Olympus 1s vs Sony W530

Lets look more closely at the Olympus 1s versus Sony W530, one being a Small Sensor Superzoom and the latter is a Ultracompact by brands Olympus and Sony. The resolution of the 1s (12MP) and the W530 (14MP) is pretty close but the 1s (1/1.7") and W530 (1/2.3") have different sensor sizes.

Photography Glossary

The 1s was unveiled 4 years later than the W530 and that is a fairly big gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus 1s being a SLR-like (bridge) camera and the Sony W530 being a Ultracompact camera.

Before we go straight to a complete comparison, here is a quick overview of how the 1s scores vs the W530 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus Stylus 1s and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W530. The full galleries are available at Olympus 1s Gallery and Sony W530 Gallery.

For anybody who is going to lug around your camera, you're going to have to consider its weight and proportions. The Olympus 1s has external measurements of 116mm x 87mm x 57mm (4.6" x 3.4" x 2.2") along with a weight of 402 grams (0.89 lbs) whilst the Sony W530 has measurements of 93mm x 53mm x 19mm (3.7" x 2.1" x 0.7") along with a weight of 113 grams (0.25 lbs).

Examine the Olympus 1s versus Sony W530 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change depending on the lens you are using at the time. The following is a front view measurements comparison of the 1s compared to the W530.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the 1s and W530 is 79 and 96 respectively.

More often than not, it's hard to picture the difference in sensor measurements purely by researching a spec sheet. The photograph underneath might provide you a better sense of the sensor sizing in the 1s and W530.

Clearly, both the cameras provide different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The 1s using its bigger sensor is going to make getting shallower depth of field simpler and the Sony W530 will render greater detail having an extra 2MP. Higher resolution can also let you crop shots more aggressively. The more recent 1s provides an edge in sensor tech.