Olympus SZ-12 vs Ricoh GR II

Here is a extensive review of the Olympus SZ-12 vs Ricoh GR II, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the other is a Large Sensor Compact by manufacturers Olympus and Ricoh. The sensor resolution of the SZ-12 (14MP) and the GR II (16MP) is very close but the SZ-12 (1/2.3") and GR II (APS-C) come with different sensor sizes.

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The SZ-12 was manufactured 4 years before the GR II and that is a fairly large difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus SZ-12 being a Compact camera and the Ricoh GR II being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before delving through a full comparison, below is a brief summation of how the SZ-12 scores vs the GR II with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Following is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus SZ-12 & Ricoh GR II. The entire galleries are viewable at Olympus SZ-12 Gallery & Ricoh GR II Gallery.

For those who are going to carry your camera, you're going to have to take into account its weight and measurements. The Olympus SZ-12 comes with outer measurements of 106mm x 69mm x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6") with a weight of 226 grams (0.50 lbs) while the Ricoh GR II has proportions of 117mm x 63mm x 35mm (4.6" x 2.5" x 1.4") having a weight of 251 grams (0.55 lbs).

See the Olympus SZ-12 vs Ricoh GR II in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you have attached at the time. The following is the front view scale comparison of the SZ-12 vs the GR II.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the SZ-12 and GR II is 89 and 89 respectively.

Sometimes, it is very difficult to imagine the gap in sensor sizing simply by researching specs. The visual here will help give you a clearer sense of the sensor sizing in the SZ-12 and GR II.

All in all, both of those cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The SZ-12 due to its smaller sensor is going to make shooting shallower DOF harder and the Ricoh GR II will result in more detail due to its extra 2MP. Greater resolution will also make it easier to crop pics somewhat more aggressively. The older SZ-12 will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor tech.