Olympus Tough-3000 vs Sony A580

Below is a extensive assessment of the Olympus Tough-3000 versus Sony A580, one being a Waterproof and the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by competitors Olympus and Sony. There exists a big gap between the resolutions of the Tough-3000 (12MP) and A580 (16MP) and the Tough-3000 (1/2.3") and A580 (APS-C) have different sensor size.

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The Tough-3000 was revealed 16 months prior to the A580 making them a generation apart from one another. Each of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus Tough-3000 being a Compact camera and the Sony A580 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before getting right into a more detailed comparison, here is a brief synopsis of how the Tough-3000 scores against the A580 for portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus Stylus Tough-3000 and Sony Alpha DSLR-A580. The full galleries are viewable at Olympus Tough-3000 Gallery and Sony A580 Gallery.

For those who are aiming to lug around your camera regularly, you'll have to think about its weight and dimensions. The Olympus Tough-3000 features external dimensions of 96mm x 65mm x 23mm (3.8" x 2.6" x 0.9") and a weight of 159 grams (0.35 lbs) and the Sony A580 has dimensions of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") accompanied by a weight of 599 grams (1.32 lbs).

Check out the Olympus Tough-3000 versus Sony A580 in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change depending on the lens you have at that moment. The following is a front view overall size comparison of the Tough-3000 compared to the A580.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the Tough-3000 and A580 is 94 and 64 respectively.

Normally, it is very hard to picture the difference between sensor measurements purely by reviewing specs. The graphic underneath might provide you a clearer sense of the sensor sizes in the Tough-3000 and A580.

As you can plainly see, both of these cameras provide different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The Tough-3000 using its tinier sensor is going to make getting shallow depth of field more difficult and the Sony A580 will offer you more detail because of its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution will allow you to crop pics more aggressively. The older Tough-3000 is going to be behind with regard to sensor innovation.