Olympus XZ-1 vs Panasonic S2

Lets take a closer look at the Olympus XZ-1 versus Panasonic S2, both Small Sensor Compact digital cameras by companies Olympus and Panasonic. There is a crucial difference between the resolutions of the XZ-1 (10MP) and S2 (14MP) and the XZ-1 (1/1.63") and S2 (1/2.3") boast different sensor sizing.

Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a Landslide

The XZ-1 was revealed 11 months prior to the S2 which means that they are both of a similar generation. Both of the cameras feature the same body design (Compact).

Before diving into a detailed comparison, here is a concise summary of how the XZ-1 matches up vs the S2 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus XZ-1 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-S2. The full galleries are viewable at Olympus XZ-1 Gallery and Panasonic S2 Gallery.

In case you're intending to lug around your camera regularly, you need to factor its weight and volume. The Olympus XZ-1 offers outer dimensions of 111mm x 65mm x 42mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.7") and a weight of 275 grams (0.61 lbs) whilst the Panasonic S2 has sizing of 98mm x 57mm x 21mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 0.8") having a weight of 112 grams (0.25 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus XZ-1 versus Panasonic S2 in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ based on the lens you have chosen at that moment. Following is a front view over all size comparison of the XZ-1 vs the S2.

Looking at size and weight, the portability grade of the XZ-1 and S2 is 88 and 96 respectively.

Usually, it is very difficult to imagine the difference between sensor measurements just by reading specs. The visual below should give you a better sense of the sensor dimensions in the XZ-1 and S2.

As you can plainly see, both the cameras come with different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The XZ-1 using its bigger sensor is going to make achieving shallow DOF simpler and the Panasonic S2 will deliver greater detail because of its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also enable you to crop photographs a good deal more aggressively. The older XZ-1 is going to be behind in sensor technology.