Olympus VH-515 vs Sony A290

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.

Here is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus VH-515 & Sony Alpha DSLR-A290. The entire galleries are available at Olympus VH-515 Gallery & Sony A290 Gallery.

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.

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.

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

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.