Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony RX100 III

Lets look more closely at the Olympus SZ-12 and Sony RX100 III, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the other is a Large Sensor Compact by companies Olympus and Sony. There exists a large gap between the resolutions of the SZ-12 (14MP) and RX100 III (20MP) and the SZ-12 (1/2.3") and RX100 III (1") have different sensor size.

Photography Glossary

The SZ-12 was unveiled 3 years earlier than the RX100 III and that is quite a serious difference as far as technology is concerned. The two cameras have different body design with the Olympus SZ-12 being a Compact camera and the Sony RX100 III being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before diving straight to a full comparison, here is a concise view of how the SZ-12 grades versus the RX100 III for portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus SZ-12 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 III. The full galleries are viewable at Olympus SZ-12 Gallery & Sony RX100 III Gallery.

For those who are aiming to lug around your camera often, you are going to need to take into account its weight and volume. The Olympus SZ-12 enjoys external measurements of 106mm x 69mm x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6") with a weight of 226 grams (0.50 lbs) while the Sony RX100 III has sizing of 102mm x 58mm x 41mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.6") accompanied by a weight of 290 grams (0.64 lbs).

Examine the Olympus SZ-12 and Sony RX100 III in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you are utilizing at that moment. Below is a front view dimensions comparison of the SZ-12 against the RX100 III.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability score of the SZ-12 and RX100 III is 89 and 89 respectively.

Typically, it's tough to picture the gap between sensor measurements just by going over specifications. The graphic below will help provide you a more clear sense of the sensor sizing in the SZ-12 and RX100 III.

Plainly, both of those cameras have different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The SZ-12 having a tinier sensor is going to make achieving shallow DOF tougher and the Sony RX100 III will deliver extra detail having an extra 6 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also let you crop images a bit more aggressively. The older SZ-12 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor technology.