Olympus XZ-10 vs Sony WX1

Its time to take a deeper look at the Olympus XZ-10 and Sony WX1, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the other is a Ultracompact by manufacturers Olympus and Sony. The image resolution of the XZ-10 (12MP) and the WX1 (10MP) is fairly similar but the XZ-10 (1/2.3") and WX1 (1/2.4") offer different sensor measurements.

Photography Glossary

The XZ-10 was brought out 3 years later than the WX1 and that is quite a sizable difference as far as technology is concerned. Both the cameras have different body design with the Olympus XZ-10 being a Compact camera and the Sony WX1 being a Ultracompact camera.

Before going straight to a in-depth comparison, here is a simple summary of how the XZ-10 matches up against the WX1 for portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

This is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus Stylus XZ-10 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX1. The entire galleries are viewable at Olympus XZ-10 Gallery & Sony WX1 Gallery.

For anybody who is planning to carry your camera regularly, you will need to think about its weight and volume. The Olympus XZ-10 has outer dimensions of 102mm x 61mm x 34mm (4.0" x 2.4" x 1.3") with a weight of 221 grams (0.49 lbs) while the Sony WX1 has sizing of 91mm x 52mm x 20mm (3.6" x 2.0" x 0.8") accompanied by a weight of 149 grams (0.33 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus XZ-10 and Sony WX1 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you have at the time. Below is a front view dimensions comparison of the XZ-10 compared to the WX1.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the XZ-10 and WX1 is 91 and 96 respectively.

Normally, it is hard to picture the difference between sensor sizing purely by reviewing specifications. The visual underneath should offer you a more clear sense of the sensor sizes in the XZ-10 and WX1.

To sum up, the two cameras provide different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The XZ-10 due to its larger sensor is going to make shooting shallow depth of field simpler and the Olympus XZ-10 will deliver greater detail having its extra 2MP. Greater resolution will also help you crop images more aggressively. The newer XZ-10 should have a benefit in sensor tech.