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Olympus VR-340 vs Sony A290

Portability
96
Imaging
39
Features
36
Overall
37
Olympus VR-340 front
 
Sony Alpha DSLR-A290 front
Portability
66
Imaging
54
Features
47
Overall
51

Olympus VR-340 vs Sony A290 Key Specs

Olympus VR-340
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 3200
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 24-240mm (F3.0-5.7) lens
  • 125g - 96 x 57 x 19mm
  • Released January 2012
Sony A290
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 3200
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • No Video
  • Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
  • 549g - 128 x 97 x 86mm
  • Released June 2010
  • Succeeded the Sony A230
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Olympus VR-340 vs Sony A290 Overview

Below is a detailed analysis of the Olympus VR-340 and Sony A290, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by companies Olympus and Sony. The image resolution of the VR-340 (16MP) and the A290 (14MP) is fairly well matched but the VR-340 (1/2.3") and A290 (APS-C) posses different sensor measurements.

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The VR-340 was launched 20 months later than the A290 making them a generation apart from one another. Each of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus VR-340 being a Compact camera and the Sony A290 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before going into a comprehensive comparison, here is a simple introduction of how the VR-340 scores vs the A290 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Olympus VR-340 over the Sony A290

 VR-340 A290 
ReleasedJanuary 2012June 2010More recent by 20 months
Display dimensions3"2.7"Larger display (+0.3")
Display resolution460k230kCrisper display (+230k dot)

Reasons to pick Sony A290 over the Olympus VR-340

 A290 VR-340 
Manually focus Very accurate focusing

Common features in the Olympus VR-340 and Sony A290

 VR-340 A290 
Display typeFixed Fixed Fixed display
Selfie screen Absent selfie screen
Touch display Absent Touch display

Olympus VR-340 vs Sony A290 Physical Comparison

For those who are intending to lug around your camera, you're going to have to think about its weight and size. The Olympus VR-340 offers physical measurements of 96mm x 57mm x 19mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.7") accompanied by a weight of 125 grams (0.28 lbs) and the Sony A290 has specifications of 128mm x 97mm x 86mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 3.4") with a weight of 549 grams (1.21 lbs).

Look at the Olympus VR-340 and Sony A290 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you choose at that moment. Below is a front view proportions comparison of the VR-340 vs the A290.

Olympus VR-340 vs Sony A290 size comparison

Using dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the VR-340 and A290 is 96 and 66 respectively.

Olympus VR-340 vs Sony A290 top view buttons comparison

Olympus VR-340 vs Sony A290 Sensor Comparison

Typically, its difficult to picture the contrast between sensor measurements only by checking specifications. The visual underneath should provide you a much better sense of the sensor sizing in the VR-340 and A290.

Plainly, each of the cameras provide different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The VR-340 featuring a tinier sensor is going to make shooting shallower depth of field trickier and the Olympus VR-340 will give you more detail utilizing its extra 2MP. Greater resolution can also make it easier to crop images more aggressively. The fresher VR-340 provides a benefit with regard to sensor tech.

Olympus VR-340 vs Sony A290 sensor size comparison

Olympus VR-340 vs Sony A290 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus VR-340 vs Sony A290 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
Photography Glossary

Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus VR-340 Portrait photography highlights
Sony A290 Portrait photography highlights
34
decent megapixels (16 megapixels)
offers face detection focus
manual focus not available
lack of manual mode
cannot use external flash
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
lack of RAW format
65
focusing manually
decent megapixels (14 megapixels)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
includes face detection focusing
delivers RAW formats
no liveview
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Street Comparison

Olympus VR-340 Street photography information
Sony A290 Street photography information
63
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
lighter than competition in class (125g)
fixed screen
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
lack of RAW format
66
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
delivers RAW formats
screen does not articulate
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Sports Comparison

Olympus VR-340 Sports photography info
Sony A290 Sports photography info
44
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
decent megapixels (16 megapixels)
offers tracking autofocus
no shutter priority mode
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
lack of phase detect auto focus
55
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent megapixels (14MP)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
supports phase detect AF
no liveview
max frames per second very slow (3.0 frames per second)
not so great battery life (290 per charge)
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Travel Comparison

