Olympus 1s vs Sony HX30V

Here, we will be reviewing the Olympus 1s and Sony HX30V, both Small Sensor Superzoom digital cameras by brands Olympus and Sony. There is a large difference between the resolutions of the 1s (12MP) and HX30V (18MP) and the 1s (1/1.7") and HX30V (1/2.3") posses different sensor dimensions.

Photography Glossary

The 1s was brought out 3 years after the HX30V which is quite a serious difference as far as tech is concerned. Each of these cameras feature different body design with the Olympus 1s being a SLR-like (bridge) camera and the Sony HX30V being a Compact camera.

Before going straight to a thorough comparison, here is a short view of how the 1s matches up against the HX30V when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Here is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus Stylus 1s & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX30V. The entire galleries are provided at Olympus 1s Gallery & Sony HX30V Gallery.

In case you're intending to carry around your camera often, you will want to consider its weight and dimensions. The Olympus 1s features physical measurements of 116mm x 87mm x 57mm (4.6" x 3.4" x 2.2") with a weight of 402 grams (0.89 lbs) and the Sony HX30V has dimensions of 107mm x 62mm x 35mm (4.2" x 2.4" x 1.4") having a weight of 254 grams (0.56 lbs).

Compare the Olympus 1s and Sony HX30V in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you use at that moment. The following is a front view scale comparison of the 1s against the HX30V.

Using size and weight, the portability rating of the 1s and HX30V is 79 and 90 respectively.

In many cases, its tough to picture the gap between sensor sizes simply by going over technical specs. The picture below might give you a more clear sense of the sensor sizing in the 1s and HX30V.

As you can tell, the 2 cameras feature different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The 1s due to its bigger sensor is going to make shooting shallow depth of field less difficult and the Sony HX30V will offer you more detail having its extra 6MP. Higher resolution will also allow you to crop photographs way more aggressively. The younger 1s provides an advantage in sensor tech.