Olympus SZ-31MR iHS vs Sony S980

Its time to look more closely at the Olympus SZ-31MR iHS vs Sony S980, one being a Small Sensor Superzoom and the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by manufacturers Olympus and Sony. There exists a big gap between the image resolutions of the SZ-31MR iHS (16MP) and S980 (12MP) but both cameras have the identical sensor sizes (1/2.3").

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The SZ-31MR iHS was announced 3 years later than the S980 and that is quite a big gap as far as technology is concerned. Each of the cameras feature the same body design (Compact).

Before diving into a more detailed comparison, here is a brief view of how the SZ-31MR iHS scores against the S980 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

The following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus SZ-31MR iHS and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S980. The whole galleries are viewable at Olympus SZ-31MR iHS Gallery and Sony S980 Gallery.

If you are looking to lug around your camera often, you'll have to think about its weight and volume. The Olympus SZ-31MR iHS offers outside measurements of 106mm x 69mm x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6") and a weight of 226 grams (0.50 lbs) whilst the Sony S980 has sizing of 93mm x 56mm x 24mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.9") accompanied by a weight of 167 grams (0.37 lbs).

Examine the Olympus SZ-31MR iHS vs Sony S980 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change based on the lens you have during that time. The following is a front view dimension comparison of the SZ-31MR iHS and the S980.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the SZ-31MR iHS and S980 is 89 and 94 respectively.

Quite often, it is very tough to imagine the difference between sensor measurements purely by checking technical specs. The visual below will offer you a clearer sense of the sensor sizing in the SZ-31MR iHS and S980.

As you can tell, both the cameras feature the identical sensor size albeit different resolution. You should expect the Olympus SZ-31MR iHS to give more detail with its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also enable you to crop pictures way more aggressively. The newer SZ-31MR iHS should have a benefit in sensor tech.