Olympus VR-340 Travel photography highlights
Sony A290 Travel photography highlights
69
lighter than competition in class (125 grams)
decent megapixels (16MP)
has built in flash
rather wide (24mm)
missing Timelapse mode
screen is not selfie friendly
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
53
decent megapixels (14 megapixels)
flash built-in
does not have Time Lapse function
not so great battery life (290 CIPA)
screen is not selfie friendly
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus VR-340 Landscape photography details
Sony A290 Landscape photography details
43
rather wide (24mm)
screen is a decent size (3 inches)
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
decent megapixels (16MP)
manual focus not available
can't change lenses (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
lack of manual mode
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
lack of RAW format
missing Timelapse mode
58
focusing manually
swap lenses (Sony/Minolta Alpha mount)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent megapixels (14MP)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
delivers RAW formats
small screen (2.7 inches)
no liveview
not so great battery life (290 per charge)
does not have Time Lapse function
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus VR-340 Vlogging factors
Sony A290 Vlogging factors
33
rather wide (24mm)
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
offers face detection focus
lighter than competition in class (125g)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
screen is not selfie friendly
low quality video (1280 x 720 pxls)
missing external microphone jack
9
can't shoot video
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Olympus VR-340 vs Sony A290 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus VR-340 and Sony A290
 Olympus VR-340Sony Alpha DSLR-A290
General Information
Brand Olympus Sony
Model type Olympus VR-340 Sony Alpha DSLR-A290
Type Small Sensor Compact Entry-Level DSLR
Released 2012-01-10 2010-06-09
Physical type Compact Compact SLR
Sensor Information
Powered by - Bionz
Sensor type CCD CCD
Sensor size 1/2.3" APS-C
Sensor dimensions 6.17 x 4.55mm 23.5 x 15.7mm
Sensor surface area 28.1mm² 369.0mm²
Sensor resolution 16 megapixel 14 megapixel
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 and 16:9 3:2 and 16:9
Max resolution 4608 x 3456 4592 x 3056
Max native ISO 3200 3200
Lowest native ISO 100 100
RAW support
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
Touch to focus
AF continuous
AF single
Tracking AF
AF selectice
AF center weighted
Multi area AF
Live view AF
Face detection focusing
Contract detection focusing
Phase detection focusing
Total focus points - 9
Cross type focus points - -
Lens
Lens support fixed lens Sony/Minolta Alpha
Lens zoom range 24-240mm (10.0x) -
Max aperture f/3.0-5.7 -
Number of lenses - 143
Crop factor 5.8 1.5
Screen
Screen type Fixed Type Fixed Type
Screen size 3" 2.7"
Screen resolution 460 thousand dots 230 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch capability
Screen technology TFT Color LCD -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type None Optical (pentamirror)
Viewfinder coverage - 95%
Viewfinder magnification - 0.55x
Features
Minimum shutter speed 4 seconds 30 seconds
Fastest shutter speed 1/2000 seconds 1/4000 seconds
Continuous shutter rate - 3.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation - Yes
Change WB
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash distance 4.80 m 10.00 m (at ISO 100)
Flash settings Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, High Speed Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in, Wireless
External flash
Auto exposure bracketing
WB bracketing
Fastest flash synchronize - 1/160 seconds
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30,15 fps), 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 180 (30,15 fps) -
Max video resolution 1280x720 None
Video file format Motion JPEG -
Mic port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless Eye-Fi Connected None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 125g (0.28 lbs) 549g (1.21 lbs)
Physical dimensions 96 x 57 x 19mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.7") 128 x 97 x 86mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 3.4")
DXO scores
DXO Overall rating not tested 66
DXO Color Depth rating not tested 22.6
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested 11.5
DXO Low light rating not tested 615
Other
Battery life - 290 shots
Battery type - Battery Pack
Battery ID LI-50B NP-FH50
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse shooting
Storage type SD/SDHC/SDXC Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo, SD/SDHC
Card slots One One
Cost at release $130 $600