Olympus XZ-10 vs Sony A350

In this write-up, we will be looking at the Olympus XZ-10 and Sony A350, former is a Small Sensor Compact while the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by manufacturers Olympus and Sony. The sensor resolution of the XZ-10 (12MP) and the A350 (14MP) is relatively well matched but the XZ-10 (1/2.3") and A350 (APS-C) enjoy totally different sensor size.

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The XZ-10 was brought out 4 years after the A350 which is quite a serious difference as far as tech is concerned. Each of these cameras offer different body type with the Olympus XZ-10 being a Compact camera and the Sony A350 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before diving in to a in depth comparison, below is a short summary of how the XZ-10 scores vs the A350 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Below is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus Stylus XZ-10 & Sony Alpha DSLR-A350. The entire galleries are viewable at Olympus XZ-10 Gallery & Sony A350 Gallery.

If you are aiming to carry around your camera often, you'll have to take into account its weight and dimensions. The Olympus XZ-10 features outside dimensions of 102mm x 61mm x 34mm (4.0" x 2.4" x 1.3") with a weight of 221 grams (0.49 lbs) and the Sony A350 has dimensions of 131mm x 99mm x 75mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0") with a weight of 674 grams (1.49 lbs).

Check out the Olympus XZ-10 and Sony A350 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you are utilising at that time. The following is the front view proportions comparison of the XZ-10 against the A350.

Factoring in size and weight, the portability rating of the XZ-10 and A350 is 91 and 62 respectively.

Generally, it is difficult to see the gap between sensor sizes purely by checking a spec sheet. The image below will help give you a better sense of the sensor sizes in the XZ-10 and A350.

As you can see, the two cameras enjoy different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The XZ-10 because of its tinier sensor will make getting shallower DOF more challenging and the Sony A350 will give greater detail having its extra 2 Megapixels. Higher resolution will allow you to crop photographs far more aggressively. The more modern XZ-10 is going to have a benefit when it comes to sensor innovation.