Olympus XZ-1 vs Sony A33

Below is a in-depth review of the Olympus XZ-1 versus Sony A33, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by companies Olympus and Sony. There is a large difference between the resolutions of the XZ-1 (10MP) and A33 (14MP) and the XZ-1 (1/1.63") and A33 (APS-C) feature totally different sensor size.

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The XZ-1 was announced 6 months later than the A33 which means that they are both of a similar age. Each of these cameras come with different body type with the Olympus XZ-1 being a Compact camera and the Sony A33 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before getting straight into a in-depth comparison, below is a brief summary of how the XZ-1 grades versus the A33 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Below is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus XZ-1 & Sony SLT-A33. The whole galleries are provided at Olympus XZ-1 Gallery & Sony A33 Gallery.

If you're looking to lug around your camera often, you will need to take into account its weight and size. The Olympus XZ-1 has exterior dimensions of 111mm x 65mm x 42mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.7") along with a weight of 275 grams (0.61 lbs) whilst the Sony A33 has specifications of 124mm x 92mm x 85mm (4.9" x 3.6" x 3.3") along with a weight of 500 grams (1.10 lbs).

Check the Olympus XZ-1 versus Sony A33 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you are utilising at that time. The following is the front view scale comparison of the XZ-1 versus the A33.

Using size and weight, the portability score of the XZ-1 and A33 is 88 and 67 respectively.

Generally, it is difficult to visualise the difference between sensor measurements purely by checking a spec sheet. The photograph below might provide you a stronger sense of the sensor dimensions in the XZ-1 and A33.

As you can see, both cameras posses different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The XZ-1 with its tinier sensor will make shooting shallower depth of field more challenging and the Sony A33 will resolve more detail with its extra 4MP. Higher resolution will help you crop pictures somewhat more aggressively.