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Ricoh WG-6 vs Nikon D5500 Comparison

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Ricoh WG-6

20 MP | 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) BSI-CMOS Sensor

Ricoh WG-6
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Nikon D5500

24 MP | APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm) CMOS Sensor

Nikon D5500
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Ricoh WG-6 vs Nikon D5500 Comparison Overview

Here we are comparing two cameras with different body types: Ricoh WG-6, which was introduced in February 2018 is a Waterproof camera with a 20.0MP 1/2.3-inch sensor whereas Nikon D5500, which was introduced in January 2015 is a Entry-Level DSLR camera with a 24.0MP APS-C sensor. As you can see, D5500 is 3 years older than WG-6. Let's see if this age difference between two cameras makes a big difference.

Comparing a DSLR camera to a Fixed Lens camera is not an easy task but we will do our best to make this a fair comparison.

Here is a brief look at the main features of Ricoh WG-6 and Nikon D5500 before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Ricoh WG-6 Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2018-02-21
  • 20MP - 1/2.3-inch BSI-CMOS Sensor
  • ISO 125 - 6400
  • 28-140 mm F3.5-5.5 Zoom Lens
  • Digital only Image Stabilization
  • 3" Fixed Type Screen
  • continuous shooting
  • 4K (UHD) - 3840x2160 video resolution
  • 246g. 118 x 66 x 33 mm
  • Weather Sealed Body
  • Replaced Ricoh WG-5 GPS Compare

Nikon D5500 Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2015-01-06
  • 24MP - APS-C CMOS Sensor
  • No Anti-aliasing (AA) filter
  • ISO 100 - 25600
  • Nikon F Mount
  • 3.2" Fully Articulated Screen
  • Optical (pentamirror) viewfinder
  • 5.0 fps continuous shooting
  • Full HD - 1920 x 1080 video resolution
  • Built-in Wireless
  • 420g. 124 x 97 x 70 mm
  • Replaced Nikon D5300 Compare

Nikon D5500 was replaced by Nikon D5600. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Nikon D5600 vs Nikon D5500
Nikon D5600 vs Ricoh WG-6

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Ricoh WG-6 and Nikon D5500 compares and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one is better for you.

Reasons to choose Ricoh WG-6 over Nikon D5500
Image Stabilization
Digital only vs None Sharper images at longer focal lengths and long exposures
Weight
246 g vs 420 g 174 g lighter
Environmental Sealing
Yes vs No shoot at tough conditions
Max Video Resolution
3840x2160 vs 1920 x 1080 Higher Resolution Video
Digital video stabilization
Yes vs No Stabilizes your videos in-camera


Reasons to choose Nikon D5500 over Ricoh WG-6
Wireless Connection
Built-In vs Supports FlashAir SD cards Better connectivity
LCD Screen
Fully Articulated 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
Optical vs None Better framing and control
RAW Support
Yes vs No Better image quality
Max Sensor Resolution
24 MP vs 20 MP 19% more pixels
Max ISO
25.600 vs 6.400 300% higher Max ISO
Number of Focus Points
39 vs 9 30 more focus points
LCD Screen Size
3.2" vs 3" 0.2 inches larger display
Battery Life
820 shots vs 340 shots 480 more frames with a single charge
Manual Exposure
Yes vs No better exposure control
Microphone Port
Yes vs No High quality audio recording option
Flash Coverage
12.0m vs 5.5m 6.5m longer range
Sensor Pixel Area
15.28µm2 vs 1.39µm2 999% larger pixel area
Selfie & Vlogger Friendly LCD
Yes vs No Rotate LCD for taking Selfies
Smartphone Remote
Yes vs No Remote control your camera with a smartphone
UHS Card Support
UHS-I vs none Read/Write in Ultra High Speeds

