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Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony A230

Portability
89
Imaging
37
Features
36
Overall
36
Olympus SZ-12 front
 
Sony Alpha DSLR-A230 front
Portability
69
Imaging
50
Features
40
Overall
46

Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony A230 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
  • Released January 2012
Sony A230
(Full Review)
  • 10MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 3200
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • No Video
  • Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
  • 490g - 128 x 97 x 68mm
  • Introduced May 2009
  • Previous Model is Sony A200
  • Updated by Sony A290
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Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony A230 Overview

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.

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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.

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Reasons to pick Olympus SZ-12 over the Sony A230

 SZ-12 A230 
IntroducedJanuary 2012May 2009Newer by 33 months
Display dimension3"2.7"Larger display (+0.3")
Display resolution460k230kSharper display (+230k dot)

Reasons to pick Sony A230 over the Olympus SZ-12

 A230 SZ-12 
Manually focus Dial accurate focus

Common features in the Olympus SZ-12 and Sony A230

 SZ-12 A230 
Display typeFixed Fixed Fixed display
Selfie screen Lack of selfie screen
Touch friendly display Neither provides Touch friendly display

Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony A230 Physical Comparison

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. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

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.

Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony A230 size comparison

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

Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony A230 top view buttons comparison

Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony A230 Sensor Comparison

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.

Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony A230 sensor size comparison

Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony A230 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony A230 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus SZ-12 Portrait photography information
Sony A230 Portrait photography information
33
good megapixels (14 megapixels)
comes with face detect autofocus
no manual focus
manual exposure not available
no external flash support
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
lack of RAW format
54
manual focus
sensor size is good (APS-C)
exports RAW files
does not have liveview
low megapixels (10 megapixels)
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Olympus SZ-12
Street photography with Sony A230
60
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
lighter than competitors in class (226 grams)
no moving screen
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
lack of RAW format
67
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
exports RAW files
no articulating screen
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Sports Comparison

Olympus SZ-12 Sports photography factors
Sony A230 Sports photography factors
40
amazing zoom range (25-600mm 24.0 x zoom)
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
good megapixels (14 megapixels)
comes with tracking focus
continuous shooting slow (1.0 fps)
lack of shutter priority mode
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
bad battery life (220 per charge)
lack of phase detect autofocus
46
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
has phase detect autofocus
does not have liveview
painfully slow continuous shooting (3.0 frames per second)
low megapixels (10MP)
low battery power (230 CIPA)
Photography Glossary

Travel Comparison

Olympus SZ-12 Travel photography features
Sony A230 Travel photography features
65
lighter than competitors in class (226 grams)
good megapixels (14 megapixels)
flash built-in
relatively wide (25mm)
great reach (600mm)
does not have Time Lapse recording
bad battery life (220 per charge)
display is not selfie friendly
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.0)
45
built-in flash
missing Timelapse recording
low battery power (230 CIPA)
low megapixels (10 megapixels)
screen isn't selfie friendly
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus SZ-12 as a Landscape photography camera
Sony A230 as a Landscape photography camera
40
relatively wide (25mm)
screen is a good size (3 inch)
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
good megapixels (14 megapixels)
no manual focus
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.0)
manual exposure not available
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
lack of RAW format
bad battery life (220 CIPA)
does not have Time Lapse recording
51
manual focus
swap lenses (Sony/Minolta Alpha mount)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
exports RAW files
screen is somewhat small (2.7")
does not have liveview
low megapixels (10MP)
low battery power (230 CIPA)
missing Timelapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus SZ-12 as a Vlogging camera
Sony A230 as a Vlogging camera
31
relatively wide (25mm)
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
comes with face detect autofocus
lighter than competitors in class (226 grams)
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.0)
display is not selfie friendly
video resolution low (1280 x 720 resolution)
does not have mic jack
9
no video
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Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony A230 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus SZ-12 and Sony A230
 Olympus SZ-12Sony Alpha DSLR-A230
General Information
Company Olympus Sony
Model Olympus SZ-12 Sony Alpha DSLR-A230
Type Small Sensor Superzoom Entry-Level DSLR
Released 2012-01-10 2009-05-18
Physical type Compact Compact SLR
Sensor Information
Powered by - Bionz
Sensor type CCD CCD
Sensor size 1/2.3" APS-C
Sensor measurements 6.17 x 4.55mm 23.5 x 15.7mm
Sensor area 28.1mm² 369.0mm²
Sensor resolution 14MP 10MP
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio - 3:2 and 16:9
Full resolution 4288 x 3216 3872 x 2592
Max native ISO 1600 3200
Lowest native ISO 80 100
RAW photos
Autofocusing
Manual focus
Touch focus
Continuous autofocus
Autofocus single
Tracking autofocus
Selective autofocus
Autofocus center weighted
Autofocus multi area
Autofocus live view
Face detection focus
Contract detection focus
Phase detection focus
Number of focus points - 9
Cross focus points - -
Lens
Lens mounting type fixed lens Sony/Minolta Alpha
Lens focal range 25-600mm (24.0x) -
Highest aperture f/3.0-6.9 -
Number of lenses - 143
Crop factor 5.8 1.5
Screen
Type of screen Fixed Type Fixed Type
Screen size 3" 2.7"
Screen resolution 460k dots 230k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch functionality
Screen tech TFT Color LCD -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder None Optical (pentamirror)
Viewfinder coverage - 95 percent
Viewfinder magnification - 0.55x
Features
Lowest shutter speed 4 seconds 30 seconds
Highest shutter speed 1/1700 seconds 1/4000 seconds
Continuous shooting rate 1.0 frames/s 3.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation - Yes
Change white balance
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash range - 10.00 m
Flash options Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, Rear Curtain, Wireless
Hot shoe
AEB
White balance bracketing
Highest flash synchronize - 1/160 seconds
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) -
Max video resolution 1280x720 None
Video file format MPEG-4, H.264 -
Microphone support
Headphone support
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 sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 226g (0.50 lb) 490g (1.08 lb)
Dimensions 106 x 69 x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6") 128 x 97 x 68mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 2.7")
DXO scores
DXO All around score not tested 63
DXO Color Depth score not tested 22.3
DXO Dynamic range score not tested 11.4
DXO Low light score not tested 531
Other
Battery life 220 images 230 images
Battery style Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model LI-50B NP-FH50
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec, pet auto shutter) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse recording
Storage type SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/ SDHC, Memory Stick Pro Duo
Card slots 1 1
Launch price $350 $569