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Olympus VG-120 vs Sony RX100 III

Portability
96
Imaging
37
Features
24
Overall
31
Olympus VG-120 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 III front
Portability
89
Imaging
51
Features
77
Overall
61

Olympus VG-120 vs Sony RX100 III 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
  • Announced January 2011
Sony RX100 III
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - 1" Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Display
  • ISO 125 - 12800
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 24-70mm (F1.8-2.8) lens
  • 290g - 102 x 58 x 41mm
  • Announced May 2014
  • Older Model is Sony RX100 II
  • Successor is Sony RX100 IV
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Olympus VG-120 vs Sony RX100 III Overview

Below, we are reviewing the Olympus VG-120 and Sony RX100 III, former being a Ultracompact while the other is a Large Sensor Compact by brands Olympus and Sony. There is a sizable difference among the sensor resolutions of the VG-120 (14MP) and RX100 III (20MP) and the VG-120 (1/2.3") and RX100 III (1") come with different sensor size.

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The VG-120 was announced 4 years earlier than the RX100 III and that is a fairly significant difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Each of the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus VG-120 being a Ultracompact camera and the Sony RX100 III being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before diving in to a thorough comparison, below is a quick summary of how the VG-120 scores versus the RX100 III in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Photography Glossary
	
	

Reasons to pick Olympus VG-120 over the Sony RX100 III

 VG-120 RX100 III 

Reasons to pick Sony RX100 III over the Olympus VG-120

 RX100 III VG-120 
AnnouncedMay 2014January 2011Fresher by 40 months
Manual focus Dial precise focus
Display typeTiltingFixed Tilting display
Display resolution1229k230kCrisper display (+999k dot)
Selfie screen Easy selfies

Common features in the Olympus VG-120 and Sony RX100 III

 VG-120 RX100 III 
Display dimension3"3"Identical display size
Touch friendly display Lack of Touch friendly display

Olympus VG-120 vs Sony RX100 III Physical Comparison

In case you're going to carry your camera, you'll need to take into account its weight and proportions. The Olympus VG-120 offers external dimensions of 96mm x 57mm x 19mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.7") accompanied by a weight of 120 grams (0.26 lbs) while the Sony RX100 III has measurements of 102mm x 58mm x 41mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.6") and a weight of 290 grams (0.64 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus VG-120 and Sony RX100 III in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you are employing at that time. The following is the front view physical size comparison of the VG-120 and the RX100 III.

Olympus VG-120 vs Sony RX100 III size comparison

Looking at size and weight, the portability rating of the VG-120 and RX100 III is 96 and 89 respectively.

Olympus VG-120 vs Sony RX100 III top view buttons comparison

Olympus VG-120 vs Sony RX100 III Sensor Comparison

Oftentimes, it's difficult to picture the contrast in sensor sizing only by researching specs. The visual underneath will give you a clearer sense of the sensor sizes in the VG-120 and RX100 III.

As you can plainly see, each of the cameras posses different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The VG-120 using its smaller sensor is going to make achieving shallower depth of field more challenging and the Sony RX100 III will render greater detail with its extra 6MP. Greater resolution will also allow you to crop pics somewhat more aggressively. The older VG-120 will be disadvantaged in sensor tech.

Olympus VG-120 vs Sony RX100 III sensor size comparison

Olympus VG-120 vs Sony RX100 III Screen and ViewFinder

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

Portrait Comparison

Olympus VG-120 Portrait photography features
Sony RX100 III Portrait photography features
33
megapixel count good (14MP)
has face detection focus
no manual focus
manual exposure not possible
cannot use external flash
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
lack of RAW support
64
focusing manually
above average flash sync speed (1/2,000 seconds)
decent sensor resolution (20MP)
good sensor size (1")
features face detect focusing
delivers RAW files
cannot use external flash
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Street Comparison

Olympus VG-120 Street photography info
Sony RX100 III Street photography info
48
screen is fixed
no image stabilization
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
lack of RAW support
85
screen tilts
built in image stabilization (Optical)
good sensor size (1")
delivers RAW files
lighter than competitors in class (290 grams)
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Sports Comparison

