Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony A230

Its time to examine more in depth at the Olympus SZ-12 versus Sony A230, one is a Small Sensor Superzoom and the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by companies Olympus and Sony. There is a crucial difference among the sensor resolutions of the SZ-12 (14MP) and A230 (10MP) and the SZ-12 (1/2.3") and A230 (APS-C) enjoy totally different sensor sizes.

Japan-exclusive Leica Leitz Phone 3 features big sensor and new modes

The SZ-12 was announced 2 years after the A230 which is a fairly serious gap as far as camera tech is concerned. The two cameras come with different body type with the Olympus SZ-12 being a Compact camera and the Sony A230 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before getting straight into a comprehensive comparison, below is a concise highlight of how the SZ-12 matches up versus the A230 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Below is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus SZ-12 and Sony Alpha DSLR-A230. The whole galleries are viewable at Olympus SZ-12 Gallery and Sony A230 Gallery.

In case you're going to travel with your camera, you're going to have to take into account its weight and volume. The Olympus SZ-12 provides physical 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 A230 has sizing of 128mm x 97mm x 68mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 2.7") having a weight of 490 grams (1.08 lbs).

Compare the Olympus SZ-12 versus Sony A230 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary depending on the lens you are utilising at that time. Here is the front view dimensions comparison of the SZ-12 and the A230.

Looking at size and weight, the portability rating of the SZ-12 and A230 is 89 and 69 respectively.

Usually, its hard to visualise the contrast in sensor dimensions simply by researching a spec sheet. The pic below will help provide you a much better sense of the sensor sizing in the SZ-12 and A230.

As you can see, both of these cameras have got different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The SZ-12 with its smaller sensor will make getting shallower DOF tougher and the Olympus SZ-12 will provide you with extra detail with its extra 4MP. Greater resolution can also enable you to crop photos much more aggressively. The more modern SZ-12 is going to have a benefit with regard to sensor tech.