Olympus FE-4030 vs Sigma DP3 Merrill

Its time to look a little more in depth at the Olympus FE-4030 vs Sigma DP3 Merrill, one being a Small Sensor Compact and the other is a Large Sensor Compact by companies Olympus and Sigma. The resolution of the FE-4030 (14MP) and the DP3 Merrill (15MP) is very comparable but the FE-4030 (1/2.3") and DP3 Merrill (APS-C) enjoy different sensor measurements.

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The FE-4030 was unveiled 4 years earlier than the DP3 Merrill and that is a fairly big gap as far as camera tech is concerned. Each of these cameras come with different body type with the Olympus FE-4030 being a Compact camera and the Sigma DP3 Merrill being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before going straight into a comprehensive comparison, below is a concise overview of how the FE-4030 scores vs the DP3 Merrill in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Here is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus FE-4030 and Sigma DP3 Merrill. The full galleries are available at Olympus FE-4030 Gallery and Sigma DP3 Merrill Gallery.

When you are looking to lug around your camera often, you'll need to consider its weight and volume. The Olympus FE-4030 features physical dimensions of 93mm x 56mm x 22mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.9") along with a weight of 146 grams (0.32 lbs) while the Sigma DP3 Merrill has sizing of 122mm x 67mm x 59mm (4.8" x 2.6" x 2.3") along with a weight of 330 grams (0.73 lbs).

See the Olympus FE-4030 vs Sigma DP3 Merrill in the latest Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ dependant on the lens you choose at that time. Below is the front view dimension comparison of the FE-4030 versus the DP3 Merrill.

Considering size and weight, the portability score of the FE-4030 and DP3 Merrill is 95 and 83 respectively.

Generally, it's tough to visualize the difference in sensor measurements merely by going through specs. The visual below will help provide you a clearer sense of the sensor dimensions in the FE-4030 and DP3 Merrill.

All in all, both cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The FE-4030 using its smaller sensor is going to make shooting shallow depth of field tougher and the Sigma DP3 Merrill will produce extra detail having an extra 1 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also let you crop pics somewhat more aggressively. The older FE-4030 will be behind when it comes to sensor innovation.