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Olympus SZ-31MR iHS vs Sony RX100 III

Portability
89
Imaging
39
Features
47
Overall
42
Olympus SZ-31MR iHS front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 III front
Portability
89
Imaging
51
Features
77
Overall
61

Olympus SZ-31MR iHS vs Sony RX100 III Key Specs

Olympus SZ-31MR iHS
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 80 - 6400
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 25-600mm (F3.0-6.9) lens
  • 226g - 106 x 69 x 40mm
  • Revealed February 2012
Sony RX100 III
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - 1" Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 125 - 12800
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 24-70mm (F1.8-2.8) lens
  • 290g - 102 x 58 x 41mm
  • Announced May 2014
  • Old Model is Sony RX100 II
  • Newer Model is Sony RX100 IV
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Olympus SZ-31MR iHS vs Sony RX100 III Overview

Following is a detailed overview of the Olympus SZ-31MR iHS vs Sony RX100 III, former is a Small Sensor Superzoom while the latter is a Large Sensor Compact by brands Olympus and Sony. The sensor resolution of the SZ-31MR iHS (16MP) and the RX100 III (20MP) is relatively comparable but the SZ-31MR iHS (1/2.3") and RX100 III (1") have different sensor dimensions.

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The SZ-31MR iHS was released 3 years before the RX100 III which is a fairly sizable difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus SZ-31MR iHS being a Compact camera and the Sony RX100 III being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before we go into a step-by-step comparison, here is a quick summation of how the SZ-31MR iHS scores against the RX100 III when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

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Reasons to pick Olympus SZ-31MR iHS over the Sony RX100 III

 SZ-31MR iHS RX100 III 
Touch screen Quickly navigate

Reasons to pick Sony RX100 III over the Olympus SZ-31MR iHS

 RX100 III SZ-31MR iHS 
AnnouncedMay 2014February 2012More modern by 27 months
Manually focus More accurate focusing
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen resolution1229k920kSharper screen (+309k dot)
Selfie screen Take selfies

Common features in the Olympus SZ-31MR iHS and Sony RX100 III

 SZ-31MR iHS RX100 III 
Screen dimensions3"3"Equal screen sizing

Olympus SZ-31MR iHS vs Sony RX100 III Physical Comparison

If you are looking to carry around your camera regularly, you are going to need to think about its weight and measurements. The Olympus SZ-31MR iHS comes with outer dimensions of 106mm x 69mm x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6") with a weight of 226 grams (0.50 lbs) and the Sony RX100 III has proportions of 102mm x 58mm x 41mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.6") along with a weight of 290 grams (0.64 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus SZ-31MR iHS vs Sony RX100 III in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you use at the time. Here is a front view measurement comparison of the SZ-31MR iHS compared to the RX100 III.

Olympus SZ-31MR iHS vs Sony RX100 III size comparison

Using dimensions and weight, the portability score of the SZ-31MR iHS and RX100 III is 89 and 89 respectively.

Olympus SZ-31MR iHS vs Sony RX100 III top view buttons comparison

Olympus SZ-31MR iHS vs Sony RX100 III Sensor Comparison

More often than not, its hard to picture the gap in sensor sizes merely by checking out specifications. The picture underneath may give you a clearer sense of the sensor dimensions in the SZ-31MR iHS and RX100 III.

To sum up, both of these cameras have different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The SZ-31MR iHS due to its smaller sensor is going to make shooting shallower DOF harder and the Sony RX100 III will provide more detail as a result of its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also let you crop photographs a bit more aggressively. The more aged SZ-31MR iHS will be behind when it comes to sensor innovation.

Olympus SZ-31MR iHS vs Sony RX100 III sensor size comparison

Olympus SZ-31MR iHS vs Sony RX100 III Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus SZ-31MR iHS vs Sony RX100 III Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus SZ-31MR iHS Portrait photography information
Sony RX100 III Portrait photography information
34
decent MP (16 megapixels)
features face detect autofocus
no manual focus
manual mode not available
cannot use external flash
small sensor (1/2.3")
lacks RAW format
64
you can focus manually
high flash sync (1/2,000 seconds)
MP count good (20 megapixels)
sensor size is nice (1")
offers face detect focus
exports RAW formats
can't use external flash
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Street Comparison

Olympus SZ-31MR iHS Street photography features
Sony RX100 III Street photography features
64
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
has touch to focus
lighter than competitors (226 grams)
no moving screen
small sensor (1/2.3")
lacks RAW format
85
screen tilts
image stabilization (Optical)
sensor size is nice (1")
exports RAW formats
lighter than competition (290g)
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Sports Comparison

