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Olympus VG-120 vs Pentax S1

Portability
96
Imaging
37
Features
24
Overall
31
Olympus VG-120 front
 
Pentax Optio S1 front
Portability
93
Imaging
37
Features
31
Overall
34

Olympus VG-120 vs Pentax S1 Key Specs

Olympus VG-120
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 80 - 1600
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 26-130mm (F2.8-6.5) lens
  • 120g - 96 x 57 x 19mm
  • Introduced January 2011
Pentax S1
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 80 - 6400
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 28-140mm (F3.5-5.5) lens
  • 157g - 114 x 58 x 28mm
  • Introduced March 2011
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Olympus VG-120 vs Pentax S1 Overview

Lets look a bit more closely at the Olympus VG-120 vs Pentax S1, former is a Ultracompact while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by competitors Olympus and Pentax. The resolution of the VG-120 (14MP) and the S1 (14MP) is pretty well matched and they feature the exact same sensor measurements (1/2.3").

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The VG-120 was released at a similar time to the S1 and they are of a similar age. The two cameras come with different body type with the Olympus VG-120 being a Ultracompact camera and the Pentax S1 being a Compact camera.

Before going straight into a more detailed comparison, below is a quick highlight of how the VG-120 matches up vs the S1 for portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

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Reasons to pick Olympus VG-120 over the Pentax S1

 VG-120 S1 
Screen dimension3"2.7"Bigger screen (+0.3")

Reasons to pick Pentax S1 over the Olympus VG-120

 S1 VG-120 
Manually focus Very precise focusing

Common features in the Olympus VG-120 and Pentax S1

 VG-120 S1 
IntroducedJanuary 2011March 2011Similar age
Screen typeFixed Fixed Fixed screen
Screen resolution230k230kSame screen resolution
Selfie screen Lack of selfie screen
Touch friendly screen Neither comes with Touch friendly screen

Olympus VG-120 vs Pentax S1 Physical Comparison

If you are aiming to carry around your camera regularly, you will want to take into account its weight and proportions. The Olympus VG-120 comes with outer measurements of 96mm x 57mm x 19mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.7") and a weight of 120 grams (0.26 lbs) and the Pentax S1 has measurements of 114mm x 58mm x 28mm (4.5" x 2.3" x 1.1") and a weight of 157 grams (0.35 lbs).

Look at the Olympus VG-120 vs Pentax S1 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you have at the time. Underneath is the front view physical size comparison of the VG-120 versus the S1.

Olympus VG-120 vs Pentax S1 size comparison

Using dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the VG-120 and S1 is 96 and 93 respectively.

Olympus VG-120 vs Pentax S1 top view buttons comparison

Olympus VG-120 vs Pentax S1 Sensor Comparison

More often than not, it can be difficult to visualize the gap between sensor sizes simply by looking at a spec sheet. The pic below will offer you a better sense of the sensor sizing in the VG-120 and S1.

As you can see, both of the cameras posses the exact same sensor measurements and the same MP and you can expect similar quality of images though you might want to consider the age of the products into consideration.

Olympus VG-120 vs Pentax S1 sensor size comparison

Olympus VG-120 vs Pentax S1 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus VG-120 vs Pentax S1 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus VG-120 Portrait photography advice
Pentax S1 Portrait photography advice
33
good megapixels (14MP)
provides face detection focus
lack of manual focus
no manual mode
external flash not possible
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
has no RAW format
35
has manual focus
decent sensor resolution (14 megapixels)
no manual mode
no external flash support
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
has no RAW format
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Olympus VG-120
Street photography with Pentax S1
48
screen is fixed
no image stabilization
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
has no RAW format
56
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
no articulating screen
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
has no RAW format
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Sports Comparison

