Olympus VR-320 vs Pentax MX-1

Its time to look closer at the Olympus VR-320 versus Pentax MX-1, former is a Small Sensor Superzoom while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by manufacturers Olympus and Pentax. The sensor resolution of the VR-320 (14MP) and the MX-1 (12MP) is pretty well matched but the VR-320 (1/2.3") and MX-1 (1/1.7") possess totally different sensor dimensions.

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The VR-320 was brought out 23 months earlier than the MX-1 which makes the cameras a generation away from each other. The two cameras offer the identical body type (Compact).

Before delving in to a step-by-step comparison, below is a quick highlight of how the VR-320 scores vs the MX-1 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Here is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus VR-320 & Pentax MX-1. The entire galleries are viewable at Olympus VR-320 Gallery & Pentax MX-1 Gallery.

If you are planning to carry around your camera frequently, you should take into account its weight and dimensions. The Olympus VR-320 comes with outer dimensions of 101mm x 58mm x 29mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.1") with a weight of 158 grams (0.35 lbs) whilst the Pentax MX-1 has dimensions of 122mm x 61mm x 51mm (4.8" x 2.4" x 2.0") with a weight of 391 grams (0.86 lbs).

Check the Olympus VR-320 versus Pentax MX-1 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you are working with at that moment. Here is the front view overall size comparison of the VR-320 versus the MX-1.

Factoring in size and weight, the portability grade of the VR-320 and MX-1 is 94 and 84 respectively.

Often, it is very difficult to envision the gap between sensor sizes purely by reading through technical specs. The pic below will help provide you a greater sense of the sensor sizes in the VR-320 and MX-1.

As you have seen, both the cameras offer different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The VR-320 due to its tinier sensor will make getting shallow depth of field harder and the Olympus VR-320 will give you greater detail having its extra 2 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also make it easier to crop photographs a little more aggressively. The more aged VR-320 is going to be behind in sensor tech.