Olympus VR-340 vs Sony QX1

Below is a extended analysis of the Olympus VR-340 vs Sony QX1, one being a Small Sensor Compact and the latter is a Lens-style by rivals Olympus and Sony. The image resolution of the VR-340 (16MP) and the QX1 (20MP) is relatively similar but the VR-340 (1/2.3") and QX1 (APS-C) come with totally different sensor sizing.

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The VR-340 was launched 3 years before the QX1 and that is quite a serious gap as far as tech is concerned. Both of these cameras offer different body type with the Olympus VR-340 being a Compact camera and the Sony QX1 being a Lens-style camera.

Before diving in to a step-by-step comparison, below is a quick summary of how the VR-340 grades versus the QX1 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Here is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus VR-340 and Sony Alpha QX1. The complete galleries are available at Olympus VR-340 Gallery and Sony QX1 Gallery.

In case you're going to lug around your camera frequently, you are going to need to think about its weight and proportions. The Olympus VR-340 enjoys external measurements of 96mm x 57mm x 19mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.7") and a weight of 125 grams (0.28 lbs) whilst the Sony QX1 has measurements of 74mm x 70mm x 53mm (2.9" x 2.8" x 2.1") accompanied by a weight of 216 grams (0.48 lbs).

Look at the Olympus VR-340 vs Sony QX1 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change depending on the lens you are utilizing at the time. The following is the front view size comparison of the VR-340 versus the QX1.

Using size and weight, the portability grade of the VR-340 and QX1 is 96 and 90 respectively.

Generally, it's difficult to envision the gap between sensor measurements merely by reading a spec sheet. The visual below may offer you a stronger sense of the sensor measurements in the VR-340 and QX1.

Clearly, each of the cameras offer different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The VR-340 due to its tinier sensor will make achieving shallow DOF trickier and the Sony QX1 will offer you more detail utilizing its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will enable you to crop photographs a little more aggressively. The older VR-340 is going to be behind with regard to sensor tech.