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Olympus XZ-1 vs Sony A290

Portability
88
Imaging
35
Features
51
Overall
41
Olympus XZ-1 front
 
Sony Alpha DSLR-A290 front
Portability
66
Imaging
54
Features
47
Overall
51

Olympus XZ-1 vs Sony A290 Key Specs

Olympus XZ-1
(Full Review)
  • 10MP - 1/1.63" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 6400
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 28-112mm (F1.8-2.5) lens
  • 275g - 111 x 65 x 42mm
  • Released January 2011
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
  • Introduced June 2010
  • Previous Model is Sony A230
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Olympus XZ-1 vs Sony A290 Overview

On this page, we are looking at the Olympus XZ-1 and Sony A290, one is a Small Sensor Compact and the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by companies Olympus and Sony. There exists a huge gap between the sensor resolutions of the XZ-1 (10MP) and A290 (14MP) and the XZ-1 (1/1.63") and A290 (APS-C) provide different sensor measurements.

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The XZ-1 was manufactured 8 months after the A290 so they are of a similar generation. The two cameras have different body design with the Olympus XZ-1 being a Compact camera and the Sony A290 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before delving straight to a complete comparison, here is a brief view of how the XZ-1 grades versus the A290 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

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Reasons to pick Olympus XZ-1 over the Sony A290

 XZ-1 A290 
IntroducedJanuary 2011June 2010Newer by 8 months
Display dimensions3"2.7"Larger display (+0.3")
Display resolution614k230kClearer display (+384k dot)

Reasons to pick Sony A290 over the Olympus XZ-1

 A290 XZ-1 

Common features in the Olympus XZ-1 and Sony A290

 XZ-1 A290 
Manually focus Dial accurate focusing
Display typeFixed Fixed Fixed display
Selfie screen Absent selfie screen
Touch display Absent Touch display

Olympus XZ-1 vs Sony A290 Physical Comparison

For anybody who is looking to travel with your camera regularly, you should factor its weight and measurements. The Olympus XZ-1 has got external 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) whilst the Sony A290 has proportions of 128mm x 97mm x 86mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 3.4") accompanied by a weight of 549 grams (1.21 lbs).

Check out the Olympus XZ-1 and Sony A290 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ based on the lens you choose at that moment. The following is a front view measurement comparison of the XZ-1 against the A290.

Olympus XZ-1 vs Sony A290 size comparison

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the XZ-1 and A290 is 88 and 66 respectively.

Olympus XZ-1 vs Sony A290 top view buttons comparison

Olympus XZ-1 vs Sony A290 Sensor Comparison

More often than not, it can be difficult to picture the gap between sensor dimensions simply by going over technical specs. The picture below will help give you a far better sense of the sensor sizing in the XZ-1 and A290.

As you can tell, both the cameras provide different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The XZ-1 because of its tinier sensor is going to make achieving shallow depth of field more difficult and the Sony A290 will deliver extra detail due to its extra 4MP. Greater resolution will make it easier to crop images more aggressively. The more recent XZ-1 provides an advantage in sensor tech.

Olympus XZ-1 vs Sony A290 sensor size comparison

Olympus XZ-1 vs Sony A290 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus XZ-1 vs Sony A290 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus XZ-1 Portrait photography highlights
Sony A290 Portrait photography highlights
45
focusing manually
features face detect focusing
exports RAW files
megapixel count low (10MP)
sensor is small (1/1.63")
65
has manual focus
decent megapixels (14MP)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
features face detection autofocus
saves RAW files
does not have liveview
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Street Comparison

Olympus XZ-1 Street photography advice
Sony A290 Street photography advice
59
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
exports RAW files
fixed screen
sensor is small (1/1.63")
more heavy than others (275g)
66
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
saves RAW files
screen is fixed
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Sports Comparison

Olympus XZ-1 Sports photography information
Sony A290 Sports photography information
38
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
features tracking focus
good battery power (320 CIPA)
slow continuous shooting (2.0 frames/s)
megapixel count low (10MP)
sensor is small (1/1.63")
has no phase detect AF
55
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent megapixels (14 megapixels)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
sensor has phase detect autofocus
does not have liveview
low frames per second (3.0 fps)
not so great battery (290 shots)
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Travel Comparison

