Olympus E-30 vs Olympus SZ-31MR iHS
60 Imaging
46 Features
54 Overall
49


89 Imaging
39 Features
47 Overall
42
Olympus E-30 vs Olympus SZ-31MR iHS Key Specs
(Full Review)
- 12MP - Four Thirds Sensor
- 2.7" Fully Articulated Screen
- ISO 100 - 3200
- Sensor based Image Stabilization
- 1/8000s Max Shutter
- No Video
- Micro Four Thirds Mount
- 695g - 142 x 108 x 75mm
- Launched March 2009
(Full Review)
- 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
- 3" Fixed Screen
- ISO 80 - 6400
- Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
- 1920 x 1080 video
- 25-600mm (F3.0-6.9) lens
- 226g - 106 x 69 x 40mm
- Revealed February 2012

Olympus E-30 vs Olympus SZ-31MR iHS Overview
The following is a extended assessment of the Olympus E-30 vs Olympus SZ-31MR iHS, former is a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom and both of them are created by Olympus. There exists a considerable gap between the resolutions of the E-30 (12MP) and SZ-31MR iHS (16MP) and the E-30 (Four Thirds) and SZ-31MR iHS (1/2.3") have totally different sensor sizing.

The E-30 was manufactured 3 years earlier than the SZ-31MR iHS which is quite a large difference as far as technology is concerned. Each of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-30 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Olympus SZ-31MR iHS being a Compact camera.
Before getting right into a comprehensive comparison, here is a quick view of how the E-30 scores vs the SZ-31MR iHS in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Olympus E-30 vs Olympus SZ-31MR iHS Gallery
This is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus E-30 & Olympus SZ-31MR iHS. The entire galleries are provided at Olympus E-30 Gallery & Olympus SZ-31MR iHS Gallery.
Reasons to pick Olympus E-30 over the Olympus SZ-31MR iHS
E-30 | SZ-31MR iHS | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Focus manually | ![]() | More exact focusing | ||
Screen type | Fully Articulated | ![]() | Fixed | Fully Articulating screen |
Selfie screen | ![]() | Take selfies |
Reasons to pick Olympus SZ-31MR iHS over the Olympus E-30
SZ-31MR iHS | E-30 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Revealed | February 2012 | ![]() | March 2009 | Newer by 35 months |
Screen dimensions | 3" | ![]() | 2.7" | Bigger screen (+0.3") |
Screen resolution | 920k | ![]() | 230k | Sharper screen (+690k dot) |
Touch friendly screen | ![]() | Quickly navigate |
Common features in the Olympus E-30 and Olympus SZ-31MR iHS
E-30 | SZ-31MR iHS |
---|
Olympus E-30 vs Olympus SZ-31MR iHS Physical Comparison
If you are intending to travel with your camera regularly, you should take into account its weight and volume. The Olympus E-30 enjoys physical measurements of 142mm x 108mm x 75mm (5.6" x 4.3" x 3.0") accompanied by a weight of 695 grams (1.53 lbs) whilst the Olympus SZ-31MR iHS has sizing of 106mm x 69mm x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6") and a weight of 226 grams (0.50 lbs).
Check the Olympus E-30 vs Olympus SZ-31MR iHS in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.
Don't forget, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you are working with at that time. Here is a front view proportions comparison of the E-30 versus the SZ-31MR iHS.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-30 and SZ-31MR iHS is 60 and 89 respectively.

Olympus E-30 vs Olympus SZ-31MR iHS Sensor Comparison
More often than not, it is tough to visualise the difference between sensor dimensions purely by checking a spec sheet. The image here may offer you a far better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-30 and SZ-31MR iHS.
Clearly, each of these cameras provide different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The E-30 because of its bigger sensor will make shooting shallower depth of field simpler and the Olympus SZ-31MR iHS will give you more detail due to its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will help you crop shots more aggressively. The more aged E-30 is going to be behind when it comes to sensor technology.

