Olympus E-30 vs Sony A37
60 Imaging
46 Features
54 Overall
49


67 Imaging
56 Features
65 Overall
59
Olympus E-30 vs Sony A37 Key Specs
(Full Review)
- 12MP - Four Thirds Sensor
- 2.7" Fully Articulated Screen
- ISO 100 - 3200
- Sensor based Image Stabilization
- 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
- No Video
- Micro Four Thirds Mount
- 695g - 142 x 108 x 75mm
- Released March 2009
(Full Review)
- 16MP - APS-C Sensor
- 2.6" Tilting Screen
- ISO 100 - 25600
- Sensor based Image Stabilization
- 1920 x 1080 video
- Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
- 506g - 124 x 92 x 85mm
- Launched May 2012
- Superseded the Sony A35

Olympus E-30 vs Sony A37 Overview
Below is a in-depth comparison of the Olympus E-30 and Sony A37, former being a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by companies Olympus and Sony. There is a substantial difference among the resolutions of the E-30 (12MP) and A37 (16MP) and the E-30 (Four Thirds) and A37 (APS-C) use totally different sensor sizes.

The E-30 was brought out 4 years earlier than the A37 and that is a fairly big difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Both cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-30 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony A37 being a Compact SLR camera.
Before diving straight into a in depth comparison, below is a concise introduction of how the E-30 grades against the A37 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Olympus E-30 vs Sony A37 Gallery
This is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus E-30 & Sony SLT-A37. The entire galleries are available at Olympus E-30 Gallery & Sony A37 Gallery.
Reasons to pick Olympus E-30 over the Sony A37
E-30 | A37 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Screen type | Fully Articulated | ![]() | Tilting | Fully Articulating screen |
Screen dimension | 2.7" | ![]() | 2.6" | Bigger screen (+0.1") |
Selfie screen | ![]() | Easy selfies |
Reasons to pick Sony A37 over the Olympus E-30
A37 | E-30 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Launched | May 2012 | ![]() | March 2009 | More recent by 38 months |
Common features in the Olympus E-30 and Sony A37
E-30 | A37 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Focus manually | ![]() | Dial precise focusing | ||
Screen resolution | 230k | ![]() | 230k | Exact same screen resolution |
Touch friendly screen | ![]() | Neither features Touch friendly screen |
Olympus E-30 vs Sony A37 Physical Comparison
In case you're planning to lug around your camera, you have to consider its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-30 enjoys 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 Sony A37 has dimensions of 124mm x 92mm x 85mm (4.9" x 3.6" x 3.3") along with a weight of 506 grams (1.12 lbs).
Contrast the Olympus E-30 and Sony A37 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.
Remember that, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you use at the time. Following is the front view measurements comparison of the E-30 vs the A37.

Factoring in size and weight, the portability score of the E-30 and A37 is 60 and 67 respectively.

Olympus E-30 vs Sony A37 Sensor Comparison
Often, it can be difficult to envision the gap in sensor measurements simply by checking out a spec sheet. The visual here might provide you a much better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-30 and A37.
As you can see, both of the cameras have got different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-30 due to its smaller sensor will make getting shallower depth of field tougher and the Sony A37 will show extra detail having its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will enable you to crop pictures much more aggressively. The older E-30 will be disadvantaged in sensor tech.

