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Ricoh WG-6 vs Olympus E-1 Comparison

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Ricoh WG-6

20 MP | 1/2.3 BSI-CMOS Sensor

Ricoh WG-6
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Olympus E-1

5 MP | Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) CCD Sensor

Olympus E-1
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Ricoh WG-6 vs Olympus E-1 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 sensor whereas Olympus E-1, which was introduced in November 2003 is a Pro DSLR camera with a 5.0MP Four Thirds sensor. As you can see, E-1 is 15 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 Olympus E-1 before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Ricoh WG-6 Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2018-02-21
  • 20MP - 1/2.3 BSI-CMOS Sensor
  • ISO 125 - 6400
  • 28-140 mm F3.5-5.5 Zoom Lens
  • 3.00" Fixed Type Screen
  • fps continuous shooting
  • 4K (UHD) - 3840 x 2160 video resolution
  • 246g. 118 x 66 x 33 mm
  • Weather Sealed Body
  • Replaced Ricoh WG-5 GPS Compare

Olympus E-1 Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2003-11-29
  • 5MP - Four Thirds CCD Sensor
  • ISO 100 - 3200
  • Four Thirds Mount
  • 1.80" Fixed Type Screen
  • Optical (pentaprism) viewfinder
  • 3.0fps continuous shooting
  • No Video Mode
  • 735g. 141 x 104 x 81 mm
  • Weather Sealed Body

Olympus E-1 was replaced by Olympus E-3. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Olympus E-3 vs Olympus E-1
Olympus E-3 vs Ricoh WG-6

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Ricoh WG-6 and Olympus E-1 compares and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one is better for you.


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Reasons to choose Ricoh WG-6 over Olympus E-1
Built-in Flash
Yes vs No Useful in low-light
Internal Storage
27MB vs None Extra built-in storage
Face Detection Focus
Yes vs No very handy for portraits
Sensor Resolution
20 MP vs 5 MP 300% more pixels
Max ISO
6.400 vs 3.200 100% higher Max ISO
Number of Focus Points
9 vs 3 6 more focus points
LCD Screen Size
3 vs 1.8" 1.2 inches larger display
LCD Resolution
1.040k dots vs 134k dots 676% higher resolution screen
Weight
246 g vs 735 g 489 g lighter
Timelapse Recording
Yes vs No creative shooting
Max Video Resolution
3840 x 2160 vs None Higher Resolution Video
AE Bracketing
Yes vs No Useful for tough lighting conditions and HDR
Digital video stabilization
Yes vs No Stabilizes your videos in-camera
USB Version
USB 3.0 (5 GBit/sec) vs USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) Faster Data transfer from the camera
CHECK WG-6 PRICE


Reasons to choose Olympus E-1 over Ricoh WG-6
External Flash Shoe
Yes vs No Better for flash photography
Viewfinder
Optical vs None Better framing and control
RAW Support
Yes vs No Better image quality
Manual Exposure
Yes vs No better exposure control
Sensor Pixel Area
45.71µm2 vs 1.39µm2 3188% larger pixel area
Flash Sync Port
Yes vs No Connect off-camera flash
CHECK E-1 PRICE

Common Strengths of Ricoh WG-6 and Olympus E-1
Environmental Sealing
Yes vs Yes shoot at tough conditions
Common Weaknesses of Ricoh WG-6 and Olympus E-1
In-body Image Stabilization
Digital only vs No No Built-in stabilization
Fixed Screen
Fixed Type vs No Screen tilts or Flips out independently, perfect for both stills and video
LCD Screen Size
1.80" vs 1.80" Small display
Ricoh WG-6 vs Olympus E-1: 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 Olympus E-1 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). Olympus E-1 has external dimensions of 141 x 104 x 81 mm (5.55 x 4.09 x 3.19″) and weighs 735 g (1.62 lb / 25.93 oz) (including batteries).

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Ricoh WG-6 and Olympus E-1. Ricoh WG-6 is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 23mm narrower, 38mm shorter and 48mm thinner than Olympus E-1. As you can tell, actually this is not a fair size comparison since Ricoh WG-6 has a built-in lens but Olympus E-1 doesn't. Once you put a lens on E-1, its thickness will increase significantly.

Ricoh WG-6 vs Olympus E-1 Camera Size Comparison - Front View
Comparison image of Ricoh WG-6 and Olympus E-1 Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View

Here is the back view size comparison of Ricoh WG-6 and Olympus E-1.

Ricoh WG-6 vs Olympus E-1 Camera Size Comparison - Back View
Comparison image of Ricoh WG-6 and Olympus E-1 Size and Weight - Back View

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 (489g ) than the Olympus E-1 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 E-1, the total kit will weigh much higher.

Weather Sealing

LCD Screen Size and Features

Ricoh WG-6's 3.00" LCD screen is slightly larger than Olympus E-1's 1.8" screen.

