Olympus 1s vs Olympus XZ-1

Below is a complete assessment of the Olympus 1s versus Olympus XZ-1, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the other is a Small Sensor Compact and both of them are manufactured by Olympus. The sensor resolution of the 1s (12MP) and the XZ-1 (10MP) is very comparable but the 1s (1/1.7") and XZ-1 (1/1.63") come with different sensor size.

Photography Glossary

The 1s was brought out 4 years later than the XZ-1 and that is a fairly sizable difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Both of the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus 1s being a SLR-like (bridge) camera and the Olympus XZ-1 being a Compact camera.

Before we go through a step-by-step comparison, below is a simple summation of how the 1s matches up vs the XZ-1 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Here is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus Stylus 1s & Olympus XZ-1. The entire galleries are viewable at Olympus 1s Gallery & Olympus XZ-1 Gallery.

For those who are planning to lug around your camera often, you will want to consider its weight and size. The Olympus 1s has outer dimensions of 116mm x 87mm x 57mm (4.6" x 3.4" x 2.2") accompanied by a weight of 402 grams (0.89 lbs) and the Olympus XZ-1 has specifications of 111mm x 65mm x 42mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.7") having a weight of 275 grams (0.61 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus 1s versus Olympus XZ-1 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you select at that time. Underneath is the front view over all size comparison of the 1s against the XZ-1.

Using size and weight, the portability score of the 1s and XZ-1 is 79 and 88 respectively.

In many cases, it is difficult to visualize the gap in sensor measurements just by going through specifications. The visual underneath will offer you a more clear sense of the sensor sizes in the 1s and XZ-1.

To sum up, each of the cameras have got different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The 1s because of its larger sensor is going to make getting shallow DOF easier and the Olympus 1s will show greater detail having its extra 2 Megapixels. Greater resolution will make it easier to crop images much more aggressively. The fresher 1s should have an advantage in sensor innovation.