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Olympus VH-515 vs Sony A290

Portability
95
Imaging
36
Features
34
Overall
35
Olympus VH-515 front
 
Sony Alpha DSLR-A290 front
Portability
66
Imaging
54
Features
47
Overall
51

Olympus VH-515 vs Sony A290 Key Specs

Olympus VH-515
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 1600
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 26-130mm (F2.8-6.5) lens
  • 152g - 102 x 60 x 21mm
  • Announced August 2012
Sony A290
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 3200
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • No Video
  • Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
  • 549g - 128 x 97 x 86mm
  • Announced June 2010
  • Old Model is Sony A230
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Olympus VH-515 vs Sony A290 Overview

Lets take a more detailed look at the Olympus VH-515 vs Sony A290, former is a Small Sensor Compact while the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by companies Olympus and Sony. The image resolution of the VH-515 (12MP) and the A290 (14MP) is relatively comparable but the VH-515 (1/2.3") and A290 (APS-C) provide totally different sensor sizes.

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The VH-515 was manufactured 2 years after the A290 which is a fairly serious difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Both of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus VH-515 being a Compact camera and the Sony A290 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before diving straight to a more detailed comparison, here is a simple synopsis of how the VH-515 scores vs the A290 for portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

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Reasons to pick Olympus VH-515 over the Sony A290

 VH-515 A290 
AnnouncedAugust 2012June 2010More modern by 27 months
Screen dimensions3"2.7"Bigger screen (+0.3")
Screen resolution460k230kSharper screen (+230k dot)
Touch screen Quickly navigate

Reasons to pick Sony A290 over the Olympus VH-515

 A290 VH-515 
Focus manually Dial accurate focusing

Common features in the Olympus VH-515 and Sony A290

 VH-515 A290 
Screen typeFixed Fixed Fixed screen
Selfie screen Neither contains selfie screen

Olympus VH-515 vs Sony A290 Physical Comparison

For anybody who is going to carry around your camera frequently, you will want to factor its weight and proportions. The Olympus VH-515 has got 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) and the Sony A290 has measurements of 128mm x 97mm x 86mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 3.4") accompanied by a weight of 549 grams (1.21 lbs).

Examine the Olympus VH-515 vs Sony A290 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you are utilising at the time. Following is a front view over all size comparison of the VH-515 against the A290.

Olympus VH-515 vs Sony A290 size comparison

Using size and weight, the portability score of the VH-515 and A290 is 95 and 66 respectively.

Olympus VH-515 vs Sony A290 top view buttons comparison

Olympus VH-515 vs Sony A290 Sensor Comparison

Oftentimes, it can be tough to visualise the difference in sensor sizes simply by checking out technical specs. The image below might provide you a much better sense of the sensor measurements in the VH-515 and A290.

As you can tell, both cameras provide different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The VH-515 because of its smaller sensor will make achieving shallower DOF tougher and the Sony A290 will provide extra detail due to its extra 2 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also allow you to crop photographs more aggressively. The more recent VH-515 is going to have an advantage with regard to sensor innovation.

Olympus VH-515 vs Sony A290 sensor size comparison

Olympus VH-515 vs Sony A290 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus VH-515 vs Sony A290 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus VH-515 Portrait photography highlights
Sony A290 Portrait photography highlights
27
features face detection autofocus
lack of manual focus
manual mode not available
cannot use external flash
MP count low (12MP)
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW support
65
manual focus
resolution is good (14 megapixels)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
provides face detect focus
supports RAW files
no liveview feature
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Olympus VH-515
Street photography with Sony A290
62
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
comes with focus via touch
screen does not articulate
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW support
66
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
supports RAW files
screen is fixed
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Sports Comparison

Sports photography with Olympus VH-515
Sports photography with Sony A290
32
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
features tracking autofocus
very slow continuous shooting (2.0 fps)
no shutter priority mode
MP count low (12 megapixels)
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
doesn't have phase detect autofocus
55
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
resolution is good (14MP)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
comes with phase detect auto focus
no liveview feature
low fps (3.0 fps)
bad battery pack (290 shots)
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Travel Comparison