Unfortunately, both cameras has fixed screens so they don't tilt or flip in directions.
Ricoh WG-6 vs Olympus E-1: Sensor Comparison

Ricoh WG-6 has a 20.0MP 1/2.3 (6.17 x 4.55 mm ) sized BSI-CMOS sensor . On the other hand, Olympus E-1 has a 5.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CCD sensor .

Ricoh WG-6's sensor provides 15MP more than Olympus E-1'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.

Below you can see the WG-6 and E-1 sensor size comparison.

Ricoh WG-6 vs Olympus E-1 Sensor Size Comparison
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Ricoh WG-6 and Olympus E-1 Cameras


As seen above, Olympus E-1 has a 8.0x 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 Olympus E-1 Good for?
In this section, we rank and compare Ricoh WG-6 and Olympus E-1 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

Olympus E-1 for Portrait Photography

POOR
Very High Resolution Sensor: 20.0MP
Small 1/2.3 sensor
No Image Stabilization
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 Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Very Low Resolution Sensor: 5.0MP
No Image Stabilization
Read the details

Ricoh WG-6 for Street Photography

AVERAGE

Olympus E-1 for Street Photography

AVERAGE
Small Body
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
28 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
Small 1/2.3 sensor
No Image Stabilization
No RAW shooting capability
No Built-in Viewfinder
Read the details
Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
No Image Stabilization
No Live-view
Large Body
Read the details

Ricoh WG-6 for Sports Photography

POOR

Olympus E-1 for Sports Photography

GOOD
Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
140 mm Tele Lens
No Image Stabilization
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
Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
No Image Stabilization
Slow Continuous Shooting: 3.0fps
3 Focus Points
Read the details

Ricoh WG-6 for Daily Photography

AVERAGE

Olympus E-1 for Daily Photography

AVERAGE
Compact Body
Environmental Sealings
246g
5.0X Optical Zoom
Small 1/2.3 sensor
No RAW shooting capability
Read the details
Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Large Body
735g
Body Thickness 81mm
Read the details

Ricoh WG-6 for Landscape Photography

POOR

Olympus E-1 for Landscape Photography

POOR
Very High Resolution Sensor: 20.0MP
28 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
Environmental Sealings
Small 1/2.3 sensor
No RAW shooting capability
No Manual Exposure Mode
Read the details
Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Very Low Resolution Sensor: 5.0MP
No Live-view
Read the details

Ricoh WG-6 vs Olympus E-1: 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 Olympus E-1, below you can find their scores in five different aspects. Our Decision Algorithm dynamically scores cameras using 69 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 Olympus E-1 scores compare:

Ricoh WG-6
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #67 out of 477 in Compact cameras
Ranked #539 out of 1257 in all Cameras
Olympus E-1
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #32 out of 36 in Large SLR cameras
Ranked #864 out of 1257 in all Cameras

Ricoh WG-6 has a higher Overall Score than the Olympus E-1. It also has more features, more compact body and offers higher value for the money. But there is one area that WG-6 trails behind the E-1: Imaging.
If image quality is the most important aspect in a camera, choose the Olympus E-1. If not, we recommend the Ricoh WG-6.

Ricoh WG-6
Ricoh WG-6
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Olympus E-1
Olympus E-1
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Olympus E-1 vs Ricoh WG-6 Specs Table
Detailed comparison of specifications
General Ricoh WG-6 Olympus E-1
Brand Ricoh Olympus
Announced 2018-02-21 2003-11-29
Body Type Compact Large SLR
Sensor
Type BSI-CMOS CCD
Size 1/2.3 Four Thirds
Dimensions 6.17 x 4.55 mm 17.3 x 13 mm
Area 28.07mm2 224.90mm2
Megapixels 20 megapixels 5 megapixels
Max Resolution 5184 x 3888 2560 x 1920
Max Native Light sensitivity 6,400 ISO 3,200 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 3
Lens
Manual Focus
Lens Mount fixed lens Four Thirds
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 Fixed type
Size 3.00" 1.80"
Resolution 1,040k dots 134k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder None Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder Coverage n/a 100%
Viewfinder Magnification n/a 0.48x
Photography Features
Max Mechanical Shutter 1/4000s 1/4000s
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Custom White Balance
Built-in Image Stabilization Digital only No
Built-in Flash
Flash Range 5.50 m (with Auto ISO) no built-in flash
Max Flash Sync n/a 1/180s
External Flash
Continuous Shooting n/a 3.0 fps
Multi-Segment Metering
Average Metering
Spot Metering
Partial Metering
AF-Area Metering
Center Weighted Metering
AE Bracketing
WB Bracketing
Video Features
Max Video Resolution 3840 x 2160 None
Video Formats MPEG-4, H.264 n/a
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Connectivity
Wireless Connectivity Supports FlashAir SD cards None
HDMI
Physical
Environmental Sealing
Weight 246g 735g
Dimensions 118 x 66 x 33mm 141 x 104 x 81mm
Battery Life 340 shots n/a
Other Features
Timelapse Recording
GPS Built-in None
DxO Sensor Scores
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