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Olympus VG-160 vs Sony RX100 VA

Portability
96
Imaging
38
Features
26
Overall
33
Olympus VG-160 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 V(A) front
Portability
89
Imaging
54
Features
77
Overall
63

Olympus VG-160 vs Sony RX100 VA Key Specs

Olympus VG-160
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 80 - 1600
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 26-130mm (F2.8-6.5) lens
  • 125g - 96 x 57 x 19mm
  • Released January 2012
Sony RX100 VA
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - 1" Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 125 - 12800 (Expand to 25600)
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • 24-70mm (F1.8-2.8) lens
  • 299g - 102 x 58 x 41mm
  • Revealed July 2018
Photography Glossary

Olympus VG-160 vs Sony RX100 VA Overview

Below, we will be matching up the Olympus VG-160 and Sony RX100 VA, one being a Small Sensor Compact and the latter is a Large Sensor Compact by companies Olympus and Sony. There exists a significant gap between the sensor resolutions of the VG-160 (14MP) and RX100 VA (20MP) and the VG-160 (1/2.3") and RX100 VA (1") possess totally different sensor sizes.

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The VG-160 was announced 7 years prior to the RX100 VA and that is quite a sizable gap as far as technology is concerned. Both cameras come with different body type with the Olympus VG-160 being a Compact camera and the Sony RX100 VA being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before diving through a detailed comparison, below is a quick synopsis of how the VG-160 matches up against the RX100 VA when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Olympus VG-160 over the Sony RX100 VA

 VG-160 RX100 VA 

Reasons to pick Sony RX100 VA over the Olympus VG-160

 RX100 VA VG-160 
RevealedJuly 2018January 2012More recent by 79 months
Focus manually Very exact focus
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen resolution1229k230kClearer screen (+999k dot)
Selfie screen Easy selfies

Common features in the Olympus VG-160 and Sony RX100 VA

 VG-160 RX100 VA 
Screen dimension3"3"Identical screen dimensions
Touch friendly screen Neither contains Touch friendly screen

Olympus VG-160 vs Sony RX100 VA Physical Comparison

In case you're planning to lug around your camera, you'll have to take into account its weight and volume. The Olympus VG-160 has got outer dimensions of 96mm x 57mm x 19mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.7") along with a weight of 125 grams (0.28 lbs) and the Sony RX100 VA has sizing of 102mm x 58mm x 41mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.6") along with a weight of 299 grams (0.66 lbs).

Examine the Olympus VG-160 and Sony RX100 VA in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Always remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary dependant on the lens you select at the time. Following is the front view measurements comparison of the VG-160 vs the RX100 VA.

Olympus VG-160 vs Sony RX100 VA size comparison

Using dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the VG-160 and RX100 VA is 96 and 89 respectively.

Olympus VG-160 vs Sony RX100 VA top view buttons comparison

Olympus VG-160 vs Sony RX100 VA Sensor Comparison

Sometimes, it is very difficult to see the contrast between sensor measurements simply by going over specs. The visual underneath might offer you a clearer sense of the sensor sizes in the VG-160 and RX100 VA.

All in all, the 2 cameras have got different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The VG-160 having a tinier sensor will make shooting shallow DOF harder and the Sony RX100 VA will deliver greater detail with its extra 6 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also enable you to crop pictures much more aggressively. The older VG-160 is going to be behind with regard to sensor tech.

Olympus VG-160 vs Sony RX100 VA sensor size comparison

Olympus VG-160 vs Sony RX100 VA Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus VG-160 vs Sony RX100 VA Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Portrait photography with Olympus VG-160
Portrait photography with Sony RX100 VA
34
sensor resolution is decent (14 megapixels)
comes with face detection autofocus
manual focus not available
manual mode not possible
no external flash support
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW files
66
focusing manually
great flash sync speed (1/2,000s)
good megapixels (20MP)
decent sensor size (1")
includes face detect focus
saves RAW files
can't use external flash
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Street Comparison

Olympus VG-160 as a Street photography camera
Sony RX100 VA as a Street photography camera
56
lighter than others in class (125g)
screen does not articulate
lack of image stabilization
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW files
86
screen tilts up and down
built in image stabilization (Optical)
decent sensor size (1")
saves RAW files
lighter than competition (299g)
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Sports Comparison

