Olympus E-30 vs Olympus SH-50

Following is a in-depth review of the Olympus E-30 versus Olympus SH-50, one is a Advanced DSLR and the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom and both are manufactured by Olympus. There is a sizeable difference among the sensor resolutions of the E-30 (12MP) and SH-50 (16MP) and the E-30 (Four Thirds) and SH-50 (1/2.3") provide totally different sensor dimensions.

Photography Glossary

The E-30 was announced 4 years before the SH-50 which is a fairly large gap as far as camera tech is concerned. Both the cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-30 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Olympus SH-50 being a Compact camera.

Before getting right into a complete comparison, here is a short view of how the E-30 grades vs the SH-50 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

The following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus E-30 and Olympus SH-50. The whole galleries are available at Olympus E-30 Gallery and Olympus SH-50 Gallery.

When you are looking to carry around your camera often, you are going to need to factor its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-30 comes with external measurements of 142mm x 108mm x 75mm (5.6" x 4.3" x 3.0") and a weight of 695 grams (1.53 lbs) while the Olympus SH-50 has dimensions of 112mm x 63mm x 42mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.7") and a weight of 269 grams (0.59 lbs).

Check the Olympus E-30 versus Olympus SH-50 in the latest Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change depending on the lens you select at that time. Underneath is a front view sizing comparison of the E-30 compared to the SH-50.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability grade of the E-30 and SH-50 is 60 and 88 respectively.

Usually, it can be tough to visualise the contrast in sensor sizes merely by looking through specs. The picture underneath will give you a clearer sense of the sensor sizing in the E-30 and SH-50.

As you can plainly see, both cameras come with different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The E-30 using its larger sensor will make shooting shallow DOF less difficult and the Olympus SH-50 will render greater detail with its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also allow you to crop images a good deal more aggressively. The more aged E-30 will be behind in sensor tech.