Olympus VH-410 vs Sony A390

The following is a in depth assessment of the Olympus VH-410 and Sony A390, former is a Small Sensor Compact while the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by competitors Olympus and Sony. The image resolution of the VH-410 (16MP) and the A390 (14MP) is very well matched but the VH-410 (1/2.3") and A390 (APS-C) boast totally different sensor dimensions.

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The VH-410 was revealed 2 years after the A390 which is quite a significant difference as far as technology is concerned. Both the cameras have different body design with the Olympus VH-410 being a Compact camera and the Sony A390 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before diving right into a step-by-step comparison, here is a simple introduction of how the VH-410 grades against the A390 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Here is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus VH-410 & Sony Alpha DSLR-A390. The full galleries are provided at Olympus VH-410 Gallery & Sony A390 Gallery.

For anybody who is planning to travel with your camera, you should factor in its weight and size. The Olympus VH-410 offers outside measurements of 102mm x 60mm x 21mm (4.0" x 2.4" x 0.8") along with a weight of 152 grams (0.34 lbs) whilst the Sony A390 has specifications of 128mm x 97mm x 86mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 3.4") and a weight of 549 grams (1.21 lbs).

Check the Olympus VH-410 and Sony A390 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you are utilizing at the time. Here is a front view scale comparison of the VH-410 vs the A390.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability score of the VH-410 and A390 is 95 and 66 respectively.

Quite often, it's difficult to envision the difference between sensor dimensions purely by reading through specs. The pic below might provide you a much better sense of the sensor measurements in the VH-410 and A390.

All in all, both of these cameras provide different resolutions and different sensor dimensions. The VH-410 having a tinier sensor will make shooting shallow depth of field more challenging and the Olympus VH-410 will resolve greater detail because of its extra 2 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also let you crop photos more aggressively. The more recent VH-410 will have an edge with regard to sensor innovation.