Olympus E-30 vs Olympus SZ-31MR iHS Screen and ViewFinder


Photography Type Scores
Portrait Comparison

Street Comparison

Sports Comparison

Travel Comparison

Landscape Comparison

Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-30 vs Olympus SZ-31MR iHS Specifications
Olympus E-30 | Olympus SZ-31MR iHS | |
---|---|---|
General Information | ||
Company | Olympus | Olympus |
Model type | Olympus E-30 | Olympus SZ-31MR iHS |
Class | Advanced DSLR | Small Sensor Superzoom |
Launched | 2009-03-24 | 2012-02-08 |
Physical type | Mid-size SLR | Compact |
Sensor Information | ||
Processor Chip | TruePic III+ | Dual TruePic V |
Sensor type | CMOS | BSI-CMOS |
Sensor size | Four Thirds | 1/2.3" |
Sensor dimensions | 17.3 x 13mm | 6.17 x 4.55mm |
Sensor area | 224.9mm² | 28.1mm² |
Sensor resolution | 12MP | 16MP |
Anti alias filter | ||
Aspect ratio | 1:1, 5:4, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 | 4:3 and 16:9 |
Full resolution | 4032 x 3024 | 4608 x 3456 |
Max native ISO | 3200 | 6400 |
Min native ISO | 100 | 80 |
RAW pictures | ||
Autofocusing | ||
Focus manually | ||
Touch to focus | ||
Continuous autofocus | ||
Autofocus single | ||
Autofocus tracking | ||
Autofocus selectice | ||
Center weighted autofocus | ||
Autofocus multi area | ||
Live view autofocus | ||
Face detection focus | ||
Contract detection focus | ||
Phase detection focus | ||
Total focus points | 11 | - |
Cross type focus points | - | - |
Lens | ||
Lens mount type | Micro Four Thirds | fixed lens |
Lens zoom range | - | 25-600mm (24.0x) |
Maximal aperture | - | f/3.0-6.9 |
Macro focusing range | - | 1cm |
Total lenses | 45 | - |
Crop factor | 2.1 | 5.8 |
Screen | ||
Screen type | Fully Articulated | Fixed Type |
Screen sizing | 2.7 inches | 3 inches |
Resolution of screen | 230 thousand dots | 920 thousand dots |
Selfie friendly | ||
Liveview | ||
Touch capability | ||
Screen technology | HyperCrystal II LCD | Hypercrystal III TFT Color LCD |
Viewfinder Information | ||
Viewfinder type | Optical (pentaprism) | None |
Viewfinder coverage | 98% | - |
Viewfinder magnification | 0.56x | - |
Features | ||
Lowest shutter speed | 60 seconds | 4 seconds |
Highest shutter speed | 1/8000 seconds | 1/1700 seconds |
Continuous shooting rate | 5.0 frames/s | 7.0 frames/s |
Shutter priority | ||
Aperture priority | ||
Manual mode | ||
Exposure compensation | Yes | - |
Change white balance | ||
Image stabilization | ||
Integrated flash | ||
Flash distance | 13.00 m | 9.30 m |
Flash modes | Auto, Manual, Fill, Red-eye reduction, Slow sync with red-eye reduction, Slow sync, Slow sync 2nd curtain, Off | Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in |
External flash | ||
AEB | ||
White balance bracketing | ||
Highest flash synchronize | 1/250 seconds | - |
Exposure | ||
Multisegment | ||
Average | ||
Spot | ||
Partial | ||
AF area | ||
Center weighted | ||
Video features | ||
Video resolutions | - | 1920 x 1080 (30 fps), 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 180 (30fps) |
Max video resolution | None | 1920x1080 |
Video format | - | MPEG-4, H.264 |
Mic port | ||
Headphone port | ||
Connectivity | ||
Wireless | None | Eye-Fi Connected |
Bluetooth | ||
NFC | ||
HDMI | ||
USB | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) |
GPS | None | None |
Physical | ||
Environment sealing | ||
Water proofing | ||
Dust proofing | ||
Shock proofing | ||
Crush proofing | ||
Freeze proofing | ||
Weight | 695 grams (1.53 lbs) | 226 grams (0.50 lbs) |
Physical dimensions | 142 x 108 x 75mm (5.6" x 4.3" x 3.0") | 106 x 69 x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6") |
DXO scores | ||
DXO All around rating | 55 | not tested |
DXO Color Depth rating | 21.3 | not tested |
DXO Dynamic range rating | 10.4 | not tested |
DXO Low light rating | 530 | not tested |
Other | ||
Battery life | 750 pictures | 200 pictures |
Style of battery | Battery Pack | Battery Pack |
Battery ID | BLM-1 | LI-50B |
Self timer | Yes (12 or 2 sec) | Yes (2 or 12 sec, pet auto shutter) |
Time lapse feature | ||
Type of storage | Compact Flash (Type I or II) / xD Picture Card | SD/SDHC/SDXC |
Card slots | One | One |
Price at launch | $1,299 | $0 |