Ricoh WG-6 vs Pentax VS20 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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Pentax VS20

16 MP | 1/2.33" (6.08 x 4.56 mm) CCD Sensor

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Ricoh WG-6 vs Pentax VS20 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 Pentax VS20, which was introduced in January 2012 is a Small Sensor Superzoom camera with a 16.0MP 1/2.3-inch sensor. As you can see, VS20 is 6 years older than WG-6. Let's see if this age difference between two cameras makes a big difference.

Here is a brief look at the main features of Ricoh WG-6 and Pentax VS20 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

Pentax VS20 Key Specs

Announcement Date: 2012-01-25

16MP - 1/2.3-inch CCD Sensor

ISO 100 - 6400

28-560 mm F3.1-4.8 Zoom Lens

Sensor-shift Image Stabilization

3.00" Fixed Type Screen

1.0fps continuous shooting

HD - 1280 x 720 video resolution

235g. 111 x 61 x 38 mm

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Ricoh WG-6 and Pentax VS20 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 Pentax Optio VS20

Face Detection Focus	Yes vs No	very handy for portraits
Max Sensor Resolution	20 MP vs 16 MP	25% more pixels
Number of Focus Points	9 vs 3	6 more focus points
LCD Screen Resolution	1.040k dots vs 460k dots	126% higher resolution screen
Max Mech. Shutter	1/4000s vs 1/2500s	faster mechanical shutter
Environmental Sealing	Yes vs No	shoot at tough conditions
Timelapse Recording	Yes vs No	creative shooting
Flash Coverage	5.5m vs 2.8m	2.7m longer range
Max Video Resolution	3840 x 2160 vs 1280 x 720	Higher Resolution Video
AE Bracketing	Yes vs No	Useful for tough lighting conditions and HDR

Reasons to choose Pentax Optio VS20 over Ricoh WG-6

In-built Image Stabilization	Sensor-shift vs None	Sharper images at longer focal lengths and slow shutter speeds
Weight	235 g vs 246 g	11 g lighter
Focal Length - Tele	560mm vs 140mm	420 mm longer tele reach
Optical Zoom	20× vs 5x	more flexible focal coverage
Max Aperture - Wide	3.10 vs 3.50	faster lens at wide
Max Aperture - Tele	4.80 vs 5.50	faster lens at tele

Common Strengths of Ricoh WG-6 and Pentax Optio VS20

Built-in Flash	Yes vs Yes	Useful in low-light
Manual Focusing	Yes vs Yes	both have manual focusing modes

Common Weaknesses of Ricoh WG-6 and Pentax Optio VS20

Fixed Screen	Fixed Type vs No	No flexible viewing angles
External Flash Shoe	No vs No	Not suitable for flash photography
Viewfinder	None vs None	No eye-level shooting option
RAW Support	No vs No	Lower image quality
Continuous Shooting	fps vs 1.0fps	Slow shooting speeds

Ricoh WG-6 vs Pentax VS20: 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 Pentax VS20 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). Pentax VS20 has external dimensions of 111 x 61 x 38 mm (4.37 x 2.4 x 1.5″) and weighs 235 g (0.52 lb / 8.29 oz) (including batteries).

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Ricoh WG-6 and Pentax VS20. Pentax VS20 is 7mm narrower and 5mm shorter than Ricoh WG-6 but it is also 5mm thicker.

Comparison image of Ricoh WG-6 and Pentax VS20 Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View

Here is the back view size comparison of Ricoh WG-6 and Pentax VS20.

Comparison image of Ricoh WG-6 and Pentax VS20 Size and Weight - Back View

Now lets look at the top view comparison of Ricoh WG-6 and Pentax VS20.

Top View Comparison image of Ricoh WG-6 and Pentax VS20 Size

Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day. Pentax VS20 is 11g lighter than the Ricoh WG-6 but we don't think this will make a significant difference.

Weight Comparison

Compact Cameras

WG-6

VS20

Min

Average

Max

Thickness Comparison

Compact Cameras

WG-6

VS20

Min

Average

Max

Weather Sealing

LCD Screen Size and Features

Ricoh WG-6 and Pentax VS20's LCD screens has the same diagonal size of 3.00".

Unfortunately, both cameras has fixed screens so they don't tilt or flip in directions.

Ricoh WG-6 vs Pentax VS20: 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, Pentax VS20 has a 16.0MP 1/2.3-inch (6.08 x 4.56 mm ) sized CCD sensor .

Below you can see the WG-6 and VS20 sensor size comparison.

Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Ricoh WG-6 and Pentax VS20 Cameras

Ricoh WG-6 and Pentax VS20 have almost the same sensor size so none of them has any significant advantage over other in providing control over depth of field when used with same focal length and aperture.

Ricoh WG-6 vs Pentax VS20 Lens Specs Comparison

Ricoh WG-6 features a 28-140 mm F3.5-5.5 5x zoom lens whereas Pentax VS20 features a 28-560 mm F3.1-4.8 20× zoom lens.