Olympus SZ-31MR iHS Sports photography info
Sony RX100 III Sports photography info
44
long zoom range (25-600mm 24.0 x zoom)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
decent MP (16MP)
features tracking focus
no shutter priority
small sensor (1/2.3")
terrible battery pack (200 per charge)
lacks phase detect autofocus
65
image stabilization (Optical)
MP count good (20MP)
sensor size is nice (1")
offers tracking focus
no phase detect auto focus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus SZ-31MR iHS Travel photography highlights
Sony RX100 III Travel photography highlights
67
lighter than competitors (226 grams)
has touch to focus
decent MP (16 megapixels)
has built in flash
pretty wide (25mm)
great zoom (600mm)
does not have Timelapse recording
terrible battery pack (200 CIPA)
screen isn't selfie friendly
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
85
lighter than competition (290 grams)
MP count good (20 megapixels)
built-in flash
screen is selfie friendly
quite wide (24mm)
great max aperture (f1.8)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus SZ-31MR iHS Landscape photography info
Sony RX100 III Landscape photography info
41
pretty wide (25mm)
screen is a decent size (3 inches)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
decent MP (16 megapixels)
no manual focus
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
manual mode not available
small sensor (1/2.3")
lacks RAW format
terrible battery pack (200 CIPA)
does not have Timelapse recording
73
you can focus manually
quite wide (24mm)
great max aperture (f1.8)
screen size is good (3 inch)
image stabilization (Optical)
MP count good (20 megapixels)
sensor size is nice (1")
exports RAW formats
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus SZ-31MR iHS as a Vlogging camera
Sony RX100 III as a Vlogging camera
35
pretty wide (25mm)
built-in touchscreen
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
features face detect autofocus
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 resolution)
lighter than competitors (226g)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
screen isn't selfie friendly
does not have microphone support
80
quite wide (24mm)
great max aperture (f1.8)
screen is selfie friendly
image stabilization (Optical)
offers face detect focus
high quality video (1920 x 1080 resolution)
lighter than competition (290 grams)
does not have microphone support
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Olympus SZ-31MR iHS vs Sony RX100 III Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus SZ-31MR iHS and Sony RX100 III
 Olympus SZ-31MR iHSSony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 III
General Information
Manufacturer Olympus Sony
Model type Olympus SZ-31MR iHS Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 III
Type Small Sensor Superzoom Large Sensor Compact
Revealed 2012-02-08 2014-05-15
Physical type Compact Large Sensor Compact
Sensor Information
Processor Chip Dual TruePic V Bionz X
Sensor type BSI-CMOS BSI-CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" 1"
Sensor measurements 6.17 x 4.55mm 13.2 x 8.8mm
Sensor surface area 28.1mm² 116.2mm²
Sensor resolution 16 megapixel 20 megapixel
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 and 16:9 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Highest resolution 4608 x 3456 5472 x 3648
Highest native ISO 6400 12800
Minimum native ISO 80 125
RAW data
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Autofocus touch
Continuous autofocus
Single autofocus
Autofocus tracking
Autofocus selectice
Center weighted autofocus
Autofocus multi area
Live view autofocus
Face detect focus
Contract detect focus
Phase detect focus
Total focus points - 25
Cross type focus points - -
Lens
Lens mount type fixed lens fixed lens
Lens zoom range 25-600mm (24.0x) 24-70mm (2.9x)
Max aperture f/3.0-6.9 f/1.8-2.8
Macro focusing distance 1cm 5cm
Focal length multiplier 5.8 2.7
Screen
Display type Fixed Type Tilting
Display sizing 3" 3"
Resolution of display 920 thousand dots 1,229 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch operation
Display tech Hypercrystal III TFT Color LCD -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder None Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 1,440 thousand dots
Viewfinder coverage - 100%
Viewfinder magnification - 0.59x
Features
Lowest shutter speed 4 secs 30 secs
Highest shutter speed 1/1700 secs 1/2000 secs
Continuous shooting rate 7.0 frames per sec 10.0 frames per sec
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation - Yes
Set white balance
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash distance 9.30 m -
Flash settings Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in -
Hot shoe
Auto exposure bracketing
WB bracketing
Highest flash synchronize - 1/2000 secs
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (30 fps), 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 180 (30fps) 1920 x 1080 (60p/60i/24p), 1280 x 720 (60p/30p/24p/120p), 1440 x 1080 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Highest video resolution 1920x1080 1920x1080
Video file format MPEG-4, H.264 MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC S
Microphone support
Headphone support
Connectivity
Wireless Eye-Fi Connected Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 226 grams (0.50 lb) 290 grams (0.64 lb)
Physical dimensions 106 x 69 x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6") 102 x 58 x 41mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.6")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating not tested 67
DXO Color Depth rating not tested 22.4
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested 12.3
DXO Low light rating not tested 495
Other
Battery life 200 photographs 320 photographs
Battery style Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID LI-50B NP-BX1
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec, pet auto shutter) Yes (2 or 10 sec, self-portrait, continuous)
Time lapse shooting With downloadable app
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/ SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo
Card slots One One
Retail cost $0 $748