Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony A330
89 Imaging
37 Features
36 Overall
36


67 Imaging
50 Features
50 Overall
50
Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony A330 Key Specs
(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
- Revealed January 2012
(Full Review)
- 10MP - APS-C Sensor
- 2.7" Tilting Screen
- ISO 100 - 3200
- Sensor based Image Stabilization
- No Video
- Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
- 529g - 128 x 97 x 71mm
- Revealed May 2009
- Previous Model is Sony A300

Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony A330 Overview
Its time to look a bit more in depth at the Olympus SZ-12 versus Sony A330, former is a Small Sensor Superzoom while the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by brands Olympus and Sony. There is a sizable difference among the resolutions of the SZ-12 (14MP) and A330 (10MP) and the SZ-12 (1/2.3") and A330 (APS-C) possess totally different sensor dimensions.

The SZ-12 was released 2 years after the A330 which is a fairly significant difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Each of these cameras come with different body type with the Olympus SZ-12 being a Compact camera and the Sony A330 being a Compact SLR camera.
Before delving in to a in-depth comparison, below is a simple highlight of how the SZ-12 matches up versus the A330 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony A330 Gallery
Below is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus SZ-12 & Sony Alpha DSLR-A330. The complete galleries are provided at Olympus SZ-12 Gallery & Sony A330 Gallery.
Reasons to pick Olympus SZ-12 over the Sony A330
SZ-12 | A330 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Revealed | January 2012 | ![]() | May 2009 | Newer by 33 months |
Screen dimension | 3" | ![]() | 2.7" | Bigger screen (+0.3") |
Screen resolution | 460k | ![]() | 230k | Crisper screen (+230k dot) |
Reasons to pick Sony A330 over the Olympus SZ-12
A330 | SZ-12 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Manual focus | ![]() | More exact focusing | ||
Screen type | Tilting | ![]() | Fixed | Tilting screen |
Common features in the Olympus SZ-12 and Sony A330
SZ-12 | A330 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Selfie screen | ![]() | Neither features selfie screen | ||
Touch screen | ![]() | Lacking Touch screen |
Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony A330 Physical Comparison
If you're going to travel with your camera often, you are going to need to factor in its weight and measurements. The Olympus SZ-12 enjoys external dimensions of 106mm x 69mm x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6") along with a weight of 226 grams (0.50 lbs) whilst the Sony A330 has proportions of 128mm x 97mm x 71mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 2.8") and a weight of 529 grams (1.17 lbs).
Contrast the Olympus SZ-12 versus Sony A330 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.
Don't forget, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you choose at the time. Below is the front view measurements comparison of the SZ-12 versus the A330.

Factoring in size and weight, the portability rating of the SZ-12 and A330 is 89 and 67 respectively.

Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony A330 Sensor Comparison
Generally, its difficult to visualise the gap in sensor dimensions just by going through technical specs. The picture underneath will help give you a much better sense of the sensor sizes in the SZ-12 and A330.
As you can tell, both of the cameras posses different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The SZ-12 featuring a smaller sensor will make achieving shallow depth of field harder and the Olympus SZ-12 will provide greater detail as a result of its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also enable you to crop shots somewhat more aggressively. The newer SZ-12 will have a benefit when it comes to sensor technology.

Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony A330 Screen and ViewFinder


Photography Type Scores
Portrait Comparison

Street Comparison

Sports Comparison

Travel Comparison

Landscape Comparison

Vlogging Comparison

Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony A330 Specifications
Olympus SZ-12 | Sony Alpha DSLR-A330 | |
---|---|---|
General Information | ||
Brand Name | Olympus | Sony |
Model | Olympus SZ-12 | Sony Alpha DSLR-A330 |
Type | Small Sensor Superzoom | Entry-Level DSLR |
Revealed | 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 | 14 megapixel | 10 megapixel |
Anti aliasing filter | ||
Aspect ratio | - | 3:2 and 16:9 |
Max resolution | 4288 x 3216 | 3872 x 2592 |
Max native ISO | 1600 | 3200 |
Minimum native ISO | 80 | 100 |
RAW data | ||
Autofocusing | ||
Manual focus | ||
Touch focus | ||
Continuous AF | ||
AF single | ||
Tracking AF | ||
Selective AF | ||
AF center weighted | ||
AF multi area | ||
AF live view | ||
Face detect AF | ||
Contract detect AF | ||
Phase detect AF | ||
Number of focus points | - | 9 |
Cross focus points | - | - |
Lens | ||
Lens mounting type | fixed lens | Sony/Minolta Alpha |
Lens focal range | 25-600mm (24.0x) | - |
Largest aperture | f/3.0-6.9 | - |
Number of lenses | - | 143 |
Crop factor | 5.8 | 1.5 |
Screen | ||
Type of display | Fixed Type | Tilting |
Display size | 3" | 2.7" |
Resolution of display | 460k dots | 230k dots |
Selfie friendly | ||
Liveview | ||
Touch operation | ||
Display tech | TFT Color LCD | - |
Viewfinder Information | ||
Viewfinder | None | Optical (pentamirror) |
Viewfinder coverage | - | 95 percent |
Viewfinder magnification | - | 0.49x |
Features | ||
Min shutter speed | 4 seconds | 30 seconds |
Max shutter speed | 1/1700 seconds | 1/4000 seconds |
Continuous shutter rate | 1.0 frames per sec | 3.0 frames per sec |
Shutter priority | ||
Aperture priority | ||
Expose Manually | ||
Exposure compensation | - | Yes |
Set WB | ||
Image stabilization | ||
Built-in flash | ||
Flash range | - | 10.00 m |
Flash settings | Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in | Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, Rear Curtain, Wireless |
External flash | ||
AEB | ||
White balance bracketing | ||
Max flash synchronize | - | 1/160 seconds |
Exposure | ||
Multisegment metering | ||
Average metering | ||
Spot metering | ||
Partial metering | ||
AF area metering | ||
Center weighted metering | ||
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 data format | MPEG-4, H.264 | - |
Microphone port | ||
Headphone port | ||
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 | 226 gr (0.50 pounds) | 529 gr (1.17 pounds) |
Dimensions | 106 x 69 x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6") | 128 x 97 x 71mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 2.8") |
DXO scores | ||
DXO Overall score | not tested | 64 |
DXO Color Depth score | not tested | 22.4 |
DXO Dynamic range score | not tested | 11.5 |
DXO Low light score | not tested | 535 |
Other | ||
Battery life | 220 photographs | 230 photographs |
Form of battery | 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 shooting | ||
Storage type | SD/SDHC/SDXC | SD/ SDHC, Memory Stick Pro Duo |
Card slots | One | One |
Pricing at release | $350 | $545 |