Olympus XZ-10 vs Sony A35

Let's look a little more closely at the Olympus XZ-10 vs Sony A35, one being a Small Sensor Compact and the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by competitors Olympus and Sony. There is a significant difference between the resolutions of the XZ-10 (12MP) and A35 (16MP) and the XZ-10 (1/2.3") and A35 (APS-C) feature different sensor sizes.

Photography Glossary

The XZ-10 was introduced 17 months later than the A35 making the cameras a generation apart from each other. Each of the cameras offer different body type with the Olympus XZ-10 being a Compact camera and the Sony A35 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before diving through a more detailed comparison, below is a quick highlight of how the XZ-10 grades vs the A35 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Below is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus Stylus XZ-10 and Sony SLT-A35. The whole galleries are viewable at Olympus XZ-10 Gallery and Sony A35 Gallery.

For anyone who is looking to lug around your camera often, you need to factor in its weight and proportions. The Olympus XZ-10 features outside dimensions 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 A35 has measurements of 124mm x 92mm x 85mm (4.9" x 3.6" x 3.3") and a weight of 415 grams (0.91 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus XZ-10 vs Sony A35 in the latest Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change dependant on the lens you are working with at that moment. Following is the front view overall size comparison of the XZ-10 vs the A35.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability grade of the XZ-10 and A35 is 91 and 69 respectively.

Often, it's tough to visualize the gap between sensor measurements just by reading technical specs. The visual underneath might provide you a greater sense of the sensor dimensions in the XZ-10 and A35.

As you have seen, both of the cameras offer different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The XZ-10 using its tinier sensor is going to make shooting shallow depth of field more difficult and the Sony A35 will offer greater detail using its extra 4MP. Greater resolution will also make it easier to crop photos a little more aggressively. The newer XZ-10 provides a benefit in sensor innovation.