Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony RX10 III

Below is a complete overview of the Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony RX10 III, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the latter is a Large Sensor Superzoom by companies Olympus and Sony. There exists a noticeable gap between the sensor resolutions of the SZ-12 (14MP) and RX10 III (20MP) and the SZ-12 (1/2.3") and RX10 III (1") posses different sensor dimensions.

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The SZ-12 was launched 5 years before the RX10 III and that is quite a sizable difference as far as technology is concerned. Both the cameras have different body design with the Olympus SZ-12 being a Compact camera and the Sony RX10 III being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before diving into a detailed comparison, here is a quick introduction of how the SZ-12 scores versus the RX10 III with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Below is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus SZ-12 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 III. The complete galleries are available at Olympus SZ-12 Gallery & Sony RX10 III Gallery.

For anybody who is intending to lug around your camera often, you should think about its weight and volume. The Olympus SZ-12 offers outer measurements of 106mm x 69mm x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6") with a weight of 226 grams (0.50 lbs) whilst the Sony RX10 III has sizing of 133mm x 94mm x 127mm (5.2" x 3.7" x 5.0") with a weight of 1051 grams (2.32 lbs).

Check out the Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony RX10 III in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you are utilising at that time. Here is a front view proportions comparison of the SZ-12 versus the RX10 III.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the SZ-12 and RX10 III is 89 and 53 respectively.

Normally, it's hard to visualize the gap between sensor measurements just by checking technical specs. The graphic below may offer you a far better sense of the sensor sizing in the SZ-12 and RX10 III.

As you have seen, both of the cameras have different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The SZ-12 because of its tinier sensor is going to make achieving shallow depth of field more challenging and the Sony RX10 III will give you more detail utilizing its extra 6 Megapixels. Higher resolution will help you crop shots a bit more aggressively. The older SZ-12 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor technology.