Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony A330

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.