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Olympus TG-870 vs Sony A850

Portability
91
Imaging
41
Features
46
Overall
43
Olympus Stylus Tough TG-870 front
 
Sony Alpha DSLR-A850 front
Portability
54
Imaging
68
Features
60
Overall
64

Olympus TG-870 vs Sony A850 Key Specs

Olympus TG-870
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Display
  • ISO 125 - 6400 (Expand to 12800)
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 21-105mm (F3.5-5.7) lens
  • 221g - 113 x 64 x 28mm
  • Launched January 2016
  • Older Model is Olympus TG-860
Sony A850
(Full Review)
  • 25MP - Full frame Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 200 - 3200 (Boost to 6400)
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
  • No Video
  • Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
  • 895g - 156 x 117 x 82mm
  • Launched April 2010
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Olympus TG-870 vs Sony A850 Overview

Here is a extensive overview of the Olympus TG-870 and Sony A850, former being a Ultracompact while the latter is a Advanced DSLR by rivals Olympus and Sony. There is a sizable difference between the sensor resolutions of the TG-870 (16MP) and A850 (25MP) and the TG-870 (1/2.3") and A850 (Full frame) offer different sensor sizing.

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The TG-870 was revealed 5 years later than the A850 and that is quite a significant difference as far as tech is concerned. Each of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus TG-870 being a Ultracompact camera and the Sony A850 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before we go into a detailed comparison, here is a quick summation of how the TG-870 matches up vs the A850 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Olympus TG-870 over the Sony A850

 TG-870 A850 
LaunchedJanuary 2016April 2010Fresher by 70 months
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen

Reasons to pick Sony A850 over the Olympus TG-870

 A850 TG-870 
Focus manually Very accurate focus
Screen resolution922k921kClearer screen (+1k dot)

Common features in the Olympus TG-870 and Sony A850

 TG-870 A850 
Screen dimensions3"3"Equal screen measurement
Selfie screen Neither comes with selfie screen
Touch friendly screen Neither comes with Touch friendly screen

Olympus TG-870 vs Sony A850 Physical Comparison

For anybody who is looking to carry your camera often, you are going to need to factor its weight and size. The Olympus TG-870 comes with physical measurements of 113mm x 64mm x 28mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.1") accompanied by a weight of 221 grams (0.49 lbs) whilst the Sony A850 has specifications of 156mm x 117mm x 82mm (6.1" x 4.6" x 3.2") and a weight of 895 grams (1.97 lbs).

See the Olympus TG-870 and Sony A850 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you have attached at that time. Following is a front view sizing comparison of the TG-870 and the A850.

Olympus TG-870 vs Sony A850 size comparison

Taking into account size and weight, the portability score of the TG-870 and A850 is 91 and 54 respectively.

Olympus TG-870 vs Sony A850 top view buttons comparison

Olympus TG-870 vs Sony A850 Sensor Comparison

Often, it can be hard to visualize the gap between sensor sizing merely by looking at specs. The visual below will help provide you a greater sense of the sensor sizing in the TG-870 and A850.

As you can plainly see, the 2 cameras provide different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The TG-870 using its tinier sensor is going to make getting shallower DOF more difficult and the Sony A850 will give more detail because of its extra 9 Megapixels. Higher resolution will allow you to crop photographs more aggressively. The more modern TG-870 should have an advantage in sensor innovation.

Olympus TG-870 vs Sony A850 sensor size comparison

Olympus TG-870 vs Sony A850 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus TG-870 vs Sony A850 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus TG-870 Portrait photography details
Sony A850 Portrait photography details
36
resolution is good (16MP)
includes face detection autofocus
lack of manual focus
no manual control
external flash not possible
small sensor (1/2.3")
does not have RAW format
72
has manual focus
MP count excellent (25MP)
sensor size is big (Full frame)
exports RAW formats
doesn't have liveview
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Olympus TG-870
Street photography with Sony A850
65
screen tilts up and down
has image stabilization (Optical)
weather proofing
small sensor (1/2.3")
does not have RAW format
more heavy than others (221g)
66
image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is big (Full frame)
exports RAW formats
environment sealing
screen is fixed
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Sports Comparison

Olympus TG-870 Sports photography details
Sony A850 Sports photography details
51
has image stabilization (Optical)
resolution is good (16MP)
includes tracking autofocus
weather proofing
good battery (300 per charge)
no shutter priority mode
small sensor (1/2.3")
does not have phase detect autofocus
71
max shutter speed is good (1/8,000s)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
MP count excellent (25MP)
sensor size is big (Full frame)
environment sealing
supports phase detect auto focus
doesn't have liveview
max frames per second very slow (3.0 fps)
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Travel Comparison

