Olympus VR-340 vs Pentax W80

Its time to look a bit more in depth at the Olympus VR-340 vs Pentax W80, both Small Sensor Compact cameras by manufacturers Olympus and Pentax. There is a big difference among the image resolutions of the VR-340 (16MP) and W80 (12MP) but they come with the same exact sensor size (1/2.3").

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The VR-340 was unveiled 2 years after the W80 which is a fairly big gap as far as camera tech is concerned. The two cameras offer the identical body type (Compact).

Before going through a full comparison, below is a simple overview of how the VR-340 grades vs the W80 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

This is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus VR-340 and Pentax Optio W80. The full galleries are available at Olympus VR-340 Gallery and Pentax W80 Gallery.

For anyone who is aiming to carry around your camera frequently, you are going to need to think about its weight and size. The Olympus VR-340 comes with outside measurements of 96mm x 57mm x 19mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.7") and a weight of 125 grams (0.28 lbs) while the Pentax W80 has specifications of 100mm x 56mm x 25mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 1.0") with a weight of 156 grams (0.34 lbs).

Look at the Olympus VR-340 vs Pentax W80 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change dependant on the lens you use at that moment. The following is the front view overall size comparison of the VR-340 against the W80.

Using size and weight, the portability grade of the VR-340 and W80 is 96 and 94 respectively.

Often, it's difficult to envision the difference in sensor sizes simply by looking through specs. The pic here will help give you a better sense of the sensor sizing in the VR-340 and W80.

All in all, both the cameras enjoy the same exact sensor sizing albeit not the same resolution. You should expect the Olympus VR-340 to provide you with more detail having an extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will enable you to crop shots far more aggressively. The younger VR-340 is going to have an advantage when it comes to sensor tech.