Olympus VH-515 as a Travel photography camera
Sony A290 as a Travel photography camera
62
comes with focus via touch
flash built-in
rather wide (26mm)
missing Time Lapse function
MP count low (12 megapixels)
doesn't feature selfie friendly screen
slow maximum aperture (f2.8)
53
resolution is good (14 megapixels)
built-in flash
no Timelapse function
bad battery pack (290 shots)
does not offer selfie friendly display
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus VH-515 Landscape photography features
Sony A290 Landscape photography features
37
rather wide (26mm)
decent sized screen (3 inches)
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
lack of manual focus
can't switch lenses (fixed lens mount)
slow maximum aperture (f2.8)
manual mode not available
MP count low (12 megapixels)
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW support
missing Time Lapse function
58
manual focus
interchangeable lenses (Sony/Minolta Alpha mount)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
resolution is good (14 megapixels)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
supports RAW files
screen is small (2.7")
no liveview feature
bad battery pack (290 CIPA)
no Timelapse function
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Olympus VH-515
Vlogging with Sony A290
35
rather wide (26mm)
touchscreen enabled
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
features face detection autofocus
high res video (1920 x 1080 resolution)
slow maximum aperture (f2.8)
doesn't feature selfie friendly screen
missing external mic port
9
no video recording
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Olympus VH-515 vs Sony A290 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus VH-515 and Sony A290
 Olympus VH-515Sony Alpha DSLR-A290
General Information
Manufacturer Olympus Sony
Model Olympus VH-515 Sony Alpha DSLR-A290
Class Small Sensor Compact Entry-Level DSLR
Announced 2012-08-21 2010-06-09
Physical type Compact Compact SLR
Sensor Information
Processor Chip TruePic III+ Bionz
Sensor type BSI-CMOS CCD
Sensor size 1/2.3" APS-C
Sensor measurements 6.17 x 4.55mm 23.5 x 15.7mm
Sensor area 28.1mm² 369.0mm²
Sensor resolution 12MP 14MP
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 and 16:9 3:2 and 16:9
Peak resolution 4608 x 3456 4592 x 3056
Highest native ISO 1600 3200
Lowest native ISO 100 100
RAW support
Autofocusing
Manual focus
Touch to focus
AF continuous
Single AF
AF tracking
Selective AF
AF center weighted
Multi area AF
AF live view
Face detect AF
Contract detect AF
Phase detect AF
Number of focus points - 9
Lens
Lens mounting type fixed lens Sony/Minolta Alpha
Lens focal range 26-130mm (5.0x) -
Maximal aperture f/2.8-6.5 -
Macro focus range 5cm -
Total lenses - 143
Focal length multiplier 5.8 1.5
Screen
Display type Fixed Type Fixed Type
Display diagonal 3 inch 2.7 inch
Resolution of display 460 thousand dots 230 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch display
Display tech TFT Color LCD -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type None Optical (pentamirror)
Viewfinder coverage - 95%
Viewfinder magnification - 0.55x
Features
Min shutter speed 4 seconds 30 seconds
Max shutter speed 1/2000 seconds 1/4000 seconds
Continuous shutter rate 2.0fps 3.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation - Yes
Change WB
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash range 4.70 m 10.00 m (at ISO 100)
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, High Speed Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in, Wireless
External flash
Auto exposure bracketing
WB bracketing
Max flash synchronize - 1/160 seconds
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (30 fps), 1280 x 720 (30,15 fps), 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 180 (30,15 fps) -
Highest video resolution 1920x1080 None
Video file format MPEG-4, H.264 -
Microphone support
Headphone support
Connectivity
Wireless Eye-Fi Connected None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 152 grams (0.34 lbs) 549 grams (1.21 lbs)
Physical dimensions 102 x 60 x 21mm (4.0" x 2.4" x 0.8") 128 x 97 x 86mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 3.4")
DXO scores
DXO Overall score not tested 66
DXO Color Depth score not tested 22.6
DXO Dynamic range score not tested 11.5
DXO Low light score not tested 615
Other
Battery life - 290 shots
Type of battery - Battery Pack
Battery model LI-50B NP-FH50
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse shooting
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo, SD/SDHC
Card slots 1 1
Retail pricing $648 $600