Common Strengths of Ricoh WG-6 and Nikon D5500
Built-in Flash
Yes vs Yes Useful in low-light
Face Detection Focus
Yes vs Yes very handy for portraits
Max Resolution
20 MP vs 24 MP Bigger prints and more details
LCD Screen Size
3" vs 3.2" Large display
LCD Screen Resolution
1.040k dots vs 1.037k dots High resolution screens
Timelapse Recording
Yes vs Yes creative shooting
AE Bracketing
Yes vs Yes Useful for tough lighting conditions and HDR
Common Weaknesses of Ricoh WG-6 and Nikon D5500
Ricoh WG-6 vs Nikon D5500: 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 Ricoh WG-6 and Nikon D5500 side-by-side from the front, back and top in their relative dimensions. Ricoh WG-6 has external dimensions of 118 x 66 x 33 mm (4.65 x 2.6 x 1.3″) and weighs 246 g (0.54 lb / 8.68 oz) (including batteries). Nikon D5500 has external dimensions of 124 x 97 x 70 mm (4.88 x 3.82 x 2.76″) and weighs 420 g (0.93 lb / 14.82 oz) (including batteries).

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Ricoh WG-6 and Nikon D5500. Ricoh WG-6 is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 6mm narrower, 31mm shorter and 37mm thinner than Nikon D5500. As you can tell, actually this is not a fair size comparison since Ricoh WG-6 has a built-in lens but Nikon D5500 doesn't. Once you put a lens on D5500, its thickness will increase significantly.

Ricoh WG-6 vs Nikon D5500 Camera Size Comparison - Front View
Comparison image of Ricoh WG-6 and Nikon D5500 Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View

Here is the back view size comparison of Ricoh WG-6 and Nikon D5500.

Ricoh WG-6 vs Nikon D5500 Camera Size Comparison - Back View
Comparison image of Ricoh WG-6 and Nikon D5500 Size and Weight - Back View

Now lets look at the top view comparison of Ricoh WG-6 and Nikon D5500.
Ricoh WG-6 vs Nikon D5500 Camera Size Comparison - Top View
Top View Comparison image of Ricoh WG-6 and Nikon D5500 Size

Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day. Ricoh WG-6 is significantly lighter (174g ) than the Nikon D5500 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 D5500, the total kit will weigh much higher.

Weather Sealing

LCD Screen Size and Features

Nikon D5500's 3.2" LCD screen is slightly larger than Ricoh WG-6's 3" screen.

Moreover, Nikon D5500 sports a Fully Articulated screen which you can change the angle and position of the screen almost freely, making it possible to shoot from waist or over the head levels, and especially very useful for shooting selfies and video. On the other hand, Ricoh WG-6 has a fixed type screen which provides almost no flexibility in shooting positions compared to D5500.
Ricoh WG-6 vs Nikon D5500: Sensor Comparison

Ricoh WG-6 has a 20.0MP 1/2.3-inch (6.17 x 4.55 mm ) sized BSI-CMOS sensor . On the other hand, Nikon D5500 has a 24.0MP APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Expeed 4 processor.

One other difference between these two cameras that is worth mentioning is that Nikon D5500's sensor doesn't have an 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 WG-6 and D5500 sensor size comparison.

Ricoh WG-6 vs Nikon D5500 Sensor Size Comparison
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Ricoh WG-6 and Nikon D5500 Cameras


As seen above, Nikon D5500 has a 13.1x Larger sensor area than Ricoh WG-6. 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 Ricoh WG-6 and Nikon D5500 Good for?
In this section, we rank and compare Ricoh WG-6 and Nikon D5500 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.

Ricoh WG-6 for Portrait Photography

POOR

Nikon D5500 for Portrait Photography

AVERAGE
Very High Resolution Sensor: 20.0MP
Image Stabilization
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
No External Flash Shoe
No Built-in Viewfinder
No Manual Exposure Mode
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details
Large APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 24.0MP
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
No Image Stabilization
Read the details

Ricoh WG-6 for Street Photography

GOOD

Nikon D5500 for Street Photography

GOOD
Image Stabilization
Small Body
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
28 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
No Built-in Viewfinder
Read the details
Large APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm) sensor
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Fully Articulated LCD Screen
No Image Stabilization
Large Body
Read the details

