Ricoh WG-6 vs Sony A37 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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Sony A37

16 MP | APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm) CMOS Sensor

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Ricoh WG-6 vs Sony A37 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 Sony A37, which was introduced in May 2012 is a Entry-Level DSLR camera with a 16.0MP APS-C sensor. As you can see, A37 is 6 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 Sony A37 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

Sony A37 Key Specs

Announcement Date: 2012-05-16

16MP - APS-C CMOS Sensor

ISO 100 - 25600

Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount

Sensor-shift Image Stabilization

2.60" Tilting Screen

1440k dot Electronic viewfinder

6.0fps continuous shooting

Full HD - 1920 x 1080 video resolution

506g. 124 x 92 x 85 mm

Replaced Sony SLT-A35 Compare

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Ricoh WG-6 and Sony A37 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 Sony SLT-A37

Max Sensor Resolution	20 MP vs 16 MP	25% more pixels
LCD Screen Size	3" vs 2.6"	0.4 inches larger display
LCD Screen Resolution	1.040k dots vs 230k dots	351% higher resolution screen
Weight	246 g vs 506 g	260 g lighter
Environmental Sealing	Yes vs No	shoot at tough conditions
Timelapse Recording	Yes vs No	creative shooting
Max Video Resolution	3840 x 2160 vs 1920 x 1080	Higher Resolution Video

Reasons to choose Sony SLT-A37 over Ricoh WG-6

In-built Image Stabilization	Sensor-shift vs None	Sharper images at longer focal lengths and slow shutter speeds
LCD Screen	Tilting vs Fixed Type	Flexible shooting positions
External Flash Shoe	Yes vs No	Better for flash photography
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	15 vs 9	6 more focus points
Battery Life	500 shots vs 340 shots	160 more frames with a single charge
Manual Exposure	Yes vs No	better exposure control
Microphone Port	Yes vs No	High quality audio recording option
Flash Coverage	12.0m vs 5.5m	6.5m longer range
Sensor Pixel Area	22.87µm² vs 1.39µm²	1545% larger pixel area

Common Strengths of Ricoh WG-6 and Sony SLT-A37

Built-in Flash	Yes vs Yes	Useful in low-light
Face Detection Focus	Yes vs Yes	very handy for portraits
Continuous Shooting	fps vs 6.0fps	Fast shooting speeds
AE Bracketing	Yes vs Yes	Useful for tough lighting conditions and HDR

Common Weaknesses of Ricoh WG-6 and Sony SLT-A37

LCD Screen Size	2.60" vs 2.60"	Small display

Ricoh WG-6 vs Sony A37: 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 Sony A37 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). Sony A37 has external dimensions of 124 x 92 x 85 mm (4.88 x 3.62 x 3.35″) and weighs 506 g (1.12 lb / 17.85 oz) (including batteries).

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Ricoh WG-6 and Sony A37. Ricoh WG-6 is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 6mm narrower, 26mm shorter and 52mm thinner than Sony A37. As you can tell, actually this is not a fair size comparison since Ricoh WG-6 has a built-in lens but Sony A37 doesn't. Once you put a lens on A37, its thickness will increase significantly.

Comparison image of Ricoh WG-6 and Sony A37 Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View

Here is the back view size comparison of Ricoh WG-6 and Sony A37.

Comparison image of Ricoh WG-6 and Sony A37 Size and Weight - Back View

Now lets look at the top view comparison of Ricoh WG-6 and Sony A37.

Top View Comparison image of Ricoh WG-6 and Sony A37 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 (260g ) than the Sony A37 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 A37, 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 Sony A37's 2.6" screen.

Ricoh WG-6 vs Sony A37: 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, Sony A37 has a 16.0MP APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm ) sized CMOS sensor .

Below you can see the WG-6 and A37 sensor size comparison.

Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Ricoh WG-6 and Sony A37 Cameras

As seen above, Sony A37 has a 13.1x 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 Sony A37 Good for?

In this section, we rank and compare Ricoh WG-6 and Sony A37 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

Sony A37 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 APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Average Resolution Sensor: 16.0MP
Read the details

Ricoh WG-6 for Street Photography

AVERAGE

Sony A37 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 APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Tilting LCD Screen
Large Body
Read the details

Ricoh WG-6 for Sports Photography

POOR

Sony A37 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
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
3 Cross Type Focus sensors
15 Focus Points
Average Continuous Shooting: 6.0fps
Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Ricoh WG-6 for Daily Photography

AVERAGE

Sony A37 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 APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm) sensor
Large Body
506g
Body Thickness 85mm
Read the details

Ricoh WG-6 for Landscape Photography

POOR

Sony A37 for Landscape Photography

AVERAGE

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 APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm) sensor
Live-view
Average Resolution Sensor: 16.0MP
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Ricoh WG-6 vs Sony A37: 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 Sony A37, 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 Sony A37 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

Sony A37

Imaging

Features

Value

Portability

Overall

Ranked #22 out of 79 in Compact SLR cameras
Ranked #202 out of 1237 in all Cameras

Sony A37 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, Sony A37 is the better camera overall.

Sony A37 vs Ricoh WG-6 Specs Table

Detailed comparison of specifications

General	Ricoh WG-6	Sony SLT-A37
Brand	Ricoh	Sony
Announced	2018-02-21	2012-05-16
Body Type	Compact	Compact SLR
Sensor
Type	BSI-CMOS	CMOS
Size	1/2.3"	APS-C
Dimensions	6.17 x 4.55 mm	23.5 x 15.6 mm
Area	28.07mm²	366.60mm²
Megapixels	20 megapixels	16 megapixels
Max Resolution	5184 x 3888	4912 x 3264
Max Native Light sensitivity	6,400 ISO	25,600 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	15
Lens
Manual Focus
Lens Mount	fixed lens	Sony/Minolta Alpha
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	3.00"	2.60"
Resolution	1,040k dots	230k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder	None	Electronic
Viewfinder Resolution	no electronic viewfinder	1,440k dots
Viewfinder Coverage	n/a	100%
Viewfinder Magnification	n/a	0.73x
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	Sensor-shift
Built-in Flash
Flash Range	5.50 m (with Auto ISO)	12.00 m
Max Flash Sync	n/a	1/160s
External Flash
Continuous Shooting	n/a	6.0 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, AVCHD, H.264
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Connectivity
Wireless Connectivity	Supports FlashAir SD cards	Eye-Fi Connected
HDMI
Physical
Environmental Sealing
Weight	246g	506g
Dimensions	118 x 66 x 33mm	124 x 92 x 85mm
Battery Life	340 shots	500 shots
Other Features
Timelapse Recording
GPS	Built-in	None
DxO Sensor Scores
DxO Overall Score	not tested	75
DxO Color Depth	not tested	23.3
DxO Dynamic Range	not tested	12.9
DxO Low Light ISO	not tested	799
	Report a correction	Report a correction