Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony HX1

Let's look a bit more closely at the Olympus SZ-12 versus Sony HX1, both Small Sensor Superzoom digital cameras by rivals Olympus and Sony. There is a crucial difference between the sensor resolutions of the SZ-12 (14MP) and HX1 (9MP) and the SZ-12 (1/2.3") and HX1 (1/2.4") feature different sensor dimensions.

Photography Glossary

The SZ-12 was manufactured 2 years later than the HX1 and that is quite a serious gap as far as tech is concerned. Both of these cameras offer different body type with the Olympus SZ-12 being a Compact camera and the Sony HX1 being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before delving straight into a in-depth comparison, below is a quick introduction of how the SZ-12 scores against the HX1 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus SZ-12 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX1. The entire galleries are available at Olympus SZ-12 Gallery and Sony HX1 Gallery.

In case you're going to lug around your camera frequently, you will want to think about its weight and size. The Olympus SZ-12 features outer measurements of 106mm x 69mm x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6") along with a weight of 226 grams (0.50 lbs) while the Sony HX1 has specifications of 115mm x 83mm x 92mm (4.5" x 3.3" x 3.6") accompanied by a weight of 544 grams (1.20 lbs).

See the Olympus SZ-12 versus Sony HX1 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change dependant on the lens you are utilizing at the time. The following is the front view sizing comparison of the SZ-12 against the HX1.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability grade of the SZ-12 and HX1 is 89 and 67 respectively.

Often, it is very hard to imagine the gap between sensor measurements simply by reading specs. The photograph below may offer you a more clear sense of the sensor measurements in the SZ-12 and HX1.

As you can plainly see, both of these cameras offer different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The SZ-12 because of its bigger sensor is going to make shooting shallower DOF simpler and the Olympus SZ-12 will offer extra detail due to its extra 5MP. Higher resolution will let you crop photographs a little more aggressively. The younger SZ-12 should have a benefit with regard to sensor technology.