Olympus VG-120 Sports photography highlights
Sony RX100 III Sports photography highlights
26
megapixel count good (14MP)
lack of shutter priority mode
no image stabilization
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
bad battery power (160 CIPA)
lack of phase detect auto focus
65
built in image stabilization (Optical)
decent sensor resolution (20 megapixels)
good sensor size (1")
features tracking focus
has no phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Olympus VG-120
Travel photography with Sony RX100 III
62
megapixel count good (14 megapixels)
flash built-in
quite wide (26mm)
missing Timelapse recording
bad battery power (160 CIPA)
display is not selfie friendly
somewhat slow max aperture (f2.8)
85
lighter than competitors in class (290g)
decent sensor resolution (20 megapixels)
built-in flash
selfie friendly screen
pretty wide (24mm)
fast max aperture (f1.8)
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Olympus VG-120
Landscape photography with Sony RX100 III
36
quite wide (26mm)
screen size is good (3 inches)
megapixel count good (14 megapixels)
no manual focus
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow max aperture (f2.8)
manual exposure not possible
no image stabilization
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
lack of RAW support
bad battery power (160 per charge)
missing Timelapse recording
73
focusing manually
pretty wide (24mm)
fast max aperture (f1.8)
nice screen size (3 inch)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
decent sensor resolution (20MP)
good sensor size (1")
delivers RAW files
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus VG-120 Vlogging highlights
Sony RX100 III Vlogging highlights
28
quite wide (26mm)
has face detection focus
somewhat slow max aperture (f2.8)
display is not selfie friendly
no image stabilization
video resolution low (1280 x 720 resolution)
missing external microphone port
80
pretty wide (24mm)
fast max aperture (f1.8)
selfie friendly screen
built in image stabilization (Optical)
features face detect focusing
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 resolution)
lighter than competitors in class (290g)
lack of microphone socket
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Olympus VG-120 vs Sony RX100 III Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus VG-120 and Sony RX100 III
 Olympus VG-120Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 III
General Information
Brand Olympus Sony
Model Olympus VG-120 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 III
Category Ultracompact Large Sensor Compact
Announced 2011-01-06 2014-05-15
Physical type Ultracompact Large Sensor Compact
Sensor Information
Processor Chip TruePic III Bionz X
Sensor type CCD BSI-CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" 1"
Sensor measurements 6.17 x 4.55mm 13.2 x 8.8mm
Sensor area 28.1mm² 116.2mm²
Sensor resolution 14MP 20MP
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Peak resolution 4288 x 3216 5472 x 3648
Highest native ISO 1600 12800
Lowest native ISO 80 125
RAW images
Autofocusing
Manual focus
AF touch
Continuous AF
Single AF
Tracking AF
Selective AF
AF center weighted
AF multi area
AF live view
Face detection focusing
Contract detection focusing
Phase detection focusing
Number of focus points - 25
Lens
Lens mounting type fixed lens fixed lens
Lens focal range 26-130mm (5.0x) 24-70mm (2.9x)
Maximal aperture f/2.8-6.5 f/1.8-2.8
Macro focus distance 7cm 5cm
Crop factor 5.8 2.7
Screen
Type of screen Fixed Type Tilting
Screen sizing 3 inches 3 inches
Screen resolution 230k dots 1,229k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch operation
Screen tech TFT Color LCD -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type None Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 1,440k dots
Viewfinder coverage - 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification - 0.59x
Features
Minimum shutter speed 4 secs 30 secs
Fastest shutter speed 1/2000 secs 1/2000 secs
Continuous shutter rate - 10.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation - Yes
Custom WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash range 4.40 m -
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in -
Hot shoe
Auto exposure bracketing
White balance bracketing
Fastest flash synchronize - 1/2000 secs
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30, 15fps), 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 240 (30, 15fps) 1920 x 1080 (60p/60i/24p), 1280 x 720 (60p/30p/24p/120p), 1440 x 1080 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Highest video resolution 1280x720 1920x1080
Video file format Motion JPEG MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC S
Microphone port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 120 gr (0.26 lb) 290 gr (0.64 lb)
Dimensions 96 x 57 x 19mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.7") 102 x 58 x 41mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.6")
DXO scores
DXO Overall score not tested 67
DXO Color Depth score not tested 22.4
DXO Dynamic range score not tested 12.3
DXO Low light score not tested 495
Other
Battery life 160 images 320 images
Battery type Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model LI-70B NP-BX1
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec, self-portrait, continuous)
Time lapse feature With downloadable app
Storage type SD/SDHC SD/ SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo
Card slots One One
Launch price $190 $748