Olympus SH-2 vs Ricoh GR II

Let's take a deeper look at the Olympus SH-2 versus Ricoh GR II, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the latter is a Large Sensor Compact by competitors Olympus and Ricoh. The resolution of the SH-2 (16MP) and the GR II (16MP) is relatively close but the SH-2 (1/2.3") and GR II (APS-C) have different sensor sizes.

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The SH-2 was revealed 3 months prior to the GR II which means that they are both of a similar age. Each of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus SH-2 being a Compact camera and the Ricoh GR II being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before diving right into a in depth comparison, here is a brief highlight of how the SH-2 matches up versus the GR II with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

This is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus Stylus SH-2 & Ricoh GR II. The full galleries are available at Olympus SH-2 Gallery & Ricoh GR II Gallery.

For those who are planning to carry your camera, you will need to think about its weight and size. The Olympus SH-2 offers outside dimensions of 109mm x 63mm x 42mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.7") accompanied by a weight of 271 grams (0.60 lbs) while the Ricoh GR II has specifications of 117mm x 63mm x 35mm (4.6" x 2.5" x 1.4") having a weight of 251 grams (0.55 lbs).

Check out the Olympus SH-2 versus Ricoh GR II in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you have at that time. Following is a front view physical size comparison of the SH-2 compared to the GR II.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the SH-2 and GR II is 88 and 89 respectively.

Quite often, its difficult to imagine the contrast in sensor sizing only by viewing a spec sheet. The photograph below should give you a greater sense of the sensor sizes in the SH-2 and GR II.

Clearly, both of these cameras provide the same megapixel count albeit different sensor sizing. The SH-2 offers the smaller sensor which is going to make getting shallow DOF more challenging.