Olympus SZ-12 vs Sigma DP3 Merrill

Below is a detailed analysis of the Olympus SZ-12 versus Sigma DP3 Merrill, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the other is a Large Sensor Compact by rivals Olympus and Sigma. The image resolution of the SZ-12 (14MP) and the DP3 Merrill (15MP) is very close but the SZ-12 (1/2.3") and DP3 Merrill (APS-C) enjoy different sensor size.

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The SZ-12 was released 12 months prior to the DP3 Merrill so they are both of a similar age. Each of the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus SZ-12 being a Compact camera and the Sigma DP3 Merrill being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before going in to a full comparison, below is a short summation of how the SZ-12 grades against the DP3 Merrill with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Below is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus SZ-12 & Sigma DP3 Merrill. The complete galleries are viewable at Olympus SZ-12 Gallery & Sigma DP3 Merrill Gallery.

If you're going to lug around your camera frequently, you will want to take into account its weight and proportions. The Olympus SZ-12 enjoys physical measurements 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 Sigma DP3 Merrill has measurements of 122mm x 67mm x 59mm (4.8" x 2.6" x 2.3") having a weight of 330 grams (0.73 lbs).

Compare the Olympus SZ-12 versus Sigma DP3 Merrill in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you select at the time. Following is the front view over all size comparison of the SZ-12 versus the DP3 Merrill.

Factoring in size and weight, the portability score of the SZ-12 and DP3 Merrill is 89 and 83 respectively.

Often, its difficult to visualize the gap in sensor measurements merely by researching a spec sheet. The graphic here might give you a clearer sense of the sensor measurements in the SZ-12 and DP3 Merrill.

As you can see, the 2 cameras posses different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The SZ-12 because of its smaller sensor is going to make getting shallow depth of field trickier and the Sigma DP3 Merrill will provide you with extra detail as a result of its extra 1MP. Greater resolution will let you crop photos somewhat more aggressively. The older SZ-12 will be disadvantaged in sensor tech.