Canon SX170 IS vs Ricoh GR III

Let's take a deeper look at the Canon SX170 IS vs Ricoh GR III, one being a Small Sensor Superzoom and the other is a Large Sensor Compact by companies Canon and Ricoh. There exists a significant gap among the sensor resolutions of the SX170 IS (16MP) and GR III (24MP) and the SX170 IS (1/2.3") and GR III (APS-C) posses different sensor dimensions.

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The SX170 IS was manufactured 6 years earlier than the GR III and that is a fairly sizable gap as far as camera technology is concerned. The two cameras feature different body design with the Canon SX170 IS being a Compact camera and the Ricoh GR III being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before getting right into a detailed comparison, here is a concise overview of how the SX170 IS matches up against the GR III in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

The following is a sample of the gallery pics for Canon PowerShot SX170 IS and Ricoh GR III. The entire galleries are viewable at Canon SX170 IS Gallery and Ricoh GR III Gallery.

For those who are going to lug around your camera frequently, you have to take into account its weight and size. The Canon SX170 IS comes with outside dimensions of 108mm x 71mm x 44mm (4.3" x 2.8" x 1.7") and a weight of 251 grams (0.55 lbs) whilst the Ricoh GR III has specifications of 109mm x 62mm x 33mm (4.3" x 2.4" x 1.3") along with a weight of 257 grams (0.57 lbs).

Check out the Canon SX170 IS vs Ricoh GR III in the latest Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary depending on the lens you are using during that time. Below is a front view scale comparison of the SX170 IS against the GR III.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the SX170 IS and GR III is 88 and 90 respectively.

Quite often, it is very hard to visualize the contrast in sensor measurements just by looking through technical specs. The graphic here will help provide you a better sense of the sensor dimensions in the SX170 IS and GR III.

As you can tell, the 2 cameras feature different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The SX170 IS featuring a smaller sensor is going to make getting shallow DOF tougher and the Ricoh GR III will result in extra detail due to its extra 8MP. Greater resolution will help you crop images way more aggressively. The older SX170 IS will be behind when it comes to sensor tech.