Olympus VR-320 vs Sigma DP2 Merrill

Its time to look more in depth at the Olympus VR-320 and Sigma DP2 Merrill, one being a Small Sensor Superzoom and the latter is a Large Sensor Compact by companies Olympus and Sigma. The image resolution of the VR-320 (14MP) and the DP2 Merrill (15MP) is pretty comparable but the VR-320 (1/2.3") and DP2 Merrill (APS-C) offer different sensor dimensions.

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The VR-320 was revealed 6 months prior to the DP2 Merrill which means that they are both of a similar generation. The two cameras feature different body design with the Olympus VR-320 being a Compact camera and the Sigma DP2 Merrill being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before we go straight to a in-depth comparison, here is a simple summary of how the VR-320 grades against the DP2 Merrill for portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus VR-320 and Sigma DP2 Merrill. The full galleries are provided at Olympus VR-320 Gallery and Sigma DP2 Merrill Gallery.

In case you're planning to lug around your camera often, you'll have to think about its weight and volume. The Olympus VR-320 offers outside dimensions of 101mm x 58mm x 29mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.1") accompanied by a weight of 158 grams (0.35 lbs) while the Sigma DP2 Merrill has sizing of 122mm x 67mm x 59mm (4.8" x 2.6" x 2.3") along with a weight of 330 grams (0.73 lbs).

Compare the Olympus VR-320 and Sigma DP2 Merrill in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change dependant on the lens you choose at that moment. Below is a front view proportions comparison of the VR-320 compared to the DP2 Merrill.

Using size and weight, the portability score of the VR-320 and DP2 Merrill is 94 and 83 respectively.

Often, its difficult to visualize the difference in sensor measurements simply by seeing a spec sheet. The graphic below should give you a clearer sense of the sensor sizes in the VR-320 and DP2 Merrill.

As you can see, both the cameras feature different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The VR-320 using its smaller sensor is going to make getting shallow depth of field harder and the Sigma DP2 Merrill will produce extra detail because of its extra 1MP. Higher resolution can also enable you to crop photographs way more aggressively.