Olympus VG-120 as a Sports photography camera
Pentax S1 as a Sports photography camera
26
good megapixels (14 megapixels)
no shutter priority
no image stabilization
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
low battery life (160 CIPA)
has no phase detect auto focus
39
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
decent sensor resolution (14MP)
features tracking autofocus
low fps (1.0 fps)
lack of shutter priority mode
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
has no phase detect auto focus
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Olympus VG-120
Travel photography with Pentax S1
62
good megapixels (14MP)
built-in flash
decently wide (26mm)
lack of Time Lapse function
low battery life (160 shots)
does not contain selfie friendly display
somewhat slow max aperture (f2.8)
64
decent sensor resolution (14 megapixels)
built-in flash
rather wide (28mm)
no Timelapse recording
screen isn't selfie friendly
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus VG-120 Landscape photography factors
Pentax S1 Landscape photography factors
36
decently wide (26mm)
screen size is good (3 inches)
good megapixels (14 megapixels)
lack of manual focus
cannot change lens (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow max aperture (f2.8)
no manual mode
no image stabilization
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
has no RAW format
low battery life (160 per charge)
lack of Time Lapse function
42
has manual focus
rather wide (28mm)
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
decent sensor resolution (14MP)
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
tiny screen (2.7 inches)
no manual mode
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
has no RAW format
no Timelapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus VG-120 Vlogging factors
Pentax S1 Vlogging factors
28
decently wide (26mm)
provides face detection focus
somewhat slow max aperture (f2.8)
does not contain selfie friendly display
no image stabilization
low res video (1280 x 720 pixels)
lack of external mic port
28
rather wide (28mm)
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
screen isn't selfie friendly
low res video (1280 x 720 pxls)
no external microphone jack
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Olympus VG-120 vs Pentax S1 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus VG-120 and Pentax S1
 Olympus VG-120Pentax Optio S1
General Information
Company Olympus Pentax
Model Olympus VG-120 Pentax Optio S1
Class Ultracompact Small Sensor Compact
Introduced 2011-01-06 2011-03-02
Body design Ultracompact Compact
Sensor Information
Chip TruePic III -
Sensor type CCD CCD
Sensor size 1/2.3" 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 6.17 x 4.55mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor surface area 28.1mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 14 megapixel 14 megapixel
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 1:1, 4:3 and 16:9
Highest Possible resolution 4288 x 3216 4288 x 3216
Maximum native ISO 1600 6400
Minimum native ISO 80 80
RAW data
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch focus
AF continuous
AF single
Tracking AF
AF selectice
AF center weighted
Multi area AF
Live view AF
Face detection AF
Contract detection AF
Phase detection AF
Number of focus points - 9
Lens
Lens mount fixed lens fixed lens
Lens focal range 26-130mm (5.0x) 28-140mm (5.0x)
Max aperture f/2.8-6.5 f/3.5-5.5
Macro focus range 7cm 1cm
Crop factor 5.8 5.8
Screen
Screen type Fixed Type Fixed Type
Screen diagonal 3" 2.7"
Screen resolution 230 thousand dot 230 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch display
Screen tech TFT Color LCD TFT color LCD with Anti-reflective coating
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder None None
Features
Minimum shutter speed 4 secs 4 secs
Fastest shutter speed 1/2000 secs 1/1500 secs
Continuous shutter speed - 1.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual exposure
Set WB
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash range 4.40 m 3.90 m
Flash options Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Soft
External flash
AE bracketing
WB bracketing
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30, 15fps), 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 240 (30, 15fps) 1280 x 720 (30, 15 fps), 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 240 (30, 15 fps)
Maximum video resolution 1280x720 1280x720
Video data format Motion JPEG Motion JPEG
Microphone input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless None None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 120 gr (0.26 lb) 157 gr (0.35 lb)
Dimensions 96 x 57 x 19mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.7") 114 x 58 x 28mm (4.5" x 2.3" x 1.1")
DXO scores
DXO Overall score not tested not tested
DXO Color Depth score not tested not tested
DXO Dynamic range score not tested not tested
DXO Low light score not tested not tested
Other
Battery life 160 shots 260 shots
Battery format Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model LI-70B D-LI92
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse recording
Type of storage SD/SDHC SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal
Storage slots One One
Cost at release $190 $174