Both cameras have a wide angle coverage of 28mm. On the other hand, with a max aperture of f3.10, Pentax VS20 is faster than Ricoh WG-6 at this focal length. On the tele end, Pentax VS20 has 420mm longer reach than the Ricoh WG-6. At f4.80, it is also faster at tele end.

Wide Coverage

Compact Cameras

WG-6

VS20

Widest - Olympus TG-850 iHS

Average

Telezoom

Compact Cameras

WG-6

VS20

Longest - Canon SX520 HS

Average

Max Aperture at Tele

Compact Cameras

WG-6

VS20

Fastest - Ricoh GR Digital IV

Average

Max Aperture at Wide

Compact Cameras

WG-6

VS20

Fastest - Leica D-Lux 6

Average

What types of Photography are Ricoh WG-6 and Pentax VS20 Good for?

In this section, we rank and compare Ricoh WG-6 and Pentax VS20 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

Pentax VS20 for Portrait Photography

POOR

Very High Resolution Sensor: 20.0MP
Manual Focus Mode
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

Image Stabilization
Manual Focus Mode
Average Resolution Sensor: 16.0MP
Small 1/2.33" (6.08 x 4.56 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

Ricoh WG-6 for Street Photography

AVERAGE

Pentax VS20 for Street Photography

GOOD

Manual Focus Mode
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

Image Stabilization
Manual Focus Mode
Small Body
Live-view
28 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
Small 1/2.33" (6.08 x 4.56 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
No Built-in Viewfinder
Read the details

Ricoh WG-6 for Sports Photography

POOR

Pentax VS20 for Sports Photography

POOR

Manual Focus Mode
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
Manual Focus Mode
560 mm Tele Lens
Average Max shutter speed: 1/2500s
No RAW shooting capability
No External Flash Shoe
No Built-in Viewfinder
No Manual Exposure Mode
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
Slow Continuous Shooting: 1.0fps
Environmental Sealings
3 Focus Points
Read the details

Ricoh WG-6 for Daily Photography

AVERAGE

Pentax VS20 for Daily Photography

AVERAGE

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

Compact Body
235g
20.0X Optical Zoom
Small 1/2.33" (6.08 x 4.56 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
Read the details

Ricoh WG-6 for Landscape Photography

POOR

Pentax VS20 for Landscape Photography

POOR

Very High Resolution Sensor: 20.0MP
Manual Focus Mode
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

Manual Focus Mode
28 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
Average Resolution Sensor: 16.0MP
Small 1/2.33" (6.08 x 4.56 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
No Manual Exposure Mode
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Ricoh WG-6 vs Pentax VS20: 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 Pentax VS20, 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 Pentax VS20 scores compare:

Ricoh WG-6

Imaging

Features

Value

Portability

Overall

Ranked #67 out of 476 in Compact cameras
Ranked #520 out of 1237 in all Cameras

Pentax VS20

Imaging

Features

Value

Portability

Overall

Ranked #288 out of 476 in Compact cameras
Ranked #927 out of 1237 in all Cameras

Ricoh WG-6 has a higher Overall Score than the Pentax VS20 and would be our choice if we have to decide between these two cameras.

Pentax VS20 vs Ricoh WG-6 Specs Table

Detailed comparison of specifications

General	Ricoh WG-6	Pentax Optio VS20
Brand	Ricoh	Pentax
Announced	2018-02-21	2012-01-25
Body Type	Compact	Compact
Sensor
Type	BSI-CMOS	CCD
Size	1/2.3"	1/2.3-inch
Dimensions	6.17 x 4.55 mm	6.08 x 4.56 mm
Area	28.07mm²	27.72mm²
Megapixels	20 megapixels	16 megapixels
Max Resolution	5184 x 3888	4608 x 3456
Max Native Light sensitivity	6,400 ISO	6,400 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	fixed lens
Lens Focal Range	28-140 mm (5x)	28-560 mm (20×)
Max Aperture	F3.5-5.5	F3.1-4.8
Macro Focus Range	1cm	3cm
Screen
Type	Fixed type	Fixed type
Size	3.00"	3.00"
Resolution	1,040k dots	460k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder	None	None
Photography Features
Max Mechanical Shutter	1/4000s	1/2500s
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)	2.80 m
Max Flash Sync	n/a	s
External Flash
Continuous Shooting	n/a	1.0 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	1280 x 720
Video Formats	MPEG-4, H.264	Motion JPEG
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Connectivity
Wireless Connectivity	Supports FlashAir SD cards	Eye-Fi Connected
HDMI
Physical
Environmental Sealing
Weight	246g	235g
Dimensions	118 x 66 x 33mm	111 x 61 x 38mm
Battery Life	340 shots	n/a
Other Features
Timelapse Recording
GPS	Built-in	None
DxO Sensor Scores
	Report a correction	Report a correction