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Olympus SZ-12 vs Samsung HZ10W

Portability
89
Imaging
37
Features
36
Overall
36
Olympus SZ-12 front
 
Samsung HZ10W front
Portability
90
Imaging
33
Features
27
Overall
30

Olympus SZ-12 vs Samsung HZ10W Key Specs

Olympus SZ-12
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • 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
Samsung HZ10W
(Full Review)
  • 10MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 80 - 3200
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 24-240mm (F3.3-5.8) lens
  • 249g - 105 x 61 x 37mm
  • Announced May 2009
  • Also referred to as WB500
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Olympus SZ-12 vs Samsung HZ10W Overview

Following is a thorough analysis of the Olympus SZ-12 and Samsung HZ10W, one is a Small Sensor Superzoom and the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by competitors Olympus and Samsung. There exists a crucial gap between the resolutions of the SZ-12 (14MP) and HZ10W (10MP) but both cameras posses the identical sensor measurements (1/2.3").

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The SZ-12 was unveiled 2 years after the HZ10W which is quite a serious gap as far as technology is concerned. Both of these cameras feature the same body design (Compact).

Before getting straight to a more detailed comparison, here is a simple highlight of how the SZ-12 scores versus the HZ10W for portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

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Reasons to pick Olympus SZ-12 over the Samsung HZ10W

 SZ-12 HZ10W 
AnnouncedJanuary 2012May 2009More modern by 33 months
Screen size3"2.7"Bigger screen (+0.3")
Screen resolution460k230kSharper screen (+230k dot)

Reasons to pick Samsung HZ10W over the Olympus SZ-12

 HZ10W SZ-12 
Focus manually Very exact focus

Common features in the Olympus SZ-12 and Samsung HZ10W

 SZ-12 HZ10W 
Screen typeFixed Fixed Fixed screen
Selfie screen Neither features selfie screen
Touch friendly screen Neither features Touch friendly screen

Olympus SZ-12 vs Samsung HZ10W Physical Comparison

If you are aiming to carry around your camera, you will want to factor its weight and volume. The Olympus SZ-12 enjoys external dimensions of 106mm x 69mm x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6") and a weight of 226 grams (0.50 lbs) while the Samsung HZ10W has sizing of 105mm x 61mm x 37mm (4.1" x 2.4" x 1.5") accompanied by a weight of 249 grams (0.55 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus SZ-12 and Samsung HZ10W in the latest Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Do not forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ depending on the lens you have at that moment. The following is a front view over all size comparison of the SZ-12 against the HZ10W.

Olympus SZ-12 vs Samsung HZ10W size comparison

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability score of the SZ-12 and HZ10W is 89 and 90 respectively.

Olympus SZ-12 vs Samsung HZ10W top view buttons comparison

Olympus SZ-12 vs Samsung HZ10W Sensor Comparison

Quite often, it's hard to envision the contrast between sensor sizes simply by reading specs. The pic below might provide you a stronger sense of the sensor dimensions in the SZ-12 and HZ10W.

As you can plainly see, both of the cameras feature the identical sensor size albeit not the same resolution. You should count on the Olympus SZ-12 to offer you more detail having an extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will make it easier to crop photographs way more aggressively. The younger SZ-12 is going to have an advantage when it comes to sensor tech.

Olympus SZ-12 vs Samsung HZ10W sensor size comparison

Olympus SZ-12 vs Samsung HZ10W Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus SZ-12 vs Samsung HZ10W Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus SZ-12 Portrait photography factors
Samsung HZ10W Portrait photography factors
33
sensor resolution is decent (14 megapixels)
has face detect focusing
lack of manual focus
manual exposure not available
can't use external flash
sensor is very small (1/2.3")
no RAW format
31
focusing manually
has face detect focusing
no manual control
can't use external flash
low MP (10MP)
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
does not have RAW files
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Street Comparison

Olympus SZ-12 Street photography features
Samsung HZ10W Street photography features
60
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
lighter than competition (226g)
no articulating screen
sensor is very small (1/2.3")
no RAW format
52
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
no moving screen
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
does not have RAW files
more heavy than competitors (249g)
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Sports Comparison