Olympus E-30 vs Sony A37 Screen and ViewFinder


Photography Type Scores
Portrait Comparison

Street Comparison

Sports Comparison

Travel Comparison

Landscape Comparison

Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-30 vs Sony A37 Specifications
Olympus E-30 | Sony SLT-A37 | |
---|---|---|
General Information | ||
Brand | Olympus | Sony |
Model | Olympus E-30 | Sony SLT-A37 |
Category | Advanced DSLR | Entry-Level DSLR |
Released | 2009-03-24 | 2012-05-16 |
Physical type | Mid-size SLR | Compact SLR |
Sensor Information | ||
Processor Chip | TruePic III+ | - |
Sensor type | CMOS | CMOS |
Sensor size | Four Thirds | APS-C |
Sensor dimensions | 17.3 x 13mm | 23.5 x 15.6mm |
Sensor surface area | 224.9mm² | 366.6mm² |
Sensor resolution | 12 megapixel | 16 megapixel |
Anti aliasing filter | ||
Aspect ratio | 1:1, 5:4, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 | 3:2 and 16:9 |
Max resolution | 4032 x 3024 | 4912 x 3264 |
Max native ISO | 3200 | 25600 |
Minimum native ISO | 100 | 100 |
RAW images | ||
Autofocusing | ||
Focus manually | ||
Touch focus | ||
Autofocus continuous | ||
Autofocus single | ||
Autofocus tracking | ||
Selective autofocus | ||
Autofocus center weighted | ||
Multi area autofocus | ||
Autofocus live view | ||
Face detection focus | ||
Contract detection focus | ||
Phase detection focus | ||
Number of focus points | 11 | 15 |
Cross focus points | - | 3 |
Lens | ||
Lens mount | Micro Four Thirds | Sony/Minolta Alpha |
Total lenses | 45 | 143 |
Crop factor | 2.1 | 1.5 |
Screen | ||
Type of screen | Fully Articulated | Tilting |
Screen size | 2.7" | 2.6" |
Resolution of screen | 230k dots | 230k dots |
Selfie friendly | ||
Liveview | ||
Touch screen | ||
Screen technology | HyperCrystal II LCD | - |
Viewfinder Information | ||
Viewfinder | Optical (pentaprism) | Electronic |
Viewfinder resolution | - | 1,440k dots |
Viewfinder coverage | 98 percent | 100 percent |
Viewfinder magnification | 0.56x | 0.73x |
Features | ||
Min shutter speed | 60s | 30s |
Max shutter speed | 1/8000s | 1/4000s |
Continuous shutter rate | 5.0fps | 6.0fps |
Shutter priority | ||
Aperture priority | ||
Manual mode | ||
Exposure compensation | Yes | Yes |
Change white balance | ||
Image stabilization | ||
Inbuilt flash | ||
Flash range | 13.00 m | 12.00 m |
Flash options | Auto, Manual, Fill, Red-eye reduction, Slow sync with red-eye reduction, Slow sync, Slow sync 2nd curtain, Off | Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, High Speed Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in, Wireless |
Hot shoe | ||
Auto exposure bracketing | ||
WB bracketing | ||
Max flash synchronize | 1/250s | 1/160s |
Exposure | ||
Multisegment metering | ||
Average metering | ||
Spot metering | ||
Partial metering | ||
AF area metering | ||
Center weighted metering | ||
Video features | ||
Supported video resolutions | - | 1920 x 1080 (60, 29.97 fps), 1440 x 1080 (30fps), 640 x 424 (29.97 fps) |
Max video resolution | None | 1920x1080 |
Video data format | - | MPEG-4, AVCHD, H.264 |
Mic support | ||
Headphone support | ||
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 proof | ||
Dust proof | ||
Shock proof | ||
Crush proof | ||
Freeze proof | ||
Weight | 695 gr (1.53 pounds) | 506 gr (1.12 pounds) |
Dimensions | 142 x 108 x 75mm (5.6" x 4.3" x 3.0") | 124 x 92 x 85mm (4.9" x 3.6" x 3.3") |
DXO scores | ||
DXO Overall score | 55 | 75 |
DXO Color Depth score | 21.3 | 23.3 |
DXO Dynamic range score | 10.4 | 12.9 |
DXO Low light score | 530 | 799 |
Other | ||
Battery life | 750 photos | 500 photos |
Form of battery | Battery Pack | Battery Pack |
Battery model | BLM-1 | NP-FW50 |
Self timer | Yes (12 or 2 sec) | Yes (2 or 10 sec, 10 sec 3 or 5 images) |
Time lapse shooting | ||
Storage type | Compact Flash (Type I or II) / xD Picture Card | SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo |
Card slots | 1 | 1 |
Cost at release | $1,299 | $522 |