Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony A850

Below, we are looking at the Olympus SZ-12 and Sony A850, former is a Small Sensor Superzoom while the other is a Advanced DSLR by companies Olympus and Sony. There is a substantial difference between the image resolutions of the SZ-12 (14MP) and A850 (25MP) and the SZ-12 (1/2.3") and A850 (Full frame) use different sensor sizes.

Photography Glossary

The SZ-12 was announced 22 months after the A850 making the cameras a generation away from each other. Both cameras come with different body type with the Olympus SZ-12 being a Compact camera and the Sony A850 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before diving straight into a detailed comparison, below is a concise summary of how the SZ-12 scores versus the A850 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

This is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus SZ-12 & Sony Alpha DSLR-A850. The whole galleries are viewable at Olympus SZ-12 Gallery & Sony A850 Gallery.

In case you're going to travel with your camera often, you are going to need to factor its weight and dimensions. The Olympus SZ-12 has exterior dimensions 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 A850 has dimensions of 156mm x 117mm x 82mm (6.1" x 4.6" x 3.2") with a weight of 895 grams (1.97 lbs).

Check the Olympus SZ-12 and Sony A850 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you are working with during that time. Below is the front view proportions comparison of the SZ-12 and the A850.

Looking at size and weight, the portability rating of the SZ-12 and A850 is 89 and 54 respectively.

Usually, it is very difficult to picture the gap between sensor dimensions merely by going over specifications. The picture underneath should give you a stronger sense of the sensor dimensions in the SZ-12 and A850.

Plainly, the two cameras posses 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 Sony A850 will deliver more detail with its extra 11 Megapixels. Greater resolution will let you crop photos somewhat more aggressively. The more recent SZ-12 should have an advantage in sensor tech.