CameraDecision
  • CAMERAS
  • LENSES
  • TOOLS
    • Smart Find
    • 1-on-1 Comparison
    • Size Comparison
  • BRANDS
    • Sony Cameras
    • Canon Cameras
    • Nikon Cameras
    • Pentax Cameras
    • Fujifilm Cameras
    • Olympus Cameras
    • Panasonic Cameras
    • Leica Cameras
    • Samsung Cameras
  • BODY TYPE
    • Mirrorless Cameras
    • DSLR Cameras
    • Compact Cameras
    • Bridge Cameras
    • Waterproof Cameras

Sony A7R III vs Olympus SP-820UZ Comparison

x
Camera to replace
Change

Sony A7R III

42 MP | Full frame (35.9 x 24 mm) BSI-CMOS Sensor

Sony A7R III
CHECK PRICE
CHECK PRICE
Change

Olympus SP-820UZ

14 MP | 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) CMOS Sensor

Olympus SP-820UZ
CHECK PRICE
CHECK PRICE
Sony A7R III vs Olympus SP-820UZ Comparison Overview

Here we are comparing two cameras with different body types: Sony A7R III, which was introduced in October 2017 is a Pro Mirrorless camera with a 42.0MP Full frame sensor whereas Olympus SP-820UZ, which was introduced in August 2012 is a Small Sensor Superzoom camera with a 14.0MP 1/2.3" sensor. As you can see, SP-820UZ is 5 years older than A7R III. Let's see if this age difference between two cameras makes a big difference.

Comparing an interchangeble lens camera to a fixed lens camera is a bit tricky but we will do our best to make this a fair comparison.

Here is a brief look at the main features of Sony A7R III and Olympus SP-820UZ before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Sony A7R III Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2017-10-25
  • 42MP - Full frame BSI-CMOS Sensor
  • No Anti-aliasing (AA) filter
  • ISO 100 - 32000 ( expands to 50-102400)
  • Sony E Mount
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 3 Tilting Screen
  • 3686k dot Electronic viewfinder
  • 10.0 fps continuous shooting
  • 4K (UHD) - 3840 x 2160 video resolution
  • Built-in Wireless
  • 657g. 127 x 96 x 74 mm
  • Weather Sealed Body
  • Replaced Sony Alpha 7R II Compare

Olympus SP-820UZ Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2012-08-21
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" CMOS Sensor
  • ISO 80 - 6400
  • 22-896 mm F3.4-5.7 Zoom Lens
  • 3" Fixed Type Screen
  • 2 fps continuous shooting
  • Full HD - 1920 x 1080 video resolution
  • 240 fps High-Speed Video
  • 485g. 117 x 78 x 93 mm mm
  • Replaced Olympus Stylus SP-820UZ Compare

Sony A7R III was replaced by Sony Alpha A7R IV. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Sony Alpha A7R IV vs Sony Alpha A7R III
Sony Alpha A7R IV vs Olympus Stylus SP-820UZ

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Sony A7R III and Olympus SP-820UZ compares and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one is better for you.

Reasons to choose Sony Alpha A7R III over Olympus Stylus SP-820UZ
Wireless Connection
Built-In vs None Better connectivity
Image Stabilization
Sensor-shift vs None Sharper images at longer focal lengths and long exposures
LCD Screen
Tilting vs Fixed Type Flexible shooting positions
External Flash Shoe
Yes vs No Better for flash photography
Touch Screen
Yes vs No Easy control of camera functions
Viewfinder
Electronic vs None Better framing and control
RAW Support
Yes vs No Better image quality
Max Sensor Resolution
42 MP vs 14 MP 200% more pixels
Max ISO
32.000 vs 6.400 400% higher Max ISO
LCD Screen Resolution
1.440k dots vs 460k dots 213% higher resolution screen
Max Mech. Shutter
1/8000s vs 1/2000s faster mechanical shutter
Continuous Shooting
10.0fps vs 2.0fps 8 fps faster
Manual Exposure
Yes vs No better exposure control
Microphone Port
Yes vs No High quality audio recording option
Headphone Port
Yes vs No better video control
Environmental Sealing
Yes vs No shoot at tough conditions
Timelapse Recording
Yes vs No creative shooting
Sensor Pixel Area
20.43µm2 vs 2.04µm2 901% larger pixel area
Max Video Resolution
3840 x 2160 vs 1920 x 1080 Higher Resolution Video
AE Bracketing
Yes vs No Useful for tough lighting conditions and HDR
Flash Sync Port
Yes vs No Connect off-camera flash
NFC Connection
Yes vs No Easy wireless connectivity with compatible devices
Bluetooth
Yes vs No Connect your camera to other devices via Blueetooth
Storage Slot
2 vs 1 Extra storage slot
Smartphone Remote
Yes vs No Remote control your camera with a smartphone
Autofocus at f/8 aperture
425 points vs none Autofocus with teleconverters
UHS Card Support
UHS-II vs none Read/Write in Ultra High Speeds
Animal Eye AF Tracking
Yes vs No Easily lock and track focus on animals
Anti Flicker
Yes vs No Reduced uneven color and exposure under flickering light
Eye Tracking Focus
Yes vs No Autofocus system locks on the eye and tracks the subject


