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Olympus VG-120 vs Sony RX100

Portability
96
Imaging
37
Features
24
Overall
31
Olympus VG-120 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 front
Portability
91
Imaging
50
Features
68
Overall
57

Olympus VG-120 vs Sony RX100 Key Specs

Olympus VG-120
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 80 - 1600
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 26-130mm (F2.8-6.5) lens
  • 120g - 96 x 57 x 19mm
  • Released January 2011
Sony RX100
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - 1" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 25600
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 28-100mm (F1.8-4.9) lens
  • 240g - 102 x 58 x 36mm
  • Introduced August 2012
  • Newer Model is Sony RX100 II
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Olympus VG-120 vs Sony RX100 Overview

Lets look more closely at the Olympus VG-120 vs Sony RX100, former being a Ultracompact while the other is a Large Sensor Compact by rivals Olympus and Sony. There is a considerable difference between the resolutions of the VG-120 (14MP) and RX100 (20MP) and the VG-120 (1/2.3") and RX100 (1") offer different sensor sizing.

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The VG-120 was manufactured 20 months before the RX100 making them a generation apart from each other. Each of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus VG-120 being a Ultracompact camera and the Sony RX100 being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before we go into a more detailed comparison, here is a concise overview of how the VG-120 scores against the RX100 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Olympus VG-120 over the Sony RX100

 VG-120 RX100 

Reasons to pick Sony RX100 over the Olympus VG-120

 RX100 VG-120 
IntroducedAugust 2012January 2011More recent by 20 months
Manual focus Very precise focusing
Display resolution1229k230kClearer display (+999k dot)

Common features in the Olympus VG-120 and Sony RX100

 VG-120 RX100 
Display typeFixed Fixed Fixed display
Display dimensions3"3"Equal display measurement
Selfie screen Neither provides selfie screen
Touch friendly display Lacking Touch friendly display

Olympus VG-120 vs Sony RX100 Physical Comparison

For anyone who is aiming to lug around your camera frequently, you need to consider its weight and volume. The Olympus VG-120 provides outside dimensions of 96mm x 57mm x 19mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.7") and a weight of 120 grams (0.26 lbs) whilst the Sony RX100 has sizing of 102mm x 58mm x 36mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.4") along with a weight of 240 grams (0.53 lbs).

Check out the Olympus VG-120 vs Sony RX100 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you are working with at that time. Below is a front view scale comparison of the VG-120 compared to the RX100.

Olympus VG-120 vs Sony RX100 size comparison

Using size and weight, the portability score of the VG-120 and RX100 is 96 and 91 respectively.

Olympus VG-120 vs Sony RX100 top view buttons comparison

Olympus VG-120 vs Sony RX100 Sensor Comparison

Usually, it can be difficult to picture the gap between sensor measurements purely by checking a spec sheet. The photograph here might give you a much better sense of the sensor sizes in the VG-120 and RX100.

Clearly, each of the cameras have different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The VG-120 because of its tinier sensor is going to make shooting shallow depth of field trickier and the Sony RX100 will give you greater detail due to its extra 6 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also enable you to crop images a bit more aggressively. The older VG-120 is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor technology.

Olympus VG-120 vs Sony RX100 sensor size comparison

Olympus VG-120 vs Sony RX100 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus VG-120 vs Sony RX100 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus VG-120 as a Portrait photography camera
Sony RX100 as a Portrait photography camera
33
decent MP (14MP)
comes with face detect focus
no manual focus
no manual control
cannot use external flash
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW format
64
you can focus manually
above average flash sync speed (1/2,000s)
good resolution (20MP)
nice sensor size (1")
has face detect focusing
exports RAW formats
cannot use external flash
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Street Comparison

Olympus VG-120 Street photography details
Sony RX100 Street photography details
48
no articulating screen
no image stabilization
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW format
79
image stabilization (Optical)
nice sensor size (1")
exports RAW formats
lighter than competition in class (240 grams)
great high ISO (25,600)
no articulating screen
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Sports Comparison

Sports photography with Olympus VG-120
Sports photography with Sony RX100
26
decent MP (14MP)
no shutter priority mode
no image stabilization
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
terrible battery (160 CIPA)
doesn't have phase detect auto focus
65
image stabilization (Optical)
good resolution (20 megapixels)
nice sensor size (1")
has tracking focus
lacks phase detect AF
Photography Glossary

