Olympus SH-2 vs Sony A230

On this page, we are looking at the Olympus SH-2 and Sony A230, former is a Small Sensor Superzoom while the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by companies Olympus and Sony. There exists a substantial gap among the image resolutions of the SH-2 (16MP) and A230 (10MP) and the SH-2 (1/2.3") and A230 (APS-C) boast totally different sensor sizing.

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The SH-2 was introduced 5 years after the A230 which is a fairly big difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus SH-2 being a Compact camera and the Sony A230 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before delving straight to a in depth comparison, here is a concise view of how the SH-2 scores versus the A230 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

This is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus Stylus SH-2 & Sony Alpha DSLR-A230. The whole galleries are available at Olympus SH-2 Gallery & Sony A230 Gallery.

For those who are planning to carry around your camera often, you will want to think about its weight and measurements. The Olympus SH-2 comes with outside measurements of 109mm x 63mm x 42mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.7") accompanied by a weight of 271 grams (0.60 lbs) whilst the Sony A230 has proportions of 128mm x 97mm x 68mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 2.7") having a weight of 490 grams (1.08 lbs).

Check out the Olympus SH-2 and Sony A230 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you have attached during that time. Following is a front view scale comparison of the SH-2 against the A230.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability score of the SH-2 and A230 is 88 and 69 respectively.

More often than not, it is very tough to visualise the difference in sensor sizes merely by looking through specifications. The image below will offer you a stronger sense of the sensor sizing in the SH-2 and A230.

Plainly, both of those cameras have different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The SH-2 with its smaller sensor will make shooting shallower depth of field harder and the Olympus SH-2 will render greater detail using its extra 6 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also help you crop images a bit more aggressively. The more recent SH-2 will have a benefit with regard to sensor tech.