Canon SD970 IS vs Ricoh GR Digital IV

Its time to look closer at the Canon SD970 IS and Ricoh GR Digital IV, both Small Sensor Compact cameras by companies Canon and Ricoh. The resolution of the SD970 IS (12MP) and the GR Digital IV (10MP) is pretty comparable but the SD970 IS (1/2.3") and GR Digital IV (1/1.7") feature totally different sensor dimensions.

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The SD970 IS was revealed 3 years prior to the GR Digital IV and that is a fairly big difference as far as camera technology is concerned. The two cameras come with the identical body type (Compact).

Before going through a comprehensive comparison, below is a brief summation of how the SD970 IS matches up vs the GR Digital IV in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

The following is a preview of the gallery images for Canon PowerShot SD970 IS & Ricoh GR Digital IV. The full galleries are viewable at Canon SD970 IS Gallery & Ricoh GR Digital IV Gallery.

For anybody who is looking to lug around your camera frequently, you will want to think about its weight and measurements. The Canon SD970 IS offers external measurements of 96mm x 57mm x 26mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 1.0") and a weight of 160 grams (0.35 lbs) while the Ricoh GR Digital IV has proportions of 109mm x 59mm x 33mm (4.3" x 2.3" x 1.3") with a weight of 190 grams (0.42 lbs).

Look at the Canon SD970 IS and Ricoh GR Digital IV in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you have at that time. The following is the front view physical size comparison of the SD970 IS against the GR Digital IV.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the SD970 IS and GR Digital IV is 94 and 92 respectively.

Normally, it can be hard to visualise the difference in sensor measurements only by seeing a spec sheet. The visual underneath should offer you a much better sense of the sensor sizing in the SD970 IS and GR Digital IV.

Clearly, each of the cameras have got different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The SD970 IS using its smaller sensor will make getting bokeh more difficult and the Canon SD970 IS will produce more detail because of its extra 2MP. Higher resolution can also enable you to crop pictures much more aggressively. The older SD970 IS will be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor tech.