Olympus SH-3 vs Sony A77

Below, we are matching up the Olympus SH-3 vs Sony A77, one being a Small Sensor Superzoom and the other is a Advanced DSLR by brands Olympus and Sony. There exists a huge gap among the image resolutions of the SH-3 (16MP) and A77 (24MP) and the SH-3 (1/2.3") and A77 (APS-C) come with totally different sensor sizing.

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The SH-3 was released 4 years later than the A77 and that is a fairly significant gap as far as camera technology is concerned. The two cameras come with different body type with the Olympus SH-3 being a Compact camera and the Sony A77 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before we go straight into a detailed comparison, below is a brief synopsis of how the SH-3 grades versus the A77 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Here is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus Stylus SH-3 and Sony SLT-A77. The complete galleries are viewable at Olympus SH-3 Gallery and Sony A77 Gallery.

For those who are looking to carry your camera frequently, you will need to take into account its weight and size. The Olympus SH-3 enjoys outside dimensions of 109mm x 63mm x 42mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.7") accompanied by a weight of 271 grams (0.60 lbs) while the Sony A77 has specifications of 143mm x 104mm x 81mm (5.6" x 4.1" x 3.2") accompanied by a weight of 732 grams (1.61 lbs).

Examine the Olympus SH-3 vs Sony A77 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary dependant on the lens you have chosen at that time. Here is the front view proportions comparison of the SH-3 and the A77.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the SH-3 and A77 is 88 and 59 respectively.

Quite often, it is difficult to envision the contrast in sensor sizing only by looking through a spec sheet. The graphic here should provide you a far better sense of the sensor dimensions in the SH-3 and A77.

As you can see, each of these cameras have got different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The SH-3 featuring a smaller sensor will make getting shallow depth of field harder and the Sony A77 will render more detail as a result of its extra 8 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also make it easier to crop pics much more aggressively. The more recent SH-3 will have an advantage in sensor technology.