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Olympus XZ-1 vs Sony QX30

Portability
88
Imaging
35
Features
51
Overall
41
Olympus XZ-1 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-QX30 front
Portability
91
Imaging
45
Features
37
Overall
41

Olympus XZ-1 vs Sony QX30 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
  • Announced January 2011
Sony QX30
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • " Fixed Display
  • ISO 80 - 3200
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 24-720mm (F3.5-6.3) lens
  • 193g - 68 x 65 x 58mm
  • Introduced September 2014
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Olympus XZ-1 vs Sony QX30 Overview

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.

Photography Glossary
	
	

Reasons to pick Olympus XZ-1 over the Sony QX30

 XZ-1 QX30 
Manual focus Very accurate focus
Display dimensions3""Larger display (+3")
Display resolution614k0kCrisper display (+614k dot)

Reasons to pick Sony QX30 over the Olympus XZ-1

 QX30 XZ-1 
IntroducedSeptember 2014January 2011Fresher by 43 months
Touch display Easily navigate

Common features in the Olympus XZ-1 and Sony QX30

 XZ-1 QX30 
Display typeFixed Fixed Fixed display
Selfie screen No selfie screen

Olympus XZ-1 vs Sony QX30 Physical Comparison

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. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

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.

Olympus XZ-1 vs Sony QX30 size comparison

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

Olympus XZ-1 vs Sony QX30 top view buttons comparison

Olympus XZ-1 vs Sony QX30 Sensor Comparison

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.

Olympus XZ-1 vs Sony QX30 sensor size comparison

Olympus XZ-1 vs Sony QX30 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus XZ-1 vs Sony QX30 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus XZ-1 Portrait photography features
Sony QX30 Portrait photography features
45
you can focus manually
features face detect focusing
exports RAW formats
low resolution sensor (10 megapixels)
sensor is small (1/1.63")
38
decent MP (20MP)
includes face detection focus
manual focus not available
lack of manual mode
can't use external flash
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
does not have RAW files
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Street Comparison

Olympus XZ-1 Street photography advice
Sony QX30 Street photography advice
59
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
exports RAW formats
no moving screen
sensor is small (1/1.63")
heavier than competition (275g)
62
built in image stabilization (Optical)
provides touch focus
screen does not articulate
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
does not have RAW files
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Sports Comparison

Olympus XZ-1 Sports photography highlights
Sony QX30 Sports photography highlights
38
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
features tracking focus
great battery power (320 per charge)
max fps low (2.0 frames per second)
low resolution sensor (10MP)
sensor is small (1/1.63")
no phase detect AF
47
long zoom range (24-720mm 30.0 x zoom)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
decent MP (20 megapixels)
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
not so great battery (200 CIPA)
does not have phase detect auto focus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus XZ-1 Travel photography details
Sony QX30 Travel photography details
62
great battery power (320 per charge)
flash built-in
reasonably wide (28mm)
fast maximum aperture (f1.8)
lack of Time Lapse mode
heavier than competition (275 grams)
low resolution sensor (10 megapixels)
screen is not selfie friendly
65
provides touch focus
decent MP (20 megapixels)
really wide (24mm)
long reach (720mm)
missing Timelapse recording
not so great battery (200 CIPA)
screen is not selfie friendly
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.5)
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Olympus XZ-1
Landscape photography with Sony QX30
54
you can focus manually
reasonably wide (28mm)
fast maximum aperture (f1.8)
screen size is decent (3 inch)
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
exports RAW formats
great battery power (320 shots)
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
low resolution sensor (10 megapixels)
sensor is small (1/1.63")
lack of Time Lapse mode
39
really wide (24mm)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
decent MP (20MP)
manual focus not available
can't swap lenses (fixed lens mount)
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.5)
small screen ( inch)
lack of manual mode
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
does not have RAW files
not so great battery (200 shots)
missing Timelapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus XZ-1 Vlogging info
Sony QX30 Vlogging info
31
reasonably wide (28mm)
fast maximum aperture (f1.8)
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
features face detect focusing
screen is not selfie friendly
video res low (1280 x 720 pxls)
lack of mic socket
heavier than competition (275 grams)
35
really wide (24mm)
touchscreen
built in image stabilization (Optical)
includes face detection focus
high res video (1920 x 1080 resolution)
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.5)
screen is not selfie friendly
missing external microphone jack
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Olympus XZ-1 vs Sony QX30 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus XZ-1 and Sony QX30
 Olympus XZ-1Sony Cyber-shot DSC-QX30
General Information
Brand Name Olympus Sony
Model type Olympus XZ-1 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-QX30
Type Small Sensor Compact Lens-style
Announced 2011-01-26 2014-09-03
Body design Compact Lens-style
Sensor Information
Powered by TruePic V Bionz X
Sensor type CCD BSI-CMOS
Sensor size 1/1.63" 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 8.07 x 5.56mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor surface area 44.9mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 10MP 20MP
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Full resolution 3664 x 2752 5184 x 3888
Max native ISO 6400 3200
Minimum native ISO 100 80
RAW data
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
Autofocus touch
Autofocus continuous
Autofocus single
Autofocus tracking
Autofocus selectice
Center weighted autofocus
Multi area autofocus
Live view autofocus
Face detection autofocus
Contract detection autofocus
Phase detection autofocus
Total focus points 11 -
Lens
Lens support fixed lens fixed lens
Lens zoom range 28-112mm (4.0x) 24-720mm (30.0x)
Max aperture f/1.8-2.5 f/3.5-6.3
Macro focusing range 1cm -
Focal length multiplier 4.5 5.8
Screen
Range of screen Fixed Type Fixed Type
Screen diagonal 3 inch -
Resolution of screen 614k dot 0k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch display
Screen tech OLED -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic (optional) None
Features
Slowest shutter speed 60 secs 4 secs
Maximum shutter speed 1/2000 secs 1/1600 secs
Continuous shooting speed 2.0 frames/s 10.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes -
Custom white balance
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash distance 8.60 m (ISO 800) no built-in flash
Flash options Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in None
Hot shoe
Auto exposure bracketing
White balance bracketing
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 1920 x 1080 (60p, 30p)
Max video resolution 1280x720 1920x1080
Video format Motion JPEG MPEG-4
Microphone input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 275g (0.61 lbs) 193g (0.43 lbs)
Physical dimensions 111 x 65 x 42mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.7") 68 x 65 x 58mm (2.7" x 2.6" x 2.3")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating 34 not tested
DXO Color Depth rating 18.8 not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating 10.4 not tested
DXO Low light rating 117 not tested
Other
Battery life 320 photographs 200 photographs
Battery format Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID Li-50B NP-BN,
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2, 10 secs)
Time lapse shooting
Storage media SD/SDHC/SDXC microSD, microSDHC, microSDXC, Memory Stick Micro
Storage slots 1 1
Pricing at launch $567 $348