Ricoh WG-6 vs Olympus E-PL9 Comparison

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Ricoh WG-6

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

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Olympus E-PL9

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

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Ricoh WG-6 vs Olympus E-PL9 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-PL9, which was introduced in February 2018 is a Entry-Level Mirrorless camera with a 16.0MP Four Thirds sensor. Both WG-6 and E-PL9 were launched within the same month so we are expecting this to be a fair comparison regarding age and available technology level.

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 Ricoh WG-6 and Olympus E-PL9 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

3" Fixed Type Screen

fps 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-PL9 Key Specs

Announcement Date: 2018-02-08

16MP - Four Thirds CMOS Sensor

ISO 200 - 6400 ( expands to 100-25600)

Micro Four Thirds Mount

Sensor-shift Image Stabilization

3 Tilting Screen

8.6fps continuous shooting

4K (UHD) - 3840 x 2160 video resolution

Built-in Wireless

380g. 117 x 68 x 39 mm

Replaced Olympus PEN E-PL8 Compare

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Ricoh WG-6 and Olympus E-PL9 compares and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one is better for you.

Reasons to choose Ricoh WG-6 over Olympus PEN E-PL9

Max Sensor Resolution	20 MP vs 16 MP	25% more pixels
Weight	246 g vs 380 g	134 g lighter
Environmental Sealing	Yes vs No	shoot at tough conditions

Reasons to choose Olympus PEN E-PL9 over Ricoh WG-6

Wireless Connection	Built-In vs Supports FlashAir SD cards	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
RAW Support	Yes vs No	Better image quality
Number of Focus Points	121 vs 9	112 more focus points
Battery Life	350 shots vs 340 shots	10 more frames with a single charge
Manual Exposure	Yes vs No	better exposure control
Flash Coverage	7.6m vs 5.5m	2.1m longer range
Sensor Pixel Area	14.12µm² vs 1.39µm²	915% larger pixel area
AE Bracketing Range	±5 EV vs ±2 EV	Wide Bracketing range is useful for HDR
Bluetooth	Yes vs No	Connect your camera to other devices via Blueetooth
Smartphone Remote	Yes vs No	Remote control your camera with a smartphone

Common Strengths of Ricoh WG-6 and Olympus PEN E-PL9

Built-in Flash	Yes vs Yes	Useful in low-light
Face Detection Focus	Yes vs Yes	very handy for portraits
LCD Screen Resolution	1.040k dots vs 1.040k dots	High resolution screens
Continuous Shooting	fps vs 8.6fps	Fast shooting speeds
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 Olympus PEN E-PL9

Ricoh WG-6 vs Olympus E-PL9: 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-PL9 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-PL9 has external dimensions of 117 x 68 x 39 mm (4.61 x 2.68 x 1.54″) and weighs 380 g (0.84 lb / 13.40 oz) (including batteries).

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Ricoh WG-6 and Olympus E-PL9. Ricoh WG-6 is 2mm shorter and 6mm thinner than Olympus E-PL9 but it is also 1mm wider. As you can tell, actually this is not a fair size comparison since Ricoh WG-6 has a built-in lens but Olympus E-PL9 doesn't. Once you put a lens on E-PL9, its thickness will increase significantly.

Comparison image of Ricoh WG-6 and Olympus E-PL9 Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View

Here is the back view size comparison of Ricoh WG-6 and Olympus E-PL9.

Comparison image of Ricoh WG-6 and Olympus E-PL9 Size and Weight - Back View

Now lets look at the top view comparison of Ricoh WG-6 and Olympus E-PL9.

Top View Comparison image of Ricoh WG-6 and Olympus E-PL9 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 (134g ) than the Olympus E-PL9 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-PL9, the total kit will weigh much higher.

Weather Sealing

LCD Screen Size and Features

Ricoh WG-6 and Olympus E-PL9's LCD screens has the same diagonal size of 3".

On the other hand, Olympus E-PL9 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 Ricoh WG-6 has a fixed type screen which provides less flexibility in shooting positions compared to E-PL9.

Ricoh WG-6 vs Olympus E-PL9: 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-PL9 has a 16.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features TruePic VIII processor.

Below you can see the WG-6 and E-PL9 sensor size comparison.

Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Ricoh WG-6 and Olympus E-PL9 Cameras

As seen above, Olympus E-PL9 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-PL9 Good for?

In this section, we rank and compare Ricoh WG-6 and Olympus E-PL9 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-PL9 for Portrait Photography

GOOD

Very High Resolution Sensor: 20.0MP
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 Exposure Mode
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details

Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Average Resolution Sensor: 16.0MP
Optional External Viewfinder
Average Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details

Ricoh WG-6 for Street Photography

GOOD

Olympus E-PL9 for Street Photography

EXCELLENT

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 Image Stabilization
No RAW shooting capability
No Built-in Viewfinder
Read the details

Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Tilting LCD Screen
Optional External Viewfinder
Medium sized Body
Read the details

Ricoh WG-6 for Sports Photography

POOR

Olympus E-PL9 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

Image Stabilization
Fast Continuous Shooting: 8.6fps
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
121 Focus Points
Wireless Connection
Optional External Viewfinder
Average Ergonomics&Handling
Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Ricoh WG-6 for Daily Photography

GOOD

Olympus E-PL9 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
Medium size Body
380g
Read the details

Ricoh WG-6 for Landscape Photography

POOR

Olympus E-PL9 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: 16.0MP
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Ricoh WG-6 vs Olympus E-PL9: 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-PL9, 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-PL9 scores compare:

Ricoh WG-6

Imaging

Features

Value

Portability

Overall

Ranked #72 out of 475 in Compact cameras
Ranked #517 out of 1228 in all Cameras

Olympus E-PL9

Imaging

Features

Value

Portability

Overall

Ranked #25 out of 129 in Rangefinder-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked #163 out of 1228 in all Cameras

Olympus E-PL9 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-PL9 is the better camera overall.

Olympus E-PL9 vs Ricoh WG-6 Specs Table

Detailed comparison of specifications

General	Ricoh WG-6	Olympus PEN E-PL9
Brand	Ricoh	Olympus
Announced	2018-02-21	2018-02-08
Body Type	Compact	Rangefinder-style mirrorless
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	16 megapixels
Max Resolution	5184 x 3888	4608 x 3456
Max Native Light sensitivity	6,400 ISO	6,400 ISO
Max Boosted Light Sensitivity	-	25600 ISO
Min Native Light sensitivity	125 ISO	200 ISO
Min Boosted Light Sensitivity	-	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	121
Lens
Manual Focus
Lens Mount	fixed lens	Micro 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	Tilting
Size	3"	3
Resolution	1,040k dots	1,040k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder	None	Electronic (optional)
Photography Features
Max Mechanical Shutter	1/4000s	1/4000s
Max Electronic Shutter	n/a	1/16000s
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)	7.60 m (at ISO 200)
External Flash
Continuous Shooting	n/a	8.6 fps
Multi-Segment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF-Area
Center Weighted
AE Bracketing
WB Bracketing
Video Features
Max Video Resolution	3840x2160	3840 x 2160
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	380g
Dimensions	118 x 66 x 33mm	117 x 68 x 39mm
Battery Life	340 shots	350 shots
Other Features
Timelapse Recording
GPS	Built-in	None
DxO Sensor Scores
	Report a correction	Report a correction