focus
Autofocus continuous
Autofocus single
Autofocus tracking
Autofocus selectice
Center weighted autofocus
Multi area autofocus
Live view autofocus
Face detect autofocus
Contract detect autofocus
Phase detect autofocus
Cross focus points - -
Lens
Lens mounting type fixed lens fixed lens
Lens focal range 25-600mm (24.0x) 26-130mm (5.0x)
Largest aperture f/3.0-6.9 f/2.8-6.5
Macro focus range - 5cm
Crop factor 5.8 5.8
Screen
Display type Fixed Type Fixed Type
Display diagonal 3 inch 3 inch
Resolution of display 460k dots 460k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch operation
Display technology TFT Color LCD TFT Color LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type None None
Features
Lowest shutter speed 4 seconds 4 seconds
Highest shutter speed 1/1700 seconds 1/2000 seconds
Continuous shooting rate 1.0fps 2.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Set white balance
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash range - 4.70 m
Flash options Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in
External flash
Auto exposure bracketing
White balance bracketing
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 180 (30fps) 1920 x 1080 (30 fps), 1280 x 720 (30,15 fps), 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 180 (30,15 fps)
Maximum video resolution 1280x720 1920x1080
Video format MPEG-4, H.264 MPEG-4, H.264
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 proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 226 gr (0.50 pounds) 152 gr (0.34 pounds)
Physical dimensions 106 x 69 x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6") 102 x 60 x 21mm (4.0" x 2.4" x 0.8")
DXO scores
DXO All around score not tested not tested
DXO Color Depth score not tested not tested
DXO Dynamic range score not tested not tested
DXO Low light score not tested not tested
Other
Battery life 220 shots -
Type of battery Battery Pack -
Battery model LI-50B LI-50B
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec, pet auto shutter) Yes (2 or 12 sec)
Time lapse shooting
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/SDXC
Card slots One One
Pricing at launch $350 $648