Olympus XZ-1 vs Sony QX30

On this page, we are matching up the Olympus XZ-1 vs Sony QX30, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the other is a Lens-style by companies Olympus and Sony. There exists a noticeable gap between the resolutions of the XZ-1 (10MP) and QX30 (20MP) and the XZ-1 (1/1.63") and QX30 (1/2.3") posses totally different sensor measurements.

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The XZ-1 was revealed 4 years prior to the QX30 and that is quite a sizable difference as far as technology is concerned. Both cameras have different body design with the Olympus XZ-1 being a Compact camera and the Sony QX30 being a Lens-style camera.

Before getting straight to a more detailed comparison, here is a concise highlight of how the XZ-1 matches up versus the QX30 for portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

The following is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus XZ-1 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-QX30. The full galleries are available at Olympus XZ-1 Gallery & Sony QX30 Gallery.

If you're aiming to carry your camera often, you need to think about its weight and dimensions. The Olympus XZ-1 provides exterior dimensions 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 Sony QX30 has dimensions of 68mm x 65mm x 58mm (2.7" x 2.6" x 2.3") accompanied by a weight of 193 grams (0.43 lbs).

Look at the Olympus XZ-1 vs Sony QX30 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you are working with at the time. Below is a front view dimensions comparison of the XZ-1 vs the QX30.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability score of the XZ-1 and QX30 is 88 and 91 respectively.

Sometimes, its difficult to see the contrast between sensor sizing just by checking technical specs. The graphic below might offer you a stronger sense of the sensor dimensions in the XZ-1 and QX30.

As you have seen, both the cameras have different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The XZ-1 having a larger sensor will make achieving shallow depth of field simpler and the Sony QX30 will give you extra detail because of its extra 10 Megapixels. Greater resolution will enable you to crop images a bit more aggressively. The older XZ-1 is going to be behind in sensor tech.