Reasons to choose Olympus Stylus SP-820UZ over Sony Alpha A7R III
Built-in Flash
Yes vs No Useful in low-light
Weight
485 g vs 657 g 172 g lighter

Common Strengths of Sony Alpha A7R III and Olympus Stylus SP-820UZ
Face Detection Focus
Yes vs Yes very handy for portraits
Common Weaknesses of Sony Alpha A7R III and Olympus Stylus SP-820UZ
Sony A7R III vs Olympus SP-820UZ: Physical Specs and Body features Comparison

Size and weight is a big decision factor when you are trying to find the ideal camera for your needs. In this section, We are going to illustrate Sony A7R III and Olympus SP-820UZ side-by-side from the front, back and top in their relative dimensions. Sony A7R III has external dimensions of 127 x 96 x 74 mm (5 x 3.78 x 2.91″) and weighs 657 g (1.45 lb / 23.17 oz) (including batteries). Olympus SP-820UZ has external dimensions of and weighs 485 g (1.07 lb / 17.11 oz) (including batteries).

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Sony A7R III and Olympus SP-820UZ. Olympus SP-820UZ is 10mm narrower and 18mm shorter than Sony A7R III but it is also 19mm thicker. As you can tell, actually this is not a fair size comparison since Olympus SP-820UZ has a built-in lens but Sony A7R III doesn't. Once you put a lens on A7R III, its thickness will increase significantly.

Sony A7R III vs Olympus SP-820UZ Camera Size Comparison - Front View
Comparison image of Sony A7R III and Olympus SP-820UZ Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View

Now lets look at the top view comparison of Sony A7R III and Olympus SP-820UZ.
Sony A7R III vs Olympus SP-820UZ Camera Size Comparison - Top View
Top View Comparison image of Sony A7R III and Olympus SP-820UZ Size

Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day. Olympus SP-820UZ is significantly lighter (172g ) than the Sony A7R III which may become a big advantage especially on long walking trips.

Again, this comparison may not be very useful in real life as we are comparing the weight of a camera with a built-in lens to the body-only weight of an interchangeable lens camera. Once you put a lens on A7R III, the total kit will weigh much higher.

Weather Sealing

With its weather sealed body, we believe that A7R III has a big advantage over SP-820UZ which doesn't provide any kind of environmental sealing.

LCD Screen Size and Features

Sony A7R III and Olympus SP-820UZ's LCD screens has the same diagonal size of 3.

On the other hand, Sony A7R III features a Tilting screen where you can change the angle of the screen to make it easier to shoot from waist or over the head levels whereas the Olympus SP-820UZ has a fixed type screen which provides less flexibility in shooting positions compared to A7R III.
Sony A7R III vs Olympus SP-820UZ: Sensor Comparison

Sony A7R III has a 42.0MP Full frame (35.9 x 24 mm ) sized BSI-CMOS sensor and features Bionz X processor. On the other hand, Olympus SP-820UZ has a 14.0MP 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm ) sized CMOS sensor .

Sony A7R III's sensor provides 28MP more than Olympus SP-820UZ's sensor, which gives a significant advantage in real life. You can print your images larger or crop more freely. On the other hand, please keep in mind that Max sensor resolution is not the only determinant of resolving power. Factors such as the optical elements, low pass filter, pixel size and sensor technology also affects the final resolution of the captured image.

