Olympus XZ-1 vs Sony A580

Lets look much closer at the Olympus XZ-1 and Sony A580, one is a Small Sensor Compact and the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by rivals Olympus and Sony. There is a huge difference between the image resolutions of the XZ-1 (10MP) and A580 (16MP) and the XZ-1 (1/1.63") and A580 (APS-C) provide totally different sensor dimensions.

Photography Glossary

The XZ-1 was unveiled 4 months before the A580 so they are of a similar generation. Both of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus XZ-1 being a Compact camera and the Sony A580 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before getting into a thorough comparison, here is a concise overview of how the XZ-1 grades against the A580 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

This is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus XZ-1 and Sony Alpha DSLR-A580. The full galleries are provided at Olympus XZ-1 Gallery and Sony A580 Gallery.

When you are going to travel with your camera, you're going to have to consider its weight and volume. The Olympus XZ-1 comes with outer measurements of 111mm x 65mm x 42mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.7") having a weight of 275 grams (0.61 lbs) and the Sony A580 has sizing of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") along with a weight of 599 grams (1.32 lbs).

Compare the Olympus XZ-1 and Sony A580 in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary depending on the lens you are utilising during that time. Here is a front view scale comparison of the XZ-1 vs the A580.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability rating of the XZ-1 and A580 is 88 and 64 respectively.

Oftentimes, it's tough to visualise the difference between sensor dimensions just by reading technical specs. The pic underneath will help provide you a much better sense of the sensor measurements in the XZ-1 and A580.

As you have seen, both of these cameras provide different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The XZ-1 with its tinier sensor will make getting shallow depth of field trickier and the Sony A580 will deliver extra detail having an extra 6 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also enable you to crop shots more aggressively.