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Olympus VH-515 vs Sony A580

Portability
95
Imaging
36
Features
34
Overall
35
Olympus VH-515 front
 
Sony Alpha DSLR-A580 front
Portability
64
Imaging
56
Features
82
Overall
66

Olympus VH-515 vs Sony A580 Key Specs

Olympus VH-515
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 1600
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 26-130mm (F2.8-6.5) lens
  • 152g - 102 x 60 x 21mm
  • Introduced August 2012
Sony A580
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Display
  • ISO 100 - 12800 (Push to 25600)
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
  • 599g - 137 x 104 x 84mm
  • Revealed May 2011
  • Succeeded the Sony A100
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Olympus VH-515 vs Sony A580 Overview

Following is a comprehensive review of the Olympus VH-515 and Sony A580, former is a Small Sensor Compact while the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by competitors Olympus and Sony. There exists a considerable gap among the resolutions of the VH-515 (12MP) and A580 (16MP) and the VH-515 (1/2.3") and A580 (APS-C) offer different sensor measurements.

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The VH-515 was unveiled 16 months after the A580 making them a generation away from one another. Both of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus VH-515 being a Compact camera and the Sony A580 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before we go straight to a step-by-step comparison, here is a short view of how the VH-515 scores vs the A580 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

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Reasons to pick Olympus VH-515 over the Sony A580

 VH-515 A580 
RevealedAugust 2012May 2011More modern by 16 months
Touch display Easily navigate

Reasons to pick Sony A580 over the Olympus VH-515

 A580 VH-515 
Manually focus Dial accurate focus
Display typeTiltingFixed Tilting display
Display resolution922k460kClearer display (+462k dot)

Common features in the Olympus VH-515 and Sony A580

 VH-515 A580 
Display dimensions3"3"Equal display measurements
Selfie screen No selfie screen

Olympus VH-515 vs Sony A580 Physical Comparison

If you're planning to carry around your camera often, you will need to consider its weight and proportions. The Olympus VH-515 features physical measurements of 102mm x 60mm x 21mm (4.0" x 2.4" x 0.8") with a weight of 152 grams (0.34 lbs) whilst the Sony A580 has measurements of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") with a weight of 599 grams (1.32 lbs).

Look at the Olympus VH-515 and Sony A580 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Don't forget, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you are employing at that time. Following is a front view physical size comparison of the VH-515 versus the A580.

Olympus VH-515 vs Sony A580 size comparison

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability score of the VH-515 and A580 is 95 and 64 respectively.

Olympus VH-515 vs Sony A580 top view buttons comparison

Olympus VH-515 vs Sony A580 Sensor Comparison

More often than not, it is very difficult to picture the difference in sensor sizes purely by checking out technical specs. The image here will give you a better sense of the sensor sizing in the VH-515 and A580.

As you have seen, the two cameras provide different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The VH-515 having a smaller sensor is going to make achieving shallow depth of field tougher and the Sony A580 will produce extra detail having an extra 4MP. Greater resolution can also make it easier to crop photos more aggressively. The younger VH-515 provides a benefit in sensor technology.

Olympus VH-515 vs Sony A580 sensor size comparison

Olympus VH-515 vs Sony A580 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus VH-515 vs Sony A580 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus VH-515 Portrait photography info
Sony A580 Portrait photography info
27
features face detect focusing
manual focus not available
no manual control
external flash not possible
low MP (12MP)
very small sensor (1/2.3")
lacks RAW support
73
manual focus
decent sensor resolution (16 megapixels)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
has face detect autofocus
delivers RAW files
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Street Comparison

Olympus VH-515 Street photography details
Sony A580 Street photography details
62
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
comes with touch focus
screen is fixed
very small sensor (1/2.3")
lacks RAW support
75
has a tilting screen
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
delivers RAW files
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Sports Comparison

Sports photography with Olympus VH-515
Sports photography with Sony A580
32
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
features tracking focus
max fps low (2.0 fps)
no shutter priority
low MP (12 megapixels)
very small sensor (1/2.3")
lacks phase detect AF
78
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor resolution (16MP)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
has tracking focus
better than average battery life (1,050 shots)
supports phase detect autofocus
Photography Glossary

