Olympus SZ-31MR iHS vs Ricoh GR Digital III

Let's look more closely at the Olympus SZ-31MR iHS and Ricoh GR Digital III, one is a Small Sensor Superzoom and the other is a Small Sensor Compact by competitors Olympus and Ricoh. There exists a huge gap between the image resolutions of the SZ-31MR iHS (16MP) and GR Digital III (10MP) and the SZ-31MR iHS (1/2.3") and GR Digital III (1/1.7") have totally different sensor dimensions.

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The SZ-31MR iHS was brought out 2 years after the GR Digital III which is quite a significant gap as far as technology is concerned. Both of these cameras feature the same body design (Compact).

Before getting straight to a comprehensive comparison, here is a quick overview of how the SZ-31MR iHS scores versus the GR Digital III with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Below is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus SZ-31MR iHS and Ricoh GR Digital III. The entire galleries are available at Olympus SZ-31MR iHS Gallery and Ricoh GR Digital III Gallery.

If you're looking to travel with your camera often, you need to factor its weight and dimensions. The Olympus SZ-31MR iHS provides outside dimensions 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 Digital III has dimensions of 109mm x 59mm x 26mm (4.3" x 2.3" x 1.0") accompanied by a weight of 208 grams (0.46 lbs).

Examine the Olympus SZ-31MR iHS and Ricoh GR Digital III in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ dependant on the lens you choose at the time. The following is a front view sizing comparison of the SZ-31MR iHS compared to the GR Digital III.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability score of the SZ-31MR iHS and GR Digital III is 89 and 92 respectively.

Quite often, its hard to visualise the gap between sensor dimensions just by reviewing specs. The pic here will help give you a stronger sense of the sensor sizes in the SZ-31MR iHS and GR Digital III.

As you can plainly see, both the cameras feature different resolutions and different sensor dimensions. The SZ-31MR iHS due to its tinier sensor will make shooting shallower depth of field tougher and the Olympus SZ-31MR iHS will offer you extra detail having its extra 6 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also allow you to crop pics way more aggressively. The fresher SZ-31MR iHS will have a benefit when it comes to sensor technology.