Clicky

Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony A700

Portability
89
Imaging
37
Features
36
Overall
36
Olympus SZ-12 front
 
Sony Alpha DSLR-A700 front
Portability
58
Imaging
51
Features
58
Overall
53

Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony A700 Key Specs

Olympus SZ-12
(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
  • Released January 2012
Sony A700
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 6400
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Max Shutter
  • No Video
  • Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
  • 768g - 142 x 105 x 80mm
  • Revealed December 2007
  • Replaced the Konica Minolta 7D
  • Later Model is Sony A77
Photography Glossary

Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony A700 Overview

Lets look closer at the Olympus SZ-12 and Sony A700, one is a Small Sensor Superzoom and the latter is a Advanced DSLR by companies Olympus and Sony. The image resolution of the SZ-12 (14MP) and the A700 (12MP) is pretty similar but the SZ-12 (1/2.3") and A700 (APS-C) possess different sensor dimensions.

Sora from OpenAI releases its first ever music video

The SZ-12 was announced 4 years after the A700 which is quite a sizable gap as far as tech is concerned. Each of the cameras offer different body type with the Olympus SZ-12 being a Compact camera and the Sony A700 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before getting straight into a full comparison, below is a short summation of how the SZ-12 matches up versus the A700 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Samsung Releases Faster Versions of EVO MicroSD Cards
	
	

Reasons to pick Olympus SZ-12 over the Sony A700

 SZ-12 A700 
RevealedJanuary 2012December 2007Newer by 50 months

Reasons to pick Sony A700 over the Olympus SZ-12

 A700 SZ-12 
Manually focus Very precise focus
Screen resolution920k460kClearer screen (+460k dot)

Common features in the Olympus SZ-12 and Sony A700

 SZ-12 A700 
Screen typeFixed Fixed Fixed screen
Screen sizing3"3"Equivalent screen sizing
Selfie screen Neither offers selfie screen
Touch screen Neither offers Touch screen

Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony A700 Physical Comparison

If you're looking to travel with your camera frequently, you should think about its weight and proportions. The Olympus SZ-12 offers 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 A700 has measurements of 142mm x 105mm x 80mm (5.6" x 4.1" x 3.1") with a weight of 768 grams (1.69 lbs).

Check out the Olympus SZ-12 and Sony A700 in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Do not forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary depending on the lens you have chosen at that moment. Below is the front view scale comparison of the SZ-12 versus the A700.

Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony A700 size comparison

Taking into account size and weight, the portability grade of the SZ-12 and A700 is 89 and 58 respectively.

Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony A700 top view buttons comparison

Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony A700 Sensor Comparison

Oftentimes, it's hard to visualize the contrast between sensor dimensions simply by reviewing specifications. The picture underneath might give you a greater sense of the sensor measurements in the SZ-12 and A700.

To sum up, both the cameras offer different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The SZ-12 having a tinier sensor is going to make getting shallow depth of field harder and the Olympus SZ-12 will offer extra detail with its extra 2MP. Higher resolution will also enable you to crop photographs a little more aggressively. The younger SZ-12 should have an advantage with regard to sensor tech.

Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony A700 sensor size comparison

Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony A700 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony A700 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
Photobucket discusses licensing 13 billion images with AI firms

Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus SZ-12 Portrait photography features
Sony A700 Portrait photography features
33
good resolution (14MP)
comes with face detection focus
focusing manually not possible
no manual control
can't use external flash
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW support
54
has manual focus
decent sensor size (APS-C)
saves RAW files
doesn't have liveview
low MP (12 megapixels)
Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a Landslide

Street Comparison

Olympus SZ-12 Street photography advice
Sony A700 Street photography advice
60
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
lighter than competition in class (226g)
screen does not articulate
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW support
64
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
saves RAW files
environment proofing
screen is fixed
Japan-exclusive Leica Leitz Phone 3 features big sensor and new modes

Sports Comparison

Olympus SZ-12 Sports photography factors
Sony A700 Sports photography factors
40
incredible zoom range (25-600mm 24.0 x zoom)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
good resolution (14MP)
comes with tracking autofocus
low fps (1.0 fps)
no shutter priority mode
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
bad battery power (220 per charge)
doesn't have phase detect auto focus
56
great max shutter speed (1/8,000 seconds)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
environment proofing
sensor has phase detect autofocus
doesn't have liveview
low frames per second (5.0 fps)
low MP (12MP)
Meta to Introduce 'AI-Generated' Labels for Media starting next month