Another difference between these two cameras is that Sony A7R III's sensor lacks anti-alias (Low-Pass) filter. Removing anti-alias filter increases the sharpness and level of detail but at the same time, it increases the chance of moire occurring in certain scenes.

Below you can see the A7R III and SP-820UZ sensor size comparison.

Sony A7R III vs Olympus SP-820UZ Sensor Size Comparison
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Sony A7R III and Olympus SP-820UZ Cameras


As seen above, Sony A7R III has a 30.7x Larger sensor area than Olympus SP-820UZ. Larger sensors give photographer more control on the depth of field and blurry background compared to smaller sensor when shot in same focal length and aperture.

What types of Photography are Sony A7R III and Olympus SP-820UZ Good for?
In this section, we rank and compare Sony A7R III and Olympus SP-820UZ for five different photography types in order to make your decision process easier in case you are specifically interested in one or more of these areas.

Sony A7R III for Portrait Photography

EXCELLENT

Olympus SP-820UZ for Portrait Photography

POOR
Large Full frame (35.9 x 24 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 42.0MP
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details
Average Resolution Sensor: 14.0MP
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No Image Stabilization
No RAW shooting capability
No External Flash Shoe
No Built-in Viewfinder
No Manual Focus Mode
No Manual Exposure Mode
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details

Sony A7R III for Street Photography

EXCELLENT

Olympus SP-820UZ for Street Photography

POOR
Large Full frame (35.9 x 24 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Tilting LCD Screen
Medium sized Body
Read the details
Small Body
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
22 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No Image Stabilization
No RAW shooting capability
No Built-in Viewfinder
No Manual Focus Mode
Read the details

Sony A7R III for Sports Photography

GOOD

Olympus SP-820UZ for Sports Photography

POOR
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Fast Continuous Shooting: 10.0fps
Anti Flicker feature
Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/8000s
425 Focus Points
Good Battery Life: 650 shots
Good Low Light ISO
Wireless Connection
Read the details
896 mm Tele Lens
Average Max shutter speed: 1/2000s
No Image Stabilization
No RAW shooting capability
No External Flash Shoe
No Built-in Viewfinder
No Manual Focus Mode
No Manual Exposure Mode
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
Slow Continuous Shooting: 2.0fps
Environmental Sealings
Unknown Focus Points
Slow Lens at Tele: f5.70
Read the details

Sony A7R III for Daily Photography

EXCELLENT

Olympus SP-820UZ for Daily Photography

AVERAGE
Large Full frame (35.9 x 24 mm) sensor
Anti Flicker feature
Environmental Sealings
Medium size Body
657g
Body Thickness 74mm
Read the details
Compact Body
40.7X Optical Zoom
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
485g
Body Thickness 93mm
Read the details

Sony A7R III for Landscape Photography

GOOD

Olympus SP-820UZ for Landscape Photography

POOR
Large Full frame (35.9 x 24 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 42.0MP
Environmental Sealings
Live-view
Read the details
22 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
Average Resolution Sensor: 14.0MP
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
No Manual Focus Mode
No Manual Exposure Mode
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Sony A7R III vs Olympus SP-820UZ: OUR DECISION

You may have already made your decision about which camera suits better for your needs and your budget so far but in case you wonder how we rated Sony A7R III and Olympus SP-820UZ, below you can find their scores in five different aspects. Our Decision Algorithm dynamically scores cameras using 63 different specs, current price and DxO Mark scores (where possible) in order to make a more objective and consistent comparison.

Here is a summary of how Sony A7R III and Olympus SP-820UZ scores compare:

Sony A7R III
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #4 out of 86 in SLR-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked #4 out of 1220 in all Cameras
Olympus SP-820UZ
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #394 out of 475 in Compact cameras
Ranked #1073 out of 1220 in all Cameras

Sony A7R III is the overall winner of this comparison. It has a higher Overall Score and beats Olympus SP-820UZ in all criteria except one: Portability. But the size difference between these cameras are negligible in real world so it is not a big disadvantage for Sony A7R III.

