Olympus E-30 vs Olympus VG-160

Lets look more in depth at the Olympus E-30 and Olympus VG-160, former is a Advanced DSLR while the other is a Small Sensor Compact and both are offered by Olympus. The sensor resolution of the E-30 (12MP) and the VG-160 (14MP) is fairly close but the E-30 (Four Thirds) and VG-160 (1/2.3") provide different sensor sizing.

Photography Glossary

The E-30 was unveiled 3 years before the VG-160 which is a fairly sizable difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of the cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-30 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Olympus VG-160 being a Compact camera.

Before diving into a more detailed comparison, here is a short synopsis of how the E-30 matches up versus the VG-160 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Here is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus E-30 & Olympus VG-160. The full galleries are provided at Olympus E-30 Gallery & Olympus VG-160 Gallery.

For those who are looking to travel with your camera regularly, you will have to think about its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-30 comes with external measurements of 142mm x 108mm x 75mm (5.6" x 4.3" x 3.0") with a weight of 695 grams (1.53 lbs) and the Olympus VG-160 has measurements of 96mm x 57mm x 19mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.7") having a weight of 125 grams (0.28 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-30 and Olympus VG-160 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you have chosen at the time. The following is a front view dimension comparison of the E-30 against the VG-160.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-30 and VG-160 is 60 and 96 respectively.

Normally, it can be difficult to imagine the difference in sensor dimensions just by researching technical specs. The pic underneath may offer you a stronger sense of the sensor sizing in the E-30 and VG-160.

As you can tell, both the cameras feature different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The E-30 with its larger sensor is going to make achieving shallow DOF simpler and the Olympus VG-160 will provide you with more detail having an extra 2 Megapixels. Greater resolution will make it easier to crop photos way more aggressively. The more aged E-30 will be behind when it comes to sensor tech.