Olympus XZ-1 vs Pentax VS20

Below, we will be evaluating the Olympus XZ-1 vs Pentax VS20, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by competitors Olympus and Pentax. There is a considerable difference between the resolutions of the XZ-1 (10MP) and VS20 (16MP) and the XZ-1 (1/1.63") and VS20 (1/2.3") come with different sensor measurements.

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The XZ-1 was announced 12 months prior to the VS20 and they are both of a similar age. Both of the cameras come with the identical body type (Compact).

Before we go through a detailed comparison, below is a quick overview of how the XZ-1 matches up vs the VS20 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

The following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus XZ-1 & Pentax Optio VS20. The whole galleries are viewable at Olympus XZ-1 Gallery & Pentax VS20 Gallery.

For anyone who is planning to lug around your camera often, you are going to need to consider its weight and proportions. The Olympus XZ-1 comes with external measurements of 111mm x 65mm x 42mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.7") with a weight of 275 grams (0.61 lbs) and the Pentax VS20 has measurements of 111mm x 61mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.4" x 1.5") having a weight of 235 grams (0.52 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus XZ-1 vs Pentax VS20 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you are utilizing at that time. Below is the front view scale comparison of the XZ-1 against the VS20.

Looking at size and weight, the portability grade of the XZ-1 and VS20 is 88 and 90 respectively.

Usually, it can be tough to visualize the difference between sensor measurements purely by going over technical specs. The visual underneath should give you a greater sense of the sensor measurements in the XZ-1 and VS20.

As you can tell, both of these cameras posses different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The XZ-1 having a bigger sensor is going to make getting shallow DOF simpler and the Pentax VS20 will deliver extra detail with its extra 6 Megapixels. Higher resolution will allow you to crop pictures somewhat more aggressively. The older XZ-1 is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor technology.