Travel Comparison

Olympus VG-120 Travel photography information
Sony RX100 Travel photography information
62
decent MP (14 megapixels)
built-in flash
reasonably wide (26mm)
lack of Timelapse mode
terrible battery (160 CIPA)
screen is not selfie friendly
sluggish maximum aperture (f2.8)
79
lighter than competition in class (240 grams)
good resolution (20 megapixels)
flash built-in
decently wide (28mm)
great max aperture (f1.8)
display is not selfie friendly
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus VG-120 Landscape photography details
Sony RX100 Landscape photography details
36
reasonably wide (26mm)
screen size is good (3")
decent MP (14MP)
no manual focus
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
sluggish maximum aperture (f2.8)
no manual control
no image stabilization
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW format
terrible battery (160 CIPA)
lack of Timelapse mode
74
you can focus manually
decently wide (28mm)
great max aperture (f1.8)
screen size is good (3 inch)
image stabilization (Optical)
good resolution (20MP)
nice sensor size (1")
great high ISO (25,600)
exports RAW formats
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Olympus VG-120
Vlogging with Sony RX100
28
reasonably wide (26mm)
comes with face detect focus
sluggish maximum aperture (f2.8)
screen is not selfie friendly
no image stabilization
low video resolution (1280 x 720 pxls)
lack of microphone jack
38
decently wide (28mm)
great max aperture (f1.8)
image stabilization (Optical)
has face detect focusing
high res video (1920 x 1080 pxls)
lighter than competition in class (240 grams)
display is not selfie friendly
no mic support
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Olympus VG-120 vs Sony RX100 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus VG-120 and Sony RX100
 Olympus VG-120Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100
General Information
Manufacturer Olympus Sony
Model type Olympus VG-120 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100
Class Ultracompact Large Sensor Compact
Released 2011-01-06 2012-08-28
Physical type Ultracompact Large Sensor Compact
Sensor Information
Processor TruePic III -
Sensor type CCD CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" 1"
Sensor dimensions 6.17 x 4.55mm 13.2 x 8.8mm
Sensor area 28.1mm² 116.2mm²
Sensor resolution 14 megapixel 20 megapixel
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Full resolution 4288 x 3216 5472 x 3648
Max native ISO 1600 25600
Minimum native ISO 80 100
RAW format
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Autofocus touch
Autofocus continuous
Single autofocus
Autofocus tracking
Autofocus selectice
Autofocus center weighted
Multi area autofocus
Live view autofocus
Face detect focus
Contract detect focus
Phase detect focus
Total focus points - 25
Lens
Lens mount type fixed lens fixed lens
Lens zoom range 26-130mm (5.0x) 28-100mm (3.6x)
Maximum aperture f/2.8-6.5 f/1.8-4.9
Macro focusing distance 7cm 5cm
Focal length multiplier 5.8 2.7
Screen
Display type Fixed Type Fixed Type
Display diagonal 3 inch 3 inch
Resolution of display 230 thousand dots 1,229 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch screen
Display technology TFT Color LCD WhiteMagic TFT LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type None None
Features
Lowest shutter speed 4 seconds 30 seconds
Highest shutter speed 1/2000 seconds 1/2000 seconds
Continuous shooting rate - 10.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation - Yes
Set white balance
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash distance 4.40 m -
Flash settings Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in Auto, On, Off, Slow Sync
Hot shoe
AEB
WB bracketing
Highest flash synchronize - 1/2000 seconds
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) 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1440 x 1080 (30 fps), 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Max video resolution 1280x720 1920x1080
Video file format Motion JPEG MPEG-4, AVCHD
Mic support
Headphone support
Connectivity
Wireless None Eye-Fi Connected
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 120 grams (0.26 pounds) 240 grams (0.53 pounds)
Physical dimensions 96 x 57 x 19mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.7") 102 x 58 x 36mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.4")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating not tested 66
DXO Color Depth rating not tested 22.6
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested 12.4
DXO Low light rating not tested 390
Other
Battery life 160 photographs 330 photographs
Battery style Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID LI-70B NP-BX1
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec, Portrait 1/2)
Time lapse recording With downloadable app
Type of storage SD/SDHC SD/SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Duo/Pro Duo/Pro-HG Duo
Card slots 1 1
Retail price $190 $448