Travel Comparison

Olympus SZ-12 as a Travel photography camera
Sony A700 as a Travel photography camera
65
lighter than competition in class (226g)
good resolution (14 megapixels)
built-in flash
quite wide (25mm)
long zoom (600mm)
no Timelapse recording
bad battery power (220 shots)
doesn't have a selfie friendly display
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
49
environment proofing
built-in flash
does not have Timelapse function
low MP (12 megapixels)
doesn't feature selfie friendly display
Snapchat Adds Watermarks to AI-Created Images

Landscape Comparison

Olympus SZ-12 Landscape photography highlights
Sony A700 Landscape photography highlights
40
quite wide (25mm)
screen is a good size (3 inches)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
good resolution (14MP)
focusing manually not possible
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
no manual control
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW support
bad battery power (220 CIPA)
no Timelapse recording
62
has manual focus
switch lenses (Sony/Minolta Alpha mount)
pretty good screen size (3 inch)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
saves RAW files
environment proofing
has double storage slots
doesn't have liveview
low MP (12MP)
does not have Timelapse function
Apple Innovates by Creating Next-Level Optical Stabilization for iPhone

Vlogging Comparison

Olympus SZ-12 Vlogging highlights
Sony A700 Vlogging highlights
31
quite wide (25mm)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
comes with face detection focus
lighter than competition in class (226g)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
doesn't have a selfie friendly display
low res video (1280 x 720 resolution)
no external microphone support
9
no video shooting
President Biden pushes bill mandating TikTok sale or ban

Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony A700 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus SZ-12 and Sony A700
 Olympus SZ-12Sony Alpha DSLR-A700
General Information
Brand Olympus Sony
Model Olympus SZ-12 Sony Alpha DSLR-A700
Type Small Sensor Superzoom Advanced DSLR
Released 2012-01-10 2007-12-19
Body design Compact Mid-size SLR
Sensor Information
Sensor type CCD CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" APS-C
Sensor measurements 6.17 x 4.55mm 23.5 x 15.6mm
Sensor surface area 28.1mm² 366.6mm²
Sensor resolution 14MP 12MP
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio - 3:2 and 16:9
Highest resolution 4288 x 3216 4272 x 2848
Highest native ISO 1600 6400
Minimum native ISO 80 100
RAW support
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch to focus
AF continuous
AF single
AF tracking
AF selectice
Center weighted AF
Multi area AF
Live view AF
Face detect focusing
Contract detect focusing
Phase detect focusing
Number of focus points - 11
Cross focus points - -
Lens
Lens mounting type fixed lens Sony/Minolta Alpha
Lens focal range 25-600mm (24.0x) -
Maximum aperture f/3.0-6.9 -
Number of lenses - 143
Focal length multiplier 5.8 1.5
Screen
Display type Fixed Type Fixed Type
Display size 3 inch 3 inch
Display resolution 460 thousand dot 920 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch display
Display tech TFT Color LCD -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type None Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder coverage - 95%
Viewfinder magnification - 0.6x
Features
Slowest shutter speed 4 secs 30 secs
Maximum shutter speed 1/1700 secs 1/8000 secs
Continuous shooting speed 1.0 frames/s 5.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual exposure
Exposure compensation - Yes
Change WB
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash range - 12.00 m
Flash options Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in Auto, Fill-in, Red-Eye reduction, Slow Sync, rear curtain, Off
External flash
AEB
WB bracketing
Maximum flash sync - 1/250 secs
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 180 (30fps) -
Highest video resolution 1280x720 None
Video file format MPEG-4, H.264 -
Microphone jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless None None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 226 gr (0.50 pounds) 768 gr (1.69 pounds)
Dimensions 106 x 69 x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6") 142 x 105 x 80mm (5.6" x 4.1" x 3.1")
DXO scores
DXO All around score not tested 66
DXO Color Depth score not tested 22.3
DXO Dynamic range score not tested 11.9
DXO Low light score not tested 581
Other
Battery life 220 shots -
Style of battery Battery Pack -
Battery model LI-50B NP-FM500H
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec, pet auto shutter) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse shooting
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC Compact Flash (Type I or II), Memory Stick Duo / Pro Duo
Storage slots 1 Dual
Retail cost $350 $1,000