Olympus VH-515 vs Sony A390

Its time to look more in depth at the Olympus VH-515 vs Sony A390, one is a Small Sensor Compact and the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by manufacturers Olympus and Sony. The sensor resolution of the VH-515 (12MP) and the A390 (14MP) is very close but the VH-515 (1/2.3") and A390 (APS-C) offer totally different sensor sizes.

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The VH-515 was unveiled 2 years after the A390 which is a fairly big gap as far as camera tech is concerned. Both of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus VH-515 being a Compact camera and the Sony A390 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before getting into a in depth comparison, here is a quick introduction of how the VH-515 matches up versus the A390 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Below is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus VH-515 and Sony Alpha DSLR-A390. The full galleries are available at Olympus VH-515 Gallery and Sony A390 Gallery.

In case you're looking to carry around your camera regularly, you'll need to take into account its weight and dimensions. The Olympus VH-515 comes with exterior dimensions of 102mm x 60mm x 21mm (4.0" x 2.4" x 0.8") having a weight of 152 grams (0.34 lbs) and the Sony A390 has dimensions of 128mm x 97mm x 86mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 3.4") and a weight of 549 grams (1.21 lbs).

Compare the Olympus VH-515 vs Sony A390 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change dependant on the lens you are working with at that time. The following is a front view dimensions comparison of the VH-515 vs the A390.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability score of the VH-515 and A390 is 95 and 66 respectively.

Often, it is hard to envision the difference in sensor sizes only by researching a spec sheet. The picture underneath might offer you a greater sense of the sensor dimensions in the VH-515 and A390.

As you can see, both the cameras have different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The VH-515 with its smaller sensor will make achieving shallower DOF more challenging and the Sony A390 will render extra detail having an extra 2MP. Greater resolution will also enable you to crop pics a bit more aggressively. The more modern VH-515 will have an advantage when it comes to sensor technology.