Olympus SZ-16 iHS vs Pentax Q7

Below is a in-depth comparison of the Olympus SZ-16 iHS vs Pentax Q7, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the latter is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by competitors Olympus and Pentax. There exists a large gap among the image resolutions of the SZ-16 iHS (16MP) and Q7 (12MP) and the SZ-16 iHS (1/2.3") and Q7 (1/1.7") use totally different sensor sizes.

Photography Glossary

The SZ-16 iHS was released 7 months prior to the Q7 and they are both of a similar age. Each of the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus SZ-16 iHS being a Compact camera and the Pentax Q7 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before delving through a detailed comparison, below is a brief view of how the SZ-16 iHS matches up vs the Q7 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus SZ-16 iHS & Pentax Q7. The complete galleries are available at Olympus SZ-16 iHS Gallery & Pentax Q7 Gallery.

If you are intending to lug around your camera regularly, you'll have to factor its weight and measurements. The Olympus SZ-16 iHS comes with exterior measurements of 108mm x 70mm x 40mm (4.3" x 2.8" x 1.6") along with a weight of 226 grams (0.50 lbs) while the Pentax Q7 has proportions of 102mm x 58mm x 34mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.3") along with a weight of 200 grams (0.44 lbs).

Check the Olympus SZ-16 iHS vs Pentax Q7 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you have at the time. Below is the front view measurement comparison of the SZ-16 iHS vs the Q7.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability score of the SZ-16 iHS and Q7 is 89 and 92 respectively.

Sometimes, it is difficult to envision the gap in sensor measurements purely by viewing a spec sheet. The visual below should give you a better sense of the sensor measurements in the SZ-16 iHS and Q7.

As you can see, each of the cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The SZ-16 iHS due to its smaller sensor will make shooting shallow depth of field more difficult and the Olympus SZ-16 iHS will render more detail as a result of its extra 4MP. Higher resolution can also make it easier to crop photographs somewhat more aggressively. The older SZ-16 iHS will be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor tech.