Olympus SH-1 vs Olympus XZ-1

Let's take a closer look at the Olympus SH-1 versus Olympus XZ-1, one is a Small Sensor Superzoom and the latter is a Small Sensor Compact and both of them are built by Olympus. There is a big difference among the sensor resolutions of the SH-1 (16MP) and XZ-1 (10MP) and the SH-1 (1/2.3") and XZ-1 (1/1.63") possess totally different sensor measurements.

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The SH-1 was introduced 3 years after the XZ-1 which is a fairly big gap as far as camera tech is concerned. Both of these cameras come with the identical body type (Compact).

Before diving straight into a full comparison, below is a simple summation of how the SH-1 scores vs the XZ-1 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Here is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus Stylus SH-1 and Olympus XZ-1. The whole galleries are available at Olympus SH-1 Gallery and Olympus XZ-1 Gallery.

For anybody who is planning to travel with your camera frequently, you will have to think about its weight and proportions. The Olympus SH-1 features outer dimensions of 109mm x 63mm x 42mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.7") with a weight of 271 grams (0.60 lbs) while the Olympus XZ-1 has measurements of 111mm x 65mm x 42mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.7") with a weight of 275 grams (0.61 lbs).

Check out the Olympus SH-1 versus Olympus XZ-1 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary depending on the lens you are utilising at that time. Here is the front view sizing comparison of the SH-1 vs the XZ-1.

Looking at size and weight, the portability grade of the SH-1 and XZ-1 is 88 and 88 respectively.

In many cases, its hard to visualise the contrast in sensor dimensions only by seeing specifications. The pic here should provide you a clearer sense of the sensor dimensions in the SH-1 and XZ-1.

Plainly, both cameras posses different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The SH-1 having a smaller sensor will make getting shallow DOF more challenging and the Olympus SH-1 will show more detail using its extra 6 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also let you crop photographs somewhat more aggressively. The more recent SH-1 will have a benefit with regard to sensor technology.