Olympus E-30 vs Samsung MV800

Here is a in depth overview of the Olympus E-30 vs Samsung MV800, former being a Advanced DSLR while the other is a Small Sensor Compact by competitors Olympus and Samsung. There is a large difference among the resolutions of the E-30 (12MP) and MV800 (16MP) and the E-30 (Four Thirds) and MV800 (1/2.3") use totally different sensor dimensions.

Photography Glossary

The E-30 was manufactured 3 years before the MV800 and that is a fairly serious difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Each of the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-30 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Samsung MV800 being a Compact camera.

Before going through a more detailed comparison, below is a quick view of how the E-30 matches up against the MV800 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

The following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus E-30 & Samsung MV800. The entire galleries are viewable at Olympus E-30 Gallery & Samsung MV800 Gallery.

In case you're looking to carry your camera frequently, you will need to consider its weight and volume. The Olympus E-30 provides exterior dimensions of 142mm x 108mm x 75mm (5.6" x 4.3" x 3.0") along with a weight of 695 grams (1.53 lbs) while the Samsung MV800 has sizing of 92mm x 56mm x 10mm (3.6" x 2.2" x 0.4") with a weight of 121 grams (0.27 lbs).

Check the Olympus E-30 vs Samsung MV800 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you have attached during that time. Below is the front view measurements comparison of the E-30 against the MV800.

Considering size and weight, the portability score of the E-30 and MV800 is 60 and 97 respectively.

Oftentimes, it can be hard to visualise the gap in sensor sizing only by looking through technical specs. The visual below may give you a greater sense of the sensor sizes in the E-30 and MV800.

As you have seen, each of these cameras posses different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The E-30 due to its larger sensor will make getting shallower DOF less difficult and the Samsung MV800 will render extra detail due to its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also let you crop images somewhat more aggressively. The older E-30 will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor tech.