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Ricoh WG-6 vs Olympus E-30 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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Olympus E-30

12 MP | Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) CMOS Sensor

Olympus E-30
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Ricoh WG-6 vs Olympus E-30 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 Olympus E-30, which was introduced in March 2009 is a Advanced DSLR camera with a 12.0MP Four Thirds sensor. As you can see, E-30 is 9 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-30 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

Olympus E-30 Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2009-03-24
  • 12MP - Four Thirds CMOS Sensor
  • ISO 100 - 3200
  • Four Thirds Mount
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 2.7" Fully Articulated Screen
  • Optical (pentaprism) viewfinder
  • 5 fps continuous shooting
  • No Video Mode
  • 695g. 142 x 108 x 75 mm

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Ricoh WG-6 and Olympus E-30 compares and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one is better for you.

Reasons to choose Ricoh WG-6 over Olympus E-30
Max Sensor Resolution
20 MP vs 12 MP 66% more pixels
Max ISO
6.400 vs 3.200 100% higher Max ISO
LCD Screen Size
3" vs 2.7" 0.3 inches larger display
LCD Screen Resolution
1.040k dots vs 230k dots 352% higher resolution screen
Weight
246 g vs 695 g 449 g lighter
Environmental Sealing
Yes vs No shoot at tough conditions
Timelapse Recording
Yes vs No creative shooting
Max Video Resolution
3840x2160 vs None Higher Resolution Video


Reasons to choose Olympus E-30 over Ricoh WG-6
LCD Screen
Fully Articulated vs Fixed Type Flexible shooting positions
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
Number of Focus Points
11 vs 9 2 more focus points
Max Mech. Shutter
1/8000s vs 1/4000s faster mechanical shutter
Battery Life
750 shots vs 340 shots 410 more frames with a single charge
Manual Exposure
Yes vs No better exposure control
Flash Coverage
13.0m vs 5.5m 7.5m longer range
Sensor Pixel Area
18.45µm2 vs 1.39µm2 1227% larger pixel area
Top LCD
Yes vs No Help viewing and changing settings easily
Selfie & Vlogger Friendly LCD
Yes vs No Rotate LCD for taking Selfies

Common Strengths of Ricoh WG-6 and Olympus E-30
Image Stabilization
Digital only vs Sensor-shift Sharper images at longer focal lengths and long exposures
Built-in Flash
Yes vs Yes Useful in low-light
Face Detection Focus
Yes vs Yes very handy for portraits
AE Bracketing
Yes vs Yes Useful for tough lighting conditions and HDR
Common Weaknesses of Ricoh WG-6 and Olympus E-30
LCD Screen Size
3" vs 2.7" Small display
Ricoh WG-6 vs Olympus E-30: 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-30 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-30 has external dimensions of 142 x 108 x 75 mm (5.59 x 4.25 x 2.95″) and weighs 695 g (1.53 lb / 24.52 oz) (including batteries).

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Ricoh WG-6 and Olympus E-30. Ricoh WG-6 is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 24mm narrower, 42mm shorter and 42mm thinner than Olympus E-30. As you can tell, actually this is not a fair size comparison since Ricoh WG-6 has a built-in lens but Olympus E-30 doesn't. Once you put a lens on E-30, its thickness will increase significantly.

Ricoh WG-6 vs Olympus E-30 Camera Size Comparison - Front View
Comparison image of Ricoh WG-6 and Olympus E-30 Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View

Here is the back view size comparison of Ricoh WG-6 and Olympus E-30.

Ricoh WG-6 vs Olympus E-30 Camera Size Comparison - Back View
Comparison image of Ricoh WG-6 and Olympus E-30 Size and Weight - Back View

Now lets look at the top view comparison of Ricoh WG-6 and Olympus E-30.
Ricoh WG-6 vs Olympus E-30 Camera Size Comparison - Top View
Top View Comparison image of Ricoh WG-6 and Olympus E-30 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 (449g ) than the Olympus E-30 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-30, the total kit will weigh much higher.

Weather Sealing

LCD Screen Size and Features

Ricoh WG-6's 3" LCD screen is slightly larger than Olympus E-30's 2.7" screen.

On the other hand, Olympus E-30 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 E-30.
Ricoh WG-6 vs Olympus E-30: 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, Olympus E-30 has a 12.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features TruePic III+ processor.

Ricoh WG-6's sensor provides 8MP more than Olympus E-30'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-30 sensor size comparison.

Ricoh WG-6 vs Olympus E-30 Sensor Size Comparison
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Ricoh WG-6 and Olympus E-30 Cameras


As seen above, Olympus E-30 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-30 Good for?
In this section, we rank and compare Ricoh WG-6 and Olympus E-30 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-30 for Portrait Photography

GOOD
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 Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
Read the details

Ricoh WG-6 for Street Photography

GOOD

Olympus E-30 for Street Photography

EXCELLENT
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 Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Fully Articulated LCD Screen
Large Body
Read the details

Ricoh WG-6 for Sports Photography

POOR

Olympus E-30 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
Image Stabilization
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/8000s
11 Focus Points
Good Battery Life: 750 shots
Average Continuous Shooting: 5.0fps
Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Ricoh WG-6 for Daily Photography

GOOD

Olympus E-30 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 Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Large Body
695g
Body Thickness 75mm
Read the details

Ricoh WG-6 for Landscape Photography

POOR

Olympus E-30 for Landscape Photography

POOR
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 Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Live-view
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Ricoh WG-6 vs Olympus E-30: 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-30, 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 Olympus E-30 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
Olympus E-30
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #54 out of 95 in Mid-size SLR cameras
Ranked #345 out of 1226 in all Cameras

Olympus E-30 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, Olympus E-30 is the better camera overall.

Ricoh WG-6
Ricoh WG-6
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Olympus E-30
Olympus E-30
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Olympus E-30 vs Ricoh WG-6 Specs Table
Detailed comparison of specifications
General Ricoh WG-6 Olympus E-30
Brand Ricoh Olympus
Announced 2018-02-21 2009-03-24
Body Type Compact Mid-size SLR
Sensor
Type BSI-CMOS CMOS
Size 1/2.3-inch Four Thirds
Dimensions 6.17 x 4.55 mm 17.3 x 13 mm
Area 28.07mm2 224.90mm2
Megapixels 20 megapixels 12 megapixels
Max Resolution 5184 x 3888 4032 x 3024
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 11
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 Fully Articulated
Size 3" 2.7"
Resolution 1,040k dots 230k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder None Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder Coverage n/a 98%
Viewfinder Magnification n/a 0.56x
Photography Features
Max Mechanical Shutter 1/4000s 1/8000s
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Custom White Balance
Image Stabilization Digital only Sensor-shift
Built-in Flash
Flash Range 5.50 m (with Auto ISO) 13.00 m
Max Flash Sync n/a 1/250s
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 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 695g
Dimensions 118 x 66 x 33mm 142 x 108 x 75mm
Battery Life 340 shots 750 shots
Other Features
Timelapse Recording
GPS Built-in None
DxO Sensor Scores
DxO Overall Score not tested 55
DxO Color Depth not tested 21.3
DxO Dynamic Range not tested 10.4
DxO Low Light ISO not tested 530
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