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Olympus E-420 vs Olympus SH-2

Portability
77
Imaging
44
Features
36
Overall
40
Olympus E-420 front
 
Olympus Stylus SH-2 front
Portability
88
Imaging
41
Features
51
Overall
45

Olympus E-420 vs Olympus SH-2 Key Specs

Olympus E-420
(Full Review)
  • 10MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 1600
  • No Video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 426g - 130 x 91 x 53mm
  • Announced June 2008
  • Older Model is Olympus E-410
Olympus SH-2
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 125 - 6400
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 25-600mm (F3.0-6.9) lens
  • 271g - 109 x 63 x 42mm
  • Announced March 2015
  • Superseded the Olympus SH-1
  • Later Model is Olympus SH-3
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Olympus E-420 vs Olympus SH-2 Overview

Following is a extensive comparison of the Olympus E-420 vs Olympus SH-2, former is a Entry-Level DSLR while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom and both are manufactured by Olympus. There exists a large gap between the image resolutions of the E-420 (10MP) and SH-2 (16MP) and the E-420 (Four Thirds) and SH-2 (1/2.3") possess different sensor measurements.

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The E-420 was unveiled 7 years before the SH-2 which is quite a serious difference as far as technology is concerned. Each of the cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-420 being a Compact SLR camera and the Olympus SH-2 being a Compact camera.

Before delving through a complete comparison, below is a brief summary of how the E-420 scores against the SH-2 for portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-420 over the Olympus SH-2

 E-420 SH-2 
Manual focus Dial precise focus

Reasons to pick Olympus SH-2 over the Olympus E-420

 SH-2 E-420 
AnnouncedMarch 2015June 2008More modern by 81 months
Screen sizing3"2.7"Bigger screen (+0.3")
Screen resolution460k230kCrisper screen (+230k dot)
Touch friendly screen Quickly navigate

Common features in the Olympus E-420 and Olympus SH-2

 E-420 SH-2 
Screen typeFixed Fixed Fixed screen
Selfie screen Missing selfie screen

Olympus E-420 vs Olympus SH-2 Physical Comparison

In case you're intending to carry around your camera frequently, you will have to factor its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-420 enjoys outside dimensions of 130mm x 91mm x 53mm (5.1" x 3.6" x 2.1") accompanied by a weight of 426 grams (0.94 lbs) while the Olympus SH-2 has dimensions of 109mm x 63mm x 42mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.7") with a weight of 271 grams (0.60 lbs).

Examine the Olympus E-420 vs Olympus SH-2 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you are working with at that moment. The following is the front view physical size comparison of the E-420 against the SH-2.

Olympus E-420 vs Olympus SH-2 size comparison

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-420 and SH-2 is 77 and 88 respectively.

Olympus E-420 vs Olympus SH-2 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-420 vs Olympus SH-2 Sensor Comparison

More often than not, it's tough to picture the difference between sensor sizes only by checking specs. The pic below will offer you a greater sense of the sensor sizes in the E-420 and SH-2.

As you can plainly see, the two cameras offer different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The E-420 with its bigger sensor is going to make shooting bokeh simpler and the Olympus SH-2 will give you greater detail having an extra 6 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also let you crop photographs a little more aggressively. The more aged E-420 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor technology.