Olympus VG-160 as a Sports photography camera
Sony RX100 VA as a Sports photography camera
27
sensor resolution is decent (14MP)
no shutter priority
lack of image stabilization
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
bad battery pack (165 CIPA)
doesn't have phase detect autofocus
70
quiet shooting (1/32,000 seconds)
fast shooting (24.0 frames/s)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
good megapixels (20MP)
decent sensor size (1")
includes tracking focus
sensor has phase detect auto focus
bad battery (220 CIPA)
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Travel Comparison

Olympus VG-160 Travel photography info
Sony RX100 VA Travel photography info
66
lighter than others in class (125 grams)
sensor resolution is decent (14MP)
built-in flash
really wide (26mm)
missing Timelapse mode
bad battery pack (165 shots)
screen isn't selfie friendly
slow maximum aperture (f2.8)
76
lighter than competition (299g)
good megapixels (20MP)
flash built-in
display is selfie friendly
quite wide (24mm)
good max aperture (f1.8)
missing Timelapse recording
bad battery (220 CIPA)
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Olympus VG-160
Landscape photography with Sony RX100 VA
37
really wide (26mm)
screen size is good (3 inches)
sensor resolution is decent (14 megapixels)
manual focus not available
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
slow maximum aperture (f2.8)
manual mode not possible
lack of image stabilization
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW files
bad battery pack (165 per charge)
missing Timelapse mode
66
focusing manually
quite wide (24mm)
good max aperture (f1.8)
good sized screen (3 inch)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
good megapixels (20 megapixels)
decent sensor size (1")
saves RAW files
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
bad battery (220 per charge)
missing Timelapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus VG-160 as a Vlogging camera
Sony RX100 VA as a Vlogging camera
30
really wide (26mm)
comes with face detection autofocus
lighter than others in class (125 grams)
slow maximum aperture (f2.8)
screen isn't selfie friendly
lack of image stabilization
low quality video (1280 x 720 resolution)
missing external microphone port
81
quite wide (24mm)
good max aperture (f1.8)
display is selfie friendly
built in image stabilization (Optical)
includes face detect focus
video res high (3840 x 2160 pixels)
lighter than competition (299 grams)
missing microphone jack
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Olympus VG-160 vs Sony RX100 VA Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus VG-160 and Sony RX100 VA
 Olympus VG-160Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 V(A)
General Information
Brand Name Olympus Sony
Model Olympus VG-160 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 V(A)
Class Small Sensor Compact Large Sensor Compact
Released 2012-01-10 2018-07-13
Body design Compact Large Sensor Compact
Sensor Information
Processor - 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 14 megapixel 20 megapixel
Anti aliasing 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 12800
Max boosted ISO - 25600
Lowest native ISO 80 125
RAW images
Lowest boosted ISO - 80
Autofocusing
Manual focus
Touch focus
AF continuous
Single AF
Tracking AF
Selective AF
Center weighted AF
Multi area AF
AF live view
Face detect focusing
Contract detect focusing
Phase detect focusing
Number of focus points - 315
Cross focus points - -
Lens
Lens mounting type fixed lens fixed lens
Lens focal range 26-130mm (5.0x) 24-70mm (2.9x)
Maximum aperture f/2.8-6.5 f/1.8-2.8
Macro focus distance 7cm 5cm
Crop factor 5.8 2.7
Screen
Range of display Fixed Type Tilting
Display sizing 3 inches 3 inches
Display resolution 230 thousand dot 1,229 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch display
Display tech TFT Color LCD -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder None Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 2,359 thousand dot
Viewfinder coverage - 100%
Viewfinder magnification - 0.59x
Features
Slowest shutter speed 4 seconds 30 seconds
Maximum shutter speed 1/2000 seconds 1/2000 seconds
Maximum quiet shutter speed - 1/32000 seconds
Continuous shooting speed - 24.0 frames per sec
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation - Yes
Change WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash range 4.80 m 10.20 m (at Auto ISO)
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in Auto, Flash On, Slow Synchro, Rear Sync, Flash Off
External flash
AE bracketing
WB bracketing
Maximum flash sync - 1/2000 seconds
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30,15 fps), 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 180 (30,15 fps) 3840 x 2160 @ 30p / 100 Mbps, XAVC S, MP4, H.264, Linear PCM
Max video resolution 1280x720 3840x2160
Video data format Motion JPEG MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC S
Microphone input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) NP-BX1 lithium-ion battery & USB charger
GPS None None
Physical
Environment seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 125g (0.28 lbs) 299g (0.66 lbs)
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 All around 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 165 pictures 220 pictures
Form of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model LI-70B NP-BX1
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes
Time lapse recording
Storage media SD/SDHC SD/ SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo
Storage slots Single Single
Price at launch $90 $998