Canon SX20 IS vs Ricoh WG-4

Here is a in depth review of the Canon SX20 IS vs Ricoh WG-4, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the latter is a Waterproof by manufacturers Canon and Ricoh. There exists a sizable gap between the sensor resolutions of the SX20 IS (12MP) and WG-4 (16MP) but both cameras offer the identical sensor dimensions (1/2.3").

Photography Glossary

The SX20 IS was introduced 4 years earlier than the WG-4 and that is quite a significant difference as far as technology is concerned. Both of these cameras feature different body design with the Canon SX20 IS being a SLR-like (bridge) camera and the Ricoh WG-4 being a Compact camera.

Before delving right into a in-depth comparison, here is a concise introduction of how the SX20 IS scores vs the WG-4 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

The following is a preview of the gallery images for Canon PowerShot SX20 IS & Ricoh WG-4. The whole galleries are provided at Canon SX20 IS Gallery & Ricoh WG-4 Gallery.

For anyone who is going to carry your camera often, you need to think about its weight and proportions. The Canon SX20 IS comes with outer measurements of 128mm x 88mm x 87mm (5.0" x 3.5" x 3.4") having a weight of 600 grams (1.32 lbs) and the Ricoh WG-4 has measurements of 124mm x 64mm x 33mm (4.9" x 2.5" x 1.3") along with a weight of 230 grams (0.51 lbs).

Check out the Canon SX20 IS vs Ricoh WG-4 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you are using at that moment. Following is a front view dimensions comparison of the SX20 IS and the WG-4.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the SX20 IS and WG-4 is 65 and 90 respectively.

Normally, it is very difficult to visualise the difference between sensor sizing merely by reading through specs. The visual here should give you a far better sense of the sensor measurements in the SX20 IS and WG-4.

All in all, each of the cameras come with the identical sensor size albeit not the same megapixels. You can expect the Ricoh WG-4 to resolve greater detail using its extra 4MP. Higher resolution will also let you crop pictures a good deal more aggressively. The older SX20 IS is going to be disadvantaged in sensor technology.