Olympus E-420 vs Olympus SH-2 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-420 vs Olympus SH-2 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-420 vs Olympus SH-2 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-420 Portrait photography factors
Olympus SH-2 Portrait photography factors
56
focusing manually
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports RAW files
low megapixels (10MP)
44
good resolution (16MP)
supports face detection focus
saves RAW formats
lack of manual focus
no external flash support
small sensor size (1/2.3")
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-420 Street photography features
Olympus SH-2 Street photography features
64
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports RAW files
lighter than competition in class (426g)
fixed screen
does not have image stabilization
70
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
saves RAW formats
includes focus by touch
lighter than others (271g)
screen does not articulate
small sensor size (1/2.3")
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-420 Sports photography details
Olympus SH-2 Sports photography details
38
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
has phase detect AF
slow continuous shooting (4.0 frames/s)
does not have image stabilization
low megapixels (10MP)
not so great battery pack (500 CIPA)
51
incredible zoom range (25-600mm 24.0 x zoom)
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
good resolution (16MP)
supports tracking autofocus
better than average battery (380 per charge)
no shutter priority
small sensor size (1/2.3")
lacks phase detect auto focus
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Olympus E-420
Travel photography with Olympus SH-2
52
lighter than competition in class (426g)
has built in flash
no Time Lapse recording
not so great battery pack (500 shots)
low megapixels (10MP)
screen isn't selfie friendly
74
better than average battery (380 CIPA)
lighter than others (271 grams)
includes focus by touch
good resolution (16MP)
flash built-in
decently wide (25mm)
very long reach (600mm)
doesn't feature selfie friendly display
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-420 as a Landscape photography camera
Olympus SH-2 as a Landscape photography camera
47
focusing manually
change lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports RAW files
small screen (2.7 inch)
does not have image stabilization
low megapixels (10MP)
not so great battery pack (500 per charge)
no Time Lapse recording
55
decently wide (25mm)
screen size is good (3")
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
good resolution (16MP)
saves RAW formats
better than average battery (380 shots)
lack of manual focus
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
small sensor size (1/2.3")
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-420 Vlogging features
Olympus SH-2 Vlogging features
9
lack of video recording
35
decently wide (25mm)
touchscreen enabled
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
supports face detection focus
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 resolution)
lighter than others (271g)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
doesn't feature selfie friendly display
does not have external microphone jack
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Olympus E-420 vs Olympus SH-2 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-420 and Olympus SH-2
 Olympus E-420Olympus Stylus SH-2
General Information
Brand Olympus Olympus
Model type Olympus E-420 Olympus Stylus SH-2
Class Entry-Level DSLR Small Sensor Superzoom
Announced 2008-06-23 2015-03-11
Body design Compact SLR Compact
Sensor Information
Chip TruePic III TruePic VII
Sensor type CMOS BSI-CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 10 megapixels 16 megapixels
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Maximum resolution 3648 x 2736 4608 x 3456
Maximum native ISO 1600 6400
Lowest native ISO 100 125
RAW files
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch focus
Continuous autofocus
Single autofocus
Autofocus tracking
Selective autofocus
Center weighted autofocus
Autofocus multi area
Autofocus live view
Face detect autofocus
Contract detect autofocus
Phase detect autofocus
Total focus points 3 -
Lens
Lens support Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 25-600mm (24.0x)
Largest aperture - f/3.0-6.9
Macro focusing range - 3cm
Amount of lenses 45 -
Crop factor 2.1 5.8
Screen
Range of display Fixed Type Fixed Type
Display size 2.7" 3"
Resolution of display 230 thousand dot 460 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch function
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Optical (pentamirror) None
Viewfinder coverage 95% -
Viewfinder magnification 0.46x -
Features
Slowest shutter speed 60s 30s
Maximum shutter speed 1/4000s 1/2000s
Continuous shooting speed 4.0 frames/s 11.5 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Custom white balance
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash distance 12.00 m (at ISO 100) 8.30 m (at ISO 3200)
Flash settings Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye Auto, redeye reduction, fill-in, off
External flash
AE bracketing
WB bracketing
Maximum flash sync 1/180s -
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Video resolutions - 1920 x 1080 (60p, 30p), 1280 x 720 (30p), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Maximum video resolution None 1920x1080
Video data format - H.264
Microphone input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 426g (0.94 lb) 271g (0.60 lb)
Dimensions 130 x 91 x 53mm (5.1" x 3.6" x 2.1") 109 x 63 x 42mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.7")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating 56 not tested
DXO Color Depth rating 21.5 not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating 10.4 not tested
DXO Low light rating 527 not tested
Other
Battery life 500 photos 380 photos
Type of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID - LI-92B
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 12 sec, custom)
Time lapse shooting
Type of storage Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card SD, SDHC, SDXC, Internal Memory
Storage slots 1 1
Price at launch $999 $399