Olympus XZ-1 Travel photography information
Sony A290 Travel photography information
62
good battery power (320 shots)
built-in flash
reasonably wide (28mm)
great max aperture (f1.8)
doesn't have Timelapse function
more heavy than others (275g)
megapixel count low (10 megapixels)
doesn't posses selfie friendly screen
53
decent megapixels (14MP)
built-in flash
doesn't have Time Lapse recording
not so great battery (290 shots)
doesn't have selfie friendly screen
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Olympus XZ-1
Landscape photography with Sony A290
54
focusing manually
reasonably wide (28mm)
great max aperture (f1.8)
pretty good screen size (3 inches)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
exports RAW files
good battery power (320 CIPA)
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
megapixel count low (10 megapixels)
sensor is small (1/1.63")
doesn't have Timelapse function
58
has manual focus
swap lenses (Sony/Minolta Alpha mount)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent megapixels (14MP)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
saves RAW files
small screen (2.7 inches)
does not have liveview
not so great battery (290 shots)
doesn't have Time Lapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus XZ-1 as a Vlogging camera
Sony A290 as a Vlogging camera
31
reasonably wide (28mm)
great max aperture (f1.8)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
features face detect focusing
doesn't posses selfie friendly screen
video res low (1280 x 720 resolution)
doesn't have microphone support
more heavy than others (275g)
9
no video
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Olympus XZ-1 vs Sony A290 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus XZ-1 and Sony A290
 Olympus XZ-1Sony Alpha DSLR-A290
General Information
Brand Name Olympus Sony
Model Olympus XZ-1 Sony Alpha DSLR-A290
Category Small Sensor Compact Entry-Level DSLR
Released 2011-01-26 2010-06-09
Body design Compact Compact SLR
Sensor Information
Chip TruePic V Bionz
Sensor type CCD CCD
Sensor size 1/1.63" APS-C
Sensor dimensions 8.07 x 5.56mm 23.5 x 15.7mm
Sensor surface area 44.9mm² 369.0mm²
Sensor resolution 10MP 14MP
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 3:2 and 16:9
Full resolution 3664 x 2752 4592 x 3056
Max native ISO 6400 3200
Lowest native ISO 100 100
RAW support
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Autofocus touch
Continuous autofocus
Autofocus single
Tracking autofocus
Autofocus selectice
Center weighted autofocus
Autofocus multi area
Live view autofocus
Face detection autofocus
Contract detection autofocus
Phase detection autofocus
Number of focus points 11 9
Lens
Lens mount fixed lens Sony/Minolta Alpha
Lens focal range 28-112mm (4.0x) -
Highest aperture f/1.8-2.5 -
Macro focus distance 1cm -
Amount of lenses - 143
Crop factor 4.5 1.5
Screen
Screen type Fixed Type Fixed Type
Screen sizing 3 inches 2.7 inches
Screen resolution 614 thousand dot 230 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch display
Screen technology OLED -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic (optional) Optical (pentamirror)
Viewfinder coverage - 95%
Viewfinder magnification - 0.55x
Features
Slowest shutter speed 60s 30s
Maximum shutter speed 1/2000s 1/4000s
Continuous shooting speed 2.0 frames per sec 3.0 frames per sec
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Custom white balance
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash range 8.60 m (ISO 800) 10.00 m (at ISO 100)
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, High Speed Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in, Wireless
Hot shoe
AE bracketing
White balance bracketing
Maximum flash sync - 1/160s
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) -
Max video resolution 1280x720 None
Video format Motion JPEG -
Mic jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless None None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 275 grams (0.61 pounds) 549 grams (1.21 pounds)
Physical dimensions 111 x 65 x 42mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.7") 128 x 97 x 86mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 3.4")
DXO scores
DXO All around score 34 66
DXO Color Depth score 18.8 22.6
DXO Dynamic range score 10.4 11.5
DXO Low light score 117 615
Other
Battery life 320 photos 290 photos
Type of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model Li-50B NP-FH50
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse recording
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo, SD/SDHC
Storage slots 1 1
Price at launch $567 $600