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Ricoh WG-6 vs Olympus PEN-F Comparison

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Ricoh WG-6

20 MP | 1/2.3 BSI-CMOS Sensor

Ricoh WG-6
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Olympus PEN-F

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

Olympus PEN-F
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Ricoh WG-6 vs Olympus PEN-F 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 PEN-F, which was introduced in January 2016 is a Advanced Mirrorless camera with a 20.0MP Four Thirds sensor. As you can see, PEN-F is 2 years older than WG-6. Let's see if this age difference between two cameras makes a big difference.

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 PEN-F 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 PEN-F Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2016-01-27
  • 20MP - Four Thirds CMOS Sensor
  • ISO 200 - 25600 ( expands to 80)
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 3.00" Fully Articulated Screen
  • 2360k dot Electronic viewfinder
  • 10.0fps continuous shooting
  • Full HD - 1920 x 1080 video resolution
  • Built-in Wireless
  • 427g. 125 x 72 x 37 mm

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Ricoh WG-6 and Olympus PEN-F 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 PEN-F
Built-in Flash
Yes vs No Useful in low-light
Internal Storage
27MB vs None Extra built-in storage
Battery Life
340 shots vs 330 shots 10 more frames with a single charge
Weight
246 g vs 427 g 181 g lighter
Environmental Sealing
Yes vs No shoot at tough conditions
Max Video Resolution
3840 x 2160 vs 1920 x 1080 Higher Resolution Video
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 PEN-F over Ricoh WG-6
Wireless Connection
Built-In vs Supports FlashAir SD cards Better connectivity
Live Composite Mode
Yes vs No Excellent help for long-exposure photography
In-built Image Stabilization
Sensor-shift vs None Sharper images at longer focal lengths and slow shutter speeds
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
Electronic vs None Better framing and control
RAW Support
Yes vs No Better image quality
Max ISO
25.600 vs 6.400 300% higher Max ISO
Number of Focus Points
81 vs 9 72 more focus points
Max Mech. Shutter
1/8000s vs 1/4000s faster mechanical shutter
Manual Exposure
Yes vs No better exposure control
AE Bracketing Range
±5 EV vs ±2 EV Wide Bracketing range is useful for HDR
Selfie & Vlogger LCD
Yes vs No Rotate LCD for taking Selfies
Pixel Shift High-Res Mode
Yes (50.0MP) vs No Increased resolution with pixel shift
Focus Bracketing
Yes vs No Take multiple photos shifting focus point
Focus Stacking
Yes vs No Stacks photos in-camera to maximize depth of field
Smartphone Remote
Yes vs No Remote control your camera with a smartphone
UHS Card Support
UHS-II vs none Read/Write in High Speeds
CHECK PEN-F PRICE

Common Strengths of Ricoh WG-6 and Olympus PEN-F
Face Detection Focus
Yes vs Yes very handy for portraits
Max Resolution
20 MP vs 20 MP Bigger prints and more details
LCD Screen Resolution
1.040k dots vs 1.037k dots High resolution screens
Max Continuous Shooting
fps vs 10.0fps 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-F
Ricoh WG-6 vs Olympus PEN-F: 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 PEN-F 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 PEN-F has external dimensions of 125 x 72 x 37 mm (4.92 x 2.83 x 1.46″) and weighs 427 g (0.94 lb / 15.06 oz) (including batteries).

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Ricoh WG-6 and Olympus PEN-F. Ricoh WG-6 is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 7mm narrower, 6mm shorter and 4mm thinner than Olympus PEN-F. As you can tell, actually this is not a fair size comparison since Ricoh WG-6 has a built-in lens but Olympus PEN-F doesn't. Once you put a lens on PEN-F, its thickness will increase significantly.

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

Here is the back view size comparison of Ricoh WG-6 and Olympus PEN-F.

Ricoh WG-6 vs Olympus PEN-F Camera Size Comparison - Back View
Comparison image of Ricoh WG-6 and Olympus PEN-F Size and Weight - Back View

Now lets look at the top view comparison of Ricoh WG-6 and Olympus PEN-F.
Ricoh WG-6 vs Olympus PEN-F Camera Size Comparison - Top View
Top View Comparison image of Ricoh WG-6 and Olympus PEN-F 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 (181g ) than the Olympus PEN-F 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 PEN-F, the total kit will weigh much higher.

