Olympus TG-860 vs Sony A850

Below, we will be reviewing the Olympus TG-860 vs Sony A850, one is a Waterproof and the latter is a Advanced DSLR by rivals Olympus and Sony. There exists a huge gap between the image resolutions of the TG-860 (16MP) and A850 (25MP) and the TG-860 (1/2.3") and A850 (Full frame) feature different sensor sizing.

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The TG-860 was manufactured 4 years after the A850 which is quite a significant gap as far as technology is concerned. Each of these cameras come with different body type with the Olympus TG-860 being a Ultracompact camera and the Sony A850 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before going through a thorough comparison, below is a quick summary of how the TG-860 matches up versus the A850 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Following is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus Stylus Tough TG-860 and Sony Alpha DSLR-A850. The entire galleries are provided at Olympus TG-860 Gallery and Sony A850 Gallery.

For anybody who is going to carry around your camera often, you will have to factor its weight and proportions. The Olympus TG-860 provides physical dimensions of 110mm x 64mm x 28mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.1") having a weight of 224 grams (0.49 lbs) and the Sony A850 has measurements of 156mm x 117mm x 82mm (6.1" x 4.6" x 3.2") having a weight of 895 grams (1.97 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus TG-860 vs Sony A850 in the latest Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ depending on the lens you are using at the time. Here is the front view physical size comparison of the TG-860 vs the A850.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the TG-860 and A850 is 91 and 54 respectively.

Quite often, it is hard to visualize the difference between sensor sizes purely by looking at specs. The pic below will help provide you a stronger sense of the sensor sizes in the TG-860 and A850.

As you can plainly see, both of those cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The TG-860 because of its tinier sensor is going to make achieving shallow depth of field tougher and the Sony A850 will give you extra detail due to its extra 9MP. Higher resolution will make it easier to crop pictures somewhat more aggressively. The more modern TG-860 should have a benefit with regard to sensor technology.