Ricoh WG-6 for Sports Photography

POOR

Nikon D5500 for Sports Photography

GOOD
Image Stabilization
Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
140 mm Tele Lens
No RAW shooting capability
No External Flash Shoe
No Built-in Viewfinder
No Manual Exposure Mode
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
9 Focus Points
Read the details
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
9 Cross Type Focus sensors
39 Focus Points
Good Battery Life: 820 shots
Good Low Light ISO
Wireless Connection
Average Continuous Shooting: 5.0fps
No Image Stabilization
Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Ricoh WG-6 for Daily Photography

GOOD

Nikon D5500 for Daily Photography

GOOD
Compact Body
Environmental Sealings
246g
5.0X Optical Zoom
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
Read the details
Large APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm) sensor
Large Body
420g
Body Thickness 70mm
Read the details

Ricoh WG-6 for Landscape Photography

POOR

Nikon D5500 for Landscape Photography

AVERAGE
Very High Resolution Sensor: 20.0MP
28 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
Environmental Sealings
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
No Manual Exposure Mode
Read the details
Large APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 24.0MP
Live-view
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Ricoh WG-6 vs Nikon D5500: 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 Ricoh WG-6 and Nikon D5500, 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 Ricoh WG-6 and Nikon D5500 scores compare:

Ricoh WG-6
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #72 out of 475 in Compact cameras
Ranked #513 out of 1226 in all Cameras
Nikon D5500
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #4 out of 79 in Compact SLR cameras
Ranked #104 out of 1226 in all Cameras

Nikon D5500 is the overall winner of this comparison. It has a higher Overall Score and beats Ricoh WG-6 in all criteria except one: Portability.
If small size and light body is a big priority for you, choose Ricoh WG-6. Otherwise, Nikon D5500 is the better camera overall.

Ricoh WG-6
Ricoh WG-6
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Nikon D5500
Nikon D5500
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Nikon D5500 vs Ricoh WG-6 Specs Table
Detailed comparison of specifications
General Ricoh WG-6 Nikon D5500
Brand Ricoh Nikon
Announced 2018-02-21 2015-01-06
Body Type Compact Compact SLR
Sensor
Type BSI-CMOS CMOS
Size 1/2.3-inch APS-C
Dimensions 6.17 x 4.55 mm 23.5 x 15.6 mm
Area 28.07mm2 366.60mm2
Megapixels 20 megapixels 24 megapixels
Max Resolution 5184 x 3888 6000 x 4000
Max Native Light sensitivity 6,400 ISO 25,600 ISO
Min Native Light sensitivity 125 ISO 100 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 9 39
Lens
Manual Focus
Lens Mount fixed lens Nikon F
Lens Focal Range 28-140 mm (5x) no lens
Max Aperture F3.5-5.5 no lens
Macro Focus Range 1cm no lens
Screen
Type Fixed type Fully Articulated
Size 3" 3.2"
Resolution 1,040k dots 1,037k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder None Optical (pentamirror)
Viewfinder Coverage n/a 95%
Viewfinder Magnification n/a 0.55x
Photography Features
Max Mechanical Shutter 1/4000s 1/4000s
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Custom White Balance
Image Stabilization Digital only No
Built-in Flash
Flash Range 5.50 m (with Auto ISO) 12.00 m (at ISO 100)
Max Flash Sync n/a 1/200s
External Flash
Continuous Shooting n/a 5.0 fps
Multi-Segment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF-Area
Center Weighted
AE Bracketing
WB Bracketing
Video Features
Max Video Resolution 3840x2160 1920 x 1080
Video Formats MPEG-4, H.264 MPEG-4, H.264
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Connectivity
Wireless Connectivity Supports FlashAir SD cards Built-In
HDMI
Physical
Environmental Sealing
Weight 246g 420g
Dimensions 118 x 66 x 33mm 124 x 97 x 70mm
Battery Life 340 shots 820 shots
Other Features
Timelapse Recording
GPS Built-in Optional
DxO Sensor Scores
DxO Overall Score not tested 84
DxO Color Depth not tested 24.1
DxO Dynamic Range not tested 14.0
DxO Low Light ISO not tested 1438
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