Olympus XZ-1 vs Sigma DP1 Merrill

Below is a detailed assessment of the Olympus XZ-1 vs Sigma DP1 Merrill, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the latter is a Large Sensor Compact by competitors Olympus and Sigma. There is a considerable difference among the resolutions of the XZ-1 (10MP) and DP1 Merrill (15MP) and the XZ-1 (1/1.63") and DP1 Merrill (APS-C) posses different sensor sizing.

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The XZ-1 was released 12 months before the DP1 Merrill which means that they are both of a similar age. Both the cameras have different body design with the Olympus XZ-1 being a Compact camera and the Sigma DP1 Merrill being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before we go right into a full comparison, here is a concise introduction of how the XZ-1 scores versus the DP1 Merrill with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

The following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus XZ-1 & Sigma DP1 Merrill. The complete galleries are available at Olympus XZ-1 Gallery & Sigma DP1 Merrill Gallery.

For anyone who is aiming to lug around your camera regularly, you will want to take into account its weight and measurements. The Olympus XZ-1 features physical measurements of 111mm x 65mm x 42mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.7") accompanied by a weight of 275 grams (0.61 lbs) and the Sigma DP1 Merrill has proportions of 122mm x 67mm x 64mm (4.8" x 2.6" x 2.5") along with a weight of 330 grams (0.73 lbs).

See the Olympus XZ-1 vs Sigma DP1 Merrill in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you are using at that time. The following is a front view overall size comparison of the XZ-1 compared to the DP1 Merrill.

Looking at size and weight, the portability grade of the XZ-1 and DP1 Merrill is 88 and 82 respectively.

Usually, it is hard to picture the contrast in sensor measurements just by checking out specs. The photograph underneath may give you a far better sense of the sensor measurements in the XZ-1 and DP1 Merrill.

As you can plainly see, both the cameras provide different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The XZ-1 due to its smaller sensor is going to make achieving shallower DOF tougher and the Sigma DP1 Merrill will show more detail as a result of its extra 5 Megapixels. Higher resolution will allow you to crop photographs more aggressively. The older XZ-1 will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor technology.