Olympus VR-320 vs Panasonic S1H

Its time to look more closely at the Olympus VR-320 vs Panasonic S1H, one being a Small Sensor Superzoom and the other is a Pro Mirrorless by companies Olympus and Panasonic. There is a crucial difference between the image resolutions of the VR-320 (14MP) and S1H (24MP) and the VR-320 (1/2.3") and S1H (Full frame) boast totally different sensor sizes.

Photography Glossary

The VR-320 was announced 9 years before the S1H and that is quite a serious gap as far as tech is concerned. Each of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus VR-320 being a Compact camera and the Panasonic S1H being a SLR-style mirrorless camera.

Before delving into a full comparison, here is a brief summary of how the VR-320 scores vs the S1H in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Below is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus VR-320 and Panasonic Lumix DC-S1H. The whole galleries are available at Olympus VR-320 Gallery and Panasonic S1H Gallery.

For anybody who is aiming to lug around your camera often, you will have to think about its weight and dimensions. The Olympus VR-320 provides exterior dimensions of 101mm x 58mm x 29mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.1") having a weight of 158 grams (0.35 lbs) and the Panasonic S1H has dimensions of 151mm x 114mm x 110mm (5.9" x 4.5" x 4.3") having a weight of 1052 grams (2.32 lbs).

Compare the Olympus VR-320 vs Panasonic S1H in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary based on the lens you are using at that time. Underneath is a front view over all size comparison of the VR-320 versus the S1H.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability grade of the VR-320 and S1H is 94 and 52 respectively.

Usually, it is hard to see the contrast between sensor measurements only by reading through specs. The photograph underneath may provide you a more clear sense of the sensor dimensions in the VR-320 and S1H.

As you can plainly see, each of the cameras provide different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The VR-320 having a tinier sensor will make getting shallow DOF more difficult and the Panasonic S1H will give more detail with its extra 10MP. Greater resolution can also enable you to crop pics more aggressively. The older VR-320 is going to be behind when it comes to sensor tech.