Olympus XZ-10 vs Sony RX100 III

Lets look more closely at the Olympus XZ-10 and Sony RX100 III, former is a Small Sensor Compact while the latter is a Large Sensor Compact by rivals Olympus and Sony. There is a substantial difference between the resolutions of the XZ-10 (12MP) and RX100 III (20MP) and the XZ-10 (1/2.3") and RX100 III (1") offer totally different sensor sizing.

Photography Glossary

The XZ-10 was announced 15 months earlier than the RX100 III which makes them a generation away from each other. Both of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus XZ-10 being a Compact camera and the Sony RX100 III being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before we go right into a full comparison, here is a brief highlight of how the XZ-10 matches up vs the RX100 III in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

This is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus Stylus XZ-10 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 III. The whole galleries are provided at Olympus XZ-10 Gallery & Sony RX100 III Gallery.

For anyone who is going to carry around your camera often, you'll have to factor its weight and volume. The Olympus XZ-10 provides external measurements of 102mm x 61mm x 34mm (4.0" x 2.4" x 1.3") along with a weight of 221 grams (0.49 lbs) whilst the Sony RX100 III has sizing of 102mm x 58mm x 41mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.6") along with a weight of 290 grams (0.64 lbs).

Compare the Olympus XZ-10 and Sony RX100 III in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you select at that time. Underneath is a front view sizing comparison of the XZ-10 compared to the RX100 III.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability score of the XZ-10 and RX100 III is 91 and 89 respectively.

In many cases, its hard to visualise the contrast between sensor sizes only by looking at technical specs. The pic below might give you a far better sense of the sensor sizing in the XZ-10 and RX100 III.

As you have seen, both of those cameras provide different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The XZ-10 using its tinier sensor will make getting shallower DOF harder and the Sony RX100 III will resolve extra detail with its extra 8 Megapixels. Higher resolution will allow you to crop pictures more aggressively. The more aged XZ-10 is going to be behind with regard to sensor innovation.