Olympus VG-160 vs Sony A850

Here is a comprehensive comparison of the Olympus VG-160 vs Sony A850, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the other is a Advanced DSLR by manufacturers Olympus and Sony. There is a considerable difference among the resolutions of the VG-160 (14MP) and A850 (25MP) and the VG-160 (1/2.3") and A850 (Full frame) use different sensor dimensions.

Photography Glossary

The VG-160 was manufactured 22 months later than the A850 making the cameras a generation apart from each other. Both the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus VG-160 being a Compact camera and the Sony A850 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before getting straight into a thorough comparison, below is a simple summary of how the VG-160 matches up versus the A850 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Here is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus VG-160 & Sony Alpha DSLR-A850. The entire galleries are viewable at Olympus VG-160 Gallery & Sony A850 Gallery.

For anybody who is intending to carry your camera often, you have to consider its weight and volume. The Olympus VG-160 enjoys exterior dimensions of 96mm x 57mm x 19mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.7") accompanied by a weight of 125 grams (0.28 lbs) while the Sony A850 has sizing of 156mm x 117mm x 82mm (6.1" x 4.6" x 3.2") accompanied by a weight of 895 grams (1.97 lbs).

Check the Olympus VG-160 vs Sony A850 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you are utilising at that time. The following is the front view proportions comparison of the VG-160 and the A850.

Factoring in size and weight, the portability grade of the VG-160 and A850 is 96 and 54 respectively.

Usually, it is very difficult to picture the contrast in sensor sizing simply by going through specs. The visual underneath will help provide you a better sense of the sensor sizes in the VG-160 and A850.

As you can plainly see, both cameras posses different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The VG-160 featuring a smaller sensor is going to make getting shallower depth of field more challenging and the Sony A850 will show more detail due to its extra 11MP. Greater resolution can also help you crop pics somewhat more aggressively. The more recent VG-160 provides an advantage in sensor tech.