Olympus E-30 vs Sony A850

Its time to look a little more closely at the Olympus E-30 vs Sony A850, both Advanced DSLR digital cameras by companies Olympus and Sony. There is a huge difference between the sensor resolutions of the E-30 (12MP) and A850 (25MP) and the E-30 (Four Thirds) and A850 (Full frame) come with different sensor dimensions.

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The E-30 was unveiled 12 months earlier than the A850 so they are of a similar generation. Both the cameras offer the identical body type (Mid-size SLR).

Before we go in to a comprehensive comparison, below is a brief summary of how the E-30 matches up vs the A850 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Here is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus E-30 and Sony Alpha DSLR-A850. The full galleries are viewable at Olympus E-30 Gallery and Sony A850 Gallery.

For those who are intending to carry around your camera frequently, you will have to think about its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-30 has got external dimensions of 142mm x 108mm x 75mm (5.6" x 4.3" x 3.0") and a weight of 695 grams (1.53 lbs) whilst the Sony A850 has measurements of 156mm x 117mm x 82mm (6.1" x 4.6" x 3.2") with a weight of 895 grams (1.97 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus E-30 vs Sony A850 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary depending on the lens you are utilizing at the time. The following is the front view scale comparison of the E-30 versus the A850.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability score of the E-30 and A850 is 60 and 54 respectively.

Generally, it can be difficult to visualize the contrast between sensor sizes simply by looking at technical specs. The pic below should offer you a much better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-30 and A850.

As you can tell, both of these cameras offer different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The E-30 having a tinier sensor is going to make getting shallower DOF more challenging and the Sony A850 will give you greater detail having an extra 13MP. Greater resolution will also let you crop pics a little more aggressively. The more aged E-30 is going to be behind in sensor technology.