Olympus VG-160 vs Sony A58

Its time to look much closer at the Olympus VG-160 and Sony A58, one is a Small Sensor Compact and the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by manufacturers Olympus and Sony. There is a huge difference among the resolutions of the VG-160 (14MP) and A58 (20MP) and the VG-160 (1/2.3") and A58 (APS-C) boast different sensor dimensions.

Photography Glossary

The VG-160 was unveiled 22 months earlier than the A58 which makes them a generation away from each other. Each of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus VG-160 being a Compact camera and the Sony A58 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before going into a complete comparison, here is a short introduction of how the VG-160 grades against the A58 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

This is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus VG-160 and Sony SLT-A58. The full galleries are provided at Olympus VG-160 Gallery and Sony A58 Gallery.

If you're going to carry around your camera often, you are going to need to take into account its weight and dimensions. The Olympus VG-160 enjoys physical measurements of 96mm x 57mm x 19mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.7") and a weight of 125 grams (0.28 lbs) while the Sony A58 has dimensions of 129mm x 95mm x 78mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 3.1") and a weight of 492 grams (1.08 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus VG-160 and Sony A58 in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ based on the lens you have chosen during that time. Below is a front view over all size comparison of the VG-160 versus the A58.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability rating of the VG-160 and A58 is 96 and 68 respectively.

Usually, it's hard to picture the contrast in sensor sizes merely by checking out specifications. The picture below may offer you a much better sense of the sensor measurements in the VG-160 and A58.

To sum up, the two cameras provide different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The VG-160 having a smaller sensor is going to make achieving shallow depth of field tougher and the Sony A58 will show more detail having an extra 6 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also help you crop pictures more aggressively. The more aged VG-160 will be disadvantaged in sensor innovation.