Olympus TG-870 Travel photography details
Sony A850 Travel photography details
69
good battery (300 shots)
weather proofing
resolution is good (16 megapixels)
built-in flash
relatively wide (21mm)
more heavy than others (221g)
display is not selfie friendly
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
55
environment sealing
MP count excellent (25MP)
doesn't have Time Lapse recording
doesn't contain selfie friendly display
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus TG-870 Landscape photography info
Sony A850 Landscape photography info
50
relatively wide (21mm)
screen size is good (3 inch)
has image stabilization (Optical)
resolution is good (16 megapixels)
weather proofing
good battery (300 per charge)
lack of manual focus
can't change lens (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
no manual control
small sensor (1/2.3")
does not have RAW format
73
has manual focus
interchangeable lenses (Sony/Minolta Alpha mount)
nice screen size (3 inch)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
MP count excellent (25MP)
sensor size is big (Full frame)
exports RAW formats
environment sealing
has double storage slots
doesn't have liveview
doesn't have Time Lapse recording
Photography Glossary

Vlogging Comparison

Olympus TG-870 Vlogging details
Sony A850 Vlogging details
32
relatively wide (21mm)
has image stabilization (Optical)
includes face detection autofocus
great video quality (1920 x 1080 resolution)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
display is not selfie friendly
missing external microphone socket
more heavy than others (221 grams)
9
lack of video recording
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Olympus TG-870 vs Sony A850 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus TG-870 and Sony A850
 Olympus Stylus Tough TG-870Sony Alpha DSLR-A850
General Information
Brand Olympus Sony
Model type Olympus Stylus Tough TG-870 Sony Alpha DSLR-A850
Type Ultracompact Advanced DSLR
Launched 2016-01-06 2010-04-15
Body design Ultracompact Mid-size SLR
Sensor Information
Processor Chip TruePic VII Bionz
Sensor type BSI-CMOS CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" Full frame
Sensor dimensions 6.17 x 4.55mm 35.9 x 24mm
Sensor area 28.1mm² 861.6mm²
Sensor resolution 16 megapixel 25 megapixel
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 3:2 and 16:9
Maximum resolution 4608 x 3456 6048 x 4032
Maximum native ISO 6400 3200
Maximum boosted ISO 12800 6400
Lowest native ISO 125 200
RAW format
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
Touch to focus
Continuous AF
Single AF
AF tracking
Selective AF
AF center weighted
AF multi area
AF live view
Face detect focusing
Contract detect focusing
Phase detect focusing
Total focus points - 9
Lens
Lens support fixed lens Sony/Minolta Alpha
Lens zoom range 21-105mm (5.0x) -
Highest aperture f/3.5-5.7 -
Macro focusing range 1cm -
Total lenses - 143
Focal length multiplier 5.8 1
Screen
Display type Tilting Fixed Type
Display size 3 inches 3 inches
Resolution of display 921k dot 922k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch functionality
Display technology - TFT Xtra Fine color LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type None Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder coverage - 98 percent
Viewfinder magnification - 0.74x
Features
Lowest shutter speed 4s 30s
Highest shutter speed 1/2000s 1/8000s
Continuous shooting speed 7.0 frames/s 3.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation - Yes
Custom WB
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash distance 4.00 m (at ISO 1600) no built-in flash
Flash options Auto, redeye reduction, fill flash, off, LED illuminator Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in, Wireless
External flash
AE bracketing
White balance bracketing
Highest flash sync - 1/250s
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60p), 1280 x 720 (60p), 640 x 480 (60p) -
Maximum video resolution 1920x1080 None
Video file format MPEG-4, H.264 -
Mic jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless Built-In None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS BuiltIn None
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 221 grams (0.49 pounds) 895 grams (1.97 pounds)
Physical dimensions 113 x 64 x 28mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.1") 156 x 117 x 82mm (6.1" x 4.6" x 3.2")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating not tested 79
DXO Color Depth rating not tested 23.8
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested 12.2
DXO Low light rating not tested 1415
Other
Battery life 300 photographs 880 photographs
Form of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID Li-50B NP-FM500H
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec, custom) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse shooting
Storage media SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal Compact Flash (Type I or II), UDMA, Memory Stick Duo / Pro Duo
Storage slots 1 Dual
Retail cost $280 $0