Olympus SZ-12 for Street Photography

Is the Olympus SZ-12 good for Street Photography?

$209.99

Olympus SZ-12 Street Photography Score

GOOD

Olympus SZ-12 has a score of 62 for Street Photography which makes it a GOOD candidate for this type of photography. Olympus SZ-12 will satisfy most of your needs, but if you are looking for a camera that is even better suited to Street Photography, we recommend you to check the Alternative cameras at the bottom of this page.
Read our detailed Olympus SZ-12 Review

Olympus SZ-12 Street Photography Detailed Analysis

Live-view

Live view lets you take photos without using the viewfinder which makes you less obstrusive and this works very well during street photography where you don't want to get people's attention.

Face-Detection Focusing

Face detection focusing mode is very helpful in the street scenes where you focus on a face, since you can concentrate on framing and other adjustments while the camera handles the focus for you.

Image Stabilization

Image stabilization reduces the effects of camera shake at long exposures and long focal lengths in street photography thus ensuring sharper photos.

25 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage

Having a good wide angle coverage becomes very important in street photography.

Small Body

Small body of Olympus SZ-12 will get less attention from the people in streets and give you an amateur look, which is indeed an advantage for street photography.

No Built-in Viewfinder

In the lack of a a viewfinder, holding the camera away from the body while using live view is not very stable, especially with heavy camera bodies and lenses. Besides, LCD screens are very hard to read under bright sunlight.

No Manual Focus Mode

In street photography, things changes very quickly and often you may not have enough time to frame and focus at the right time to catch the moment. Zone focusing is a popular technique amongst street photographers and it requires manual focus mode.

No RAW shooting capability

An articulated screen gives you the flexibility to shoot in non traditional positions such as waist level, which helps you to be more creative and unobtrusive in the streets.

Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor

JPEG files are generally more attractive direct out of the camera but RAW files contains much more color information compared to JPEGs, and gives you more room for post processing without significant quality loss. They provide wider dynamic range and option to recover shadow and highlight clipping to some degree.

You may also be interested in these reviews:

Olympus SZ-12 for Portrait Photography
Olympus SZ-12 for Sports Photography
Olympus SZ-12 for Carrying Everywhere
Olympus SZ-12 for Landscape Photography

Olympus SZ-12 Alternatives in Compact cameras for Street Photography

Olympus XZ-2 iHS Compare SZ-12 vs XZ-2 iHS	12 MP \| 1/1.7-inch CMOS Sensor 28-112 mm Lens	Rank in All Cameras: #290 Rank in Compact Cameras: #7
	Imaging Features Value for Money Portability 91 Overall Score	Portrait Street Sports Daily Landscape

Nikon P7800 Compare SZ-12 vs P7800	12 MP \| 1/1.7-inch BSI-CMOS Sensor 28-200 mm Lens	Rank in All Cameras: #223 Rank in Compact Cameras: #1
	Imaging Features Value for Money Portability Overall Score	Portrait Street Sports Daily Landscape

Casio EX-10 Compare SZ-12 vs EX-10	12 MP \| 1/1.7-inch CMOS Sensor 28-112 mm Lens	Rank in All Cameras: #295 Rank in Compact Cameras: #10
	Imaging Features Value for Money Portability Overall Score	Portrait Street Sports Daily Landscape

Pentax MX-1 Compare SZ-12 vs MX-1	12 MP \| 1/1.7-inch CMOS Sensor 28-112 mm Lens	Rank in All Cameras: #378 Rank in Compact Cameras: #22
	Imaging Features Value for Money Portability Overall Score	Portrait Street Sports Daily Landscape

Olympus XZ-10 Compare SZ-12 vs XZ-10	12 MP \| 1/2.3-inch BSI-CMOS Sensor 26-130 mm Lens	Rank in All Cameras: #403 Rank in Compact Cameras: #28
	Imaging Features Value for Money Portability 95 Overall Score	Portrait Street Sports Daily Landscape

Olympus XZ-2 iHS

Nikon P7800

Casio EX-10

Pentax MX-1

Olympus XZ-10