Travel Comparison

Olympus VH-515 Travel photography highlights
Sony A580 Travel photography highlights
62
comes with touch focus
has built in flash
quite wide (26mm)
does not have Timelapse function
low MP (12 megapixels)
display isn't selfie friendly
sluggish maximum aperture (f2.8)
60
better than average battery life (1,050 CIPA)
decent sensor resolution (16MP)
built-in flash
lack of Time Lapse function
does not feature selfie friendly screen
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus VH-515 Landscape photography details
Sony A580 Landscape photography details
37
quite wide (26mm)
good sized screen (3")
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
manual focus not available
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
sluggish maximum aperture (f2.8)
no manual control
low MP (12 megapixels)
very small sensor (1/2.3")
lacks RAW support
does not have Timelapse function
73
manual focus
swap lenses (Sony/Minolta Alpha mount)
pretty good screen size (3")
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor resolution (16MP)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
delivers RAW files
better than average battery life (1,050 shots)
has dual storage slots
lack of Time Lapse function
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus VH-515 Vlogging details
Sony A580 Vlogging details
35
quite wide (26mm)
touchscreen
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
features face detect focusing
great video quality (1920 x 1080 resolution)
sluggish maximum aperture (f2.8)
display isn't selfie friendly
does not have microphone support
34
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
has face detect autofocus
great video quality (1920 x 1080 pixels)
comes with mic jack
does not feature selfie friendly screen
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Olympus VH-515 vs Sony A580 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus VH-515 and Sony A580
 Olympus VH-515Sony Alpha DSLR-A580
General Information
Make Olympus Sony
Model Olympus VH-515 Sony Alpha DSLR-A580
Type Small Sensor Compact Entry-Level DSLR
Introduced 2012-08-21 2011-05-26
Body design Compact Compact SLR
Sensor Information
Processor TruePic III+ Bionz
Sensor type BSI-CMOS CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" APS-C
Sensor dimensions 6.17 x 4.55mm 23.5 x 15.6mm
Sensor area 28.1mm² 366.6mm²
Sensor resolution 12 megapixels 16 megapixels
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 and 16:9 3:2 and 16:9
Peak resolution 4608 x 3456 4912 x 3264
Highest native ISO 1600 12800
Highest enhanced ISO - 25600
Lowest native ISO 100 100
RAW images
Autofocusing
Manual focus
Autofocus touch
Continuous autofocus
Autofocus single
Autofocus tracking
Autofocus selectice
Center weighted autofocus
Autofocus multi area
Live view autofocus
Face detection focus
Contract detection focus
Phase detection focus
Number of focus points - 15
Cross focus points - 3
Lens
Lens mounting type fixed lens Sony/Minolta Alpha
Lens focal range 26-130mm (5.0x) -
Highest aperture f/2.8-6.5 -
Macro focus distance 5cm -
Available lenses - 143
Focal length multiplier 5.8 1.5
Screen
Range of screen Fixed Type Tilting
Screen sizing 3" 3"
Screen resolution 460k dot 922k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch function
Screen technology TFT Color LCD -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type None Optical (pentamirror)
Viewfinder coverage - 95 percent
Viewfinder magnification - 0.53x
Features
Minimum shutter speed 4s 30s
Fastest shutter speed 1/2000s 1/4000s
Continuous shutter speed 2.0fps 7.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation - Yes
Change white balance
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash range 4.70 m 12.00 m
Flash options Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, High Speed Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in, Wireless
Hot shoe
AEB
WB bracketing
Fastest flash sync - 1/160s
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Supported 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) 1920 x 1080 (60, 29.97 fps), 1440 x 1080 (30fps), 640 x 424 (29.97 fps)
Highest video resolution 1920x1080 1920x1080
Video file format MPEG-4, H.264 MPEG-4, AVCHD, H.264
Mic input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless Eye-Fi Connected Eye-Fi Connected
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 152 grams (0.34 pounds) 599 grams (1.32 pounds)
Physical dimensions 102 x 60 x 21mm (4.0" x 2.4" x 0.8") 137 x 104 x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3")
DXO scores
DXO Overall score not tested 80
DXO Color Depth score not tested 23.8
DXO Dynamic range score not tested 13.3
DXO Low light score not tested 1121
Other
Battery life - 1050 images
Battery format - Battery Pack
Battery model LI-50B NP-FM500H
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse shooting
Storage media SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo
Storage slots One Two
Price at release $648 $848