Olympus E-300 vs Olympus TG-860

On this page, we are evaluating the Olympus E-300 and Olympus TG-860, former being a Advanced DSLR while the other is a Waterproof and they are both sold by Olympus. There exists a substantial gap among the resolutions of the E-300 (8MP) and TG-860 (16MP) and the E-300 (Four Thirds) and TG-860 (1/2.3") posses totally different sensor sizes.

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The E-300 was unveiled 11 years before the TG-860 and that is a fairly big difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-300 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Olympus TG-860 being a Ultracompact camera.

Before we go right into a more detailed comparison, here is a quick summation of how the E-300 grades against the TG-860 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

The following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus E-300 & Olympus Stylus Tough TG-860. The full galleries are viewable at Olympus E-300 Gallery & Olympus TG-860 Gallery.

If you're going to lug around your camera regularly, you have to factor its weight and volume. The Olympus E-300 features exterior measurements of 147mm x 85mm x 64mm (5.8" x 3.3" x 2.5") accompanied by a weight of 624 grams (1.38 lbs) whilst the Olympus TG-860 has sizing of 110mm x 64mm x 28mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.1") with a weight of 224 grams (0.49 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-300 and Olympus TG-860 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you are utilizing at the time. Here is a front view measurement comparison of the E-300 and the TG-860.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-300 and TG-860 is 67 and 91 respectively.

Typically, it is difficult to envision the gap in sensor measurements simply by researching specs. The photograph underneath might give you a far better sense of the sensor sizing in the E-300 and TG-860.

As you can plainly see, the two cameras provide different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The E-300 with its larger sensor will make getting shallow depth of field simpler and the Olympus TG-860 will provide you with extra detail having an extra 8MP. Greater resolution will also make it easier to crop images more aggressively. The older E-300 will be behind in sensor technology.