Olympus SZ-30MR vs Sony A7R

Its time to look a bit more in depth at the Olympus SZ-30MR vs Sony A7R, former is a Small Sensor Superzoom while the latter is a Pro Mirrorless by companies Olympus and Sony. There exists a sizable gap among the image resolutions of the SZ-30MR (16MP) and A7R (36MP) and the SZ-30MR (1/2.3") and A7R (Full frame) feature totally different sensor sizes.

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The SZ-30MR was unveiled 3 years prior to the A7R which is a fairly significant difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus SZ-30MR being a Compact camera and the Sony A7R being a SLR-style mirrorless camera.

Before delving in to a more detailed comparison, below is a concise summary of how the SZ-30MR matches up against the A7R in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus SZ-30MR & Sony Alpha A7R. The full galleries are available at Olympus SZ-30MR Gallery & Sony A7R Gallery.

If you are looking to carry around your camera frequently, you need to think about its weight and volume. The Olympus SZ-30MR features outer 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) whilst the Sony A7R has sizing of 127mm x 94mm x 48mm (5.0" x 3.7" x 1.9") having a weight of 465 grams (1.03 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus SZ-30MR vs Sony A7R in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you use at that time. Here is the front view physical size comparison of the SZ-30MR vs the A7R.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the SZ-30MR and A7R is 89 and 78 respectively.

Sometimes, its difficult to envision the gap in sensor sizes purely by seeing a spec sheet. The pic below will help give you a clearer sense of the sensor dimensions in the SZ-30MR and A7R.

As you can see, both of the cameras posses different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The SZ-30MR using its smaller sensor will make getting shallow depth of field more difficult and the Sony A7R will show more detail having an extra 20MP. Higher resolution can also make it easier to crop photographs somewhat more aggressively. The more aged SZ-30MR will be disadvantaged in sensor technology.