Olympus 8000 vs Sony A580

The following is a extended overview of the Olympus 8000 versus Sony A580, former is a Small Sensor Compact while the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by rivals Olympus and Sony. There is a large difference between the resolutions of the 8000 (12MP) and A580 (16MP) and the 8000 (1/2.3") and A580 (APS-C) have totally different sensor measurements.

Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a Landslide

The 8000 was announced 23 months prior to the A580 which makes them a generation away from each other. Both of these cameras feature different body design with the Olympus 8000 being a Compact camera and the Sony A580 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before going straight to a detailed comparison, here is a simple summation of how the 8000 scores against the A580 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Below is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus Stylus Tough 8000 & Sony Alpha DSLR-A580. The whole galleries are provided at Olympus 8000 Gallery & Sony A580 Gallery.

For anyone who is going to travel with your camera regularly, you should take into account its weight and size. The Olympus 8000 has physical dimensions of 95mm x 62mm x 22mm (3.7" x 2.4" x 0.9") accompanied by a weight of 182 grams (0.40 lbs) and the Sony A580 has specifications of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") with a weight of 599 grams (1.32 lbs).

Look at the Olympus 8000 versus Sony A580 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you have chosen at that time. The following is a front view overall size comparison of the 8000 compared to the A580.

Using size and weight, the portability grade of the 8000 and A580 is 94 and 64 respectively.

Oftentimes, it's difficult to see the difference between sensor dimensions merely by reading specs. The image below may give you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the 8000 and A580.

As you can plainly see, both the cameras feature different resolutions and different sensor dimensions. The 8000 having a tinier sensor will make shooting bokeh more difficult and the Sony A580 will offer you greater detail with its extra 4MP. Higher resolution will let you crop pictures way more aggressively. The more aged 8000 is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor tech.