Weather Sealing

Thanks to the weather sealed body of WG-6, you can use this camera with more confidence under conditions where there is risk of exposure to water and dust compared to PEN-F.

LCD Screen Size and Features

Ricoh WG-6 and Olympus PEN-F's LCD screens has the same diagonal size of 3.00".

On the other hand, Olympus PEN-F 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. Ricoh WG-6's LCD screen is a fixed type which provides almost no flexibility in shooting positions compared to PEN-F.
Ricoh WG-6 vs Olympus PEN-F: Sensor Comparison

Both Ricoh WG-6 and Olympus PEN-F have 20.0 MP resolution sensors but Ricoh WG-6's sensor is 1/2.3 (6.17 x 4.55 mm ) and Olympus PEN-F's sensor is Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ).

Since Olympus PEN-F's has a larger sensor area with the same resolution, this means that it also has a larger pixel area hence better light collecting capacity for a given aperture compared to Ricoh WG-6.

Below you can see the WG-6 and PEN-F sensor size comparison.

Ricoh WG-6 vs Olympus PEN-F Sensor Size Comparison
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Ricoh WG-6 and Olympus PEN-F Cameras


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

GOOD
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
Very High Resolution Sensor: 20.0MP
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Average Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details

Ricoh WG-6 for Street Photography

AVERAGE

Olympus PEN-F for Street Photography

EXCELLENT
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
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Fully Articulated LCD Screen
Medium sized Body
Read the details

Ricoh WG-6 for Sports Photography

POOR

Olympus PEN-F 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
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Fast Continuous Shooting: 10.0fps
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/8000s
81 Focus Points
Wireless Connection
Average Ergonomics&Handling
Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Ricoh WG-6 for Daily Photography

AVERAGE

Olympus PEN-F for Daily Photography

GOOD
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
Medium size Body
427g
Read the details

Ricoh WG-6 for Landscape Photography

POOR

Olympus PEN-F for Landscape Photography

AVERAGE
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
Very High Resolution Sensor: 20.0MP
Live-view
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Ricoh WG-6 vs Olympus PEN-F: 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 PEN-F, 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 PEN-F 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 PEN-F
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #22 out of 134 in Rangefinder-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked #150 out of 1257 in all Cameras

Olympus PEN-F 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 PEN-F is the better camera overall.

Ricoh WG-6
Ricoh WG-6
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Olympus PEN-F
Olympus PEN-F
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Olympus PEN-F vs Ricoh WG-6 Specs Table
Detailed comparison of specifications
General Ricoh WG-6 Olympus PEN-F
Brand Ricoh Olympus
Announced 2018-02-21 2016-01-27
Body Type Compact Rangefinder-style mirrorless
Sensor
Type BSI-CMOS CMOS
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 20 megapixels
Max Resolution 5184 x 3888 5184 x 3888
Max Native Light sensitivity 6,400 ISO 25,600 ISO
Min Native Light sensitivity 125 ISO 200 ISO
Min Boosted Light Sensitivity - 80 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 81
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 Fully Articulated
Size 3.00" 3.00"
Resolution 1,040k dots 1,037k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder None Electronic
Viewfinder Resolution no electronic viewfinder 2,360k dots
Viewfinder Coverage n/a 100%
Viewfinder Magnification n/a 0.62x
Photography Features
Max Mechanical Shutter 1/4000s 1/8000s
Max Electronic Shutter n/a 1/16000s
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Custom White Balance
Built-in Image Stabilization Digital only Sensor-shift
Built-in Flash
Flash Range 5.50 m (with Auto ISO) no built-in flash
External Flash
Continuous Shooting n/a 10.0 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 1920 x 1080
Video Formats MPEG-4, H.264 MPEG-4, H.264, Motion JPEG
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Connectivity
Wireless Connectivity Supports FlashAir SD cards Built-In
HDMI
Physical
Environmental Sealing
Weight 246g 427g
Dimensions 118 x 66 x 33mm 125 x 72 x 37mm
Battery Life 340 shots 330 shots
Other Features
Timelapse Recording
GPS Built-in None
DxO Sensor Scores
DxO Overall Score not tested 74
DxO Color Depth not tested 23.1
DxO Dynamic Range not tested 12.4
DxO Low Light ISO not tested 894
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