Olympus SZ-12 Sports photography information
Samsung HZ10W Sports photography information
40
excellent zoom range (25-600mm 24.0 x zoom)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
sensor resolution is decent (14MP)
has tracking focus
slow fps (1.0 fps)
no shutter priority mode
sensor is very small (1/2.3")
bad battery life (220 CIPA)
no phase detect AF
26
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
lack of shutter priority mode
low MP (10MP)
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
does not have phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Olympus SZ-12
Travel photography with Samsung HZ10W
65
lighter than competition (226g)
sensor resolution is decent (14 megapixels)
flash built-in
pretty wide (25mm)
great zoom (600mm)
doesn't have Timelapse function
bad battery life (220 per charge)
screen isn't selfie friendly
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
54
has built in flash
really wide (24mm)
lack of Timelapse recording
more heavy than competitors (249g)
low MP (10MP)
screen isn't selfie friendly
slow max aperture (f3.3)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus SZ-12 Landscape photography highlights
Samsung HZ10W Landscape photography highlights
40
pretty wide (25mm)
screen size is good (3 inches)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
sensor resolution is decent (14MP)
lack of manual focus
cannot swap lenses (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
manual exposure not available
sensor is very small (1/2.3")
no RAW format
bad battery life (220 per charge)
doesn't have Timelapse function
35
focusing manually
really wide (24mm)
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
slow max aperture (f3.3)
screen is small (2.7")
no manual control
low MP (10 megapixels)
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
does not have RAW files
lack of Timelapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus SZ-12 Vlogging highlights
Samsung HZ10W Vlogging highlights
31
pretty wide (25mm)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
has face detect focusing
lighter than competition (226 grams)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
screen isn't selfie friendly
low video resolution (1280 x 720 pixels)
doesn't have microphone support
28
really wide (24mm)
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
has face detect focusing
slow max aperture (f3.3)
screen isn't selfie friendly
low res video (1280 x 720 resolution)
lack of microphone port
more heavy than competitors (249 grams)
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Olympus SZ-12 vs Samsung HZ10W Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus SZ-12 and Samsung HZ10W
 Olympus SZ-12Samsung HZ10W
General Information
Brand Olympus Samsung
Model Olympus SZ-12 Samsung HZ10W
Also referred to as - WB500
Class Small Sensor Superzoom Small Sensor Compact
Announced 2012-01-10 2009-05-14
Body design Compact Compact
Sensor Information
Sensor type CCD CCD
Sensor size 1/2.3" 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 6.17 x 4.55mm 6.08 x 4.56mm
Sensor area 28.1mm² 27.7mm²
Sensor resolution 14 megapixel 10 megapixel
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio - 16:9, 4:3 and 3:2
Maximum resolution 4288 x 3216 3648 x 2432
Maximum native ISO 1600 3200
Minimum native ISO 80 80
RAW data
Autofocusing
Manual focus
Touch focus
Continuous autofocus
Single autofocus
Tracking autofocus
Autofocus selectice
Center weighted autofocus
Autofocus multi area
Live view autofocus
Face detection autofocus
Contract detection autofocus
Phase detection autofocus
Cross focus points - -
Lens
Lens mounting type fixed lens fixed lens
Lens focal range 25-600mm (24.0x) 24-240mm (10.0x)
Maximal aperture f/3.0-6.9 f/3.3-5.8
Macro focus range - 5cm
Crop factor 5.8 5.9
Screen
Range of screen Fixed Type Fixed Type
Screen diagonal 3 inch 2.7 inch
Resolution of screen 460k dot 230k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch friendly
Screen tech TFT Color LCD -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder None None
Features
Slowest shutter speed 4s 16s
Maximum shutter speed 1/1700s 1/1500s
Continuous shooting speed 1.0 frames/s -
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Set white balance
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash options Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in Auto, Auto & Red-eye reduction, Fill-in flash, Slow sync, Flash off, Red eye fix
External flash
AEB
WB bracketing
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 180 (30fps) 1280 x 720 (30, 15 fps), 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 240 (60, 30, 15 fps)
Maximum video resolution 1280x720 1280x720
Video data format MPEG-4, H.264 Motion JPEG
Microphone jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless None None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 226g (0.50 lb) 249g (0.55 lb)
Physical dimensions 106 x 69 x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6") 105 x 61 x 37mm (4.1" x 2.4" x 1.5")
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 photos -
Battery form Battery Pack -
Battery model LI-50B -
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec, pet auto shutter) Yes (10 sec, 2 sec, Double, Motion Timer)
Time lapse shooting
Storage media SD/SDHC/SDXC SC/SDHC/MMC/MMCplus, internal
Storage slots One One
Price at launch $350 $300