Sony A7R III
Sony A7R III
CHECK PRICE

CHECK PRICE

Olympus SP-820UZ
Olympus SP-820UZ
CHECK PRICE

CHECK PRICE

Olympus SP-820UZ vs Sony A7R III Specs Table
Detailed comparison of specifications
General Sony Alpha A7R III Olympus Stylus SP-820UZ
Brand Sony Olympus
Announced 2017-10-25 2012-08-21
Body Type SLR-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor
Type BSI-CMOS CMOS
Size Full frame 1/2.3"
Dimensions 35.9 x 24 mm 6.17 x 4.55 mm
Area 861.60mm2 28.07mm2
Megapixels 42 megapixels 14 megapixels
Max Resolution 7952 x 5304 4288 x 3216
Max Native Light sensitivity 32,000 ISO 6,400 ISO
Max Boosted Light Sensitivity 102400 ISO -
Min Native Light sensitivity 100 ISO 80 ISO
Min Boosted Light Sensitivity 50 ISO -
RAW Support
Autofocus
AF Touch
AF Continuous
AF Single
AF Tracking
AF Selective
AF Center
AF Multi Area
AF Live View
AF Face Detection
AF Contrast Detection
AF Phase Detection
Number of Focus Points 425 n/a
Lens
Manual Focus
Lens Mount Sony E fixed lens
Lens Focal Range no lens 22-896 mm (40×)
Max Aperture no lens F3.4-5.7
Macro Focus Range no lens 1cm
Screen
Type Tilting Fixed type
Size 3 3"
Resolution 1,440k dots 460k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder Electronic None
Viewfinder Resolution 3,686k dots no electronic viewfinder
Viewfinder Coverage 100% n/a
Viewfinder Magnification 0.78x n/a
Photography Features
Max Mechanical Shutter 1/8000s 1/2000s
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Custom White Balance
Image Stabilization Sensor-shift No
Built-in Flash
Flash Range no built-in flash 15.00 m
External Flash
Continuous Shooting 10.0 fps 2.0 fps
Multi-Segment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF-Area
Center Weighted
AE Bracketing
WB Bracketing
Video Features
Max Video Resolution 3840 x 2160 1920 x 1080
Video Formats MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC S MPEG-4, H.264
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Connectivity
Wireless Connectivity Built-In None
HDMI
Physical
Environmental Sealing
Weight 657g 485g
Dimensions 127 x 96 x 74mm 117 x 78 x 93 mmmm
Battery Life 650 shots n/a
Other Features
Timelapse Recording
GPS None None
DxO Sensor Scores
DxO Overall Score 100 not tested
DxO Color Depth 26.0 not tested
DxO Dynamic Range 14.7 not tested
DxO Low Light ISO 3523 not tested
Report a correction Report a correction


FOLLOW US


Most Popular Cameras
Nikon Z7
46 MP | Full frame Sensor | Nikon Z Mount
Sony A6000
24 MP | APS-C Sensor | Sony E Mount
Sony A7 III
24 MP | Full frame Sensor | Sony E Mount
Fujifilm X-T3
26 MP | APS-C Sensor | Fujifilm X Mount
Canon R
30 MP | Full frame Sensor | Canon RF Mount
Sony A6400
24 MP | APS-C Sensor | Sony E Mount
Nikon D5600
24 MP | APS-C Sensor | Nikon F Mount
Nikon D850
46 MP | Full frame Sensor | Nikon F Mount
Top Rated Mirrorless Cameras
Top Mirrorless Cameras Under $500
Top Mirrorless Cameras Under $750
Top Mirrorless Cameras Under $1000
Top Mirrorless Cameras Under $1500
Top Rated Compact Cameras
Top Compact Cameras Under $200
Top Compact Cameras Under $500
Top Compact Cameras Under $750
Top Compact Cameras Under $1000
Latest Cameras
Leica SL2-S
24 MP | Full frame Sensor | Leica L Mount
Leica Q2 Monochrom
47 MP | Full frame Sensor | 28 mm
Fujifilm X-S10
26 MP | APS-C Sensor | Fujifilm X Mount
Nikon Z7 II
46 MP | Full frame Sensor | Nikon Z Mount
Nikon Z6 II
25 MP | Full frame Sensor | Nikon Z Mount
Canon M50 II
24 MP | APS-C Sensor | Canon EF-M Mount
Sony A7c
24 MP | Full frame Sensor | Sony E Mount
Panasonic S5
24 MP | Full frame Sensor | Leica L Mount
Copyright © 2020 by CameraDecision
About Feedback Privacy Cameras

Report a Correction