Olympus VH-515 vs Sony A33

The following is a in depth assessment of the Olympus VH-515 and Sony A33, one is a Small Sensor Compact and the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by brands Olympus and Sony. The resolution of the VH-515 (12MP) and the A33 (14MP) is fairly comparable but the VH-515 (1/2.3") and A33 (APS-C) provide totally different sensor sizes.

Photography Glossary

The VH-515 was unveiled 2 years after the A33 which is a fairly big gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Both the cameras have different body design with the Olympus VH-515 being a Compact camera and the Sony A33 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before going right into a complete comparison, here is a concise overview of how the VH-515 matches up vs the A33 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Below is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus VH-515 and Sony SLT-A33. The full galleries are available at Olympus VH-515 Gallery and Sony A33 Gallery.

If you are going to travel with your camera regularly, you're going to have to factor in its weight and volume. The Olympus VH-515 has physical dimensions of 102mm x 60mm x 21mm (4.0" x 2.4" x 0.8") accompanied by a weight of 152 grams (0.34 lbs) whilst the Sony A33 has sizing of 124mm x 92mm x 85mm (4.9" x 3.6" x 3.3") and a weight of 500 grams (1.10 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus VH-515 and Sony A33 in the latest Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ based on the lens you are utilizing at the time. Here is a front view overall size comparison of the VH-515 compared to the A33.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability score of the VH-515 and A33 is 95 and 67 respectively.

Sometimes, it can be tough to visualise the contrast in sensor dimensions just by seeing technical specs. The picture below might provide you a far better sense of the sensor dimensions in the VH-515 and A33.

As you can tell, each of these cameras have different resolutions and different sensor dimensions. The VH-515 having a smaller sensor will make shooting shallow depth of field more difficult and the Sony A33 will produce extra detail having an extra 2 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also let you crop images a bit more aggressively. The younger VH-515 will have a benefit with regard to sensor technology.