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Olympus TG-3 vs Sony RX100 VII

Portability
90
Imaging
40
Features
46
Overall
42
Olympus Tough TG-3 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 VII front
Portability
88
Imaging
54
Features
78
Overall
63

Olympus TG-3 vs Sony RX100 VII Key Specs

Olympus TG-3
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 6400
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 25-100mm (F2.0-4.9) lens
  • 247g - 112 x 66 x 31mm
  • Announced March 2014
  • Successor is Olympus TG-4
Sony RX100 VII
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - 1" Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 125 - 12800
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • 24-200mm (F2.8-4.5) lens
  • 302g - 102 x 58 x 43mm
  • Revealed July 2019
  • Succeeded the Sony RX100 VI
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Olympus TG-3 vs Sony RX100 VII Overview

Its time to take a closer look at the Olympus TG-3 vs Sony RX100 VII, former being a Waterproof while the latter is a Large Sensor Compact by companies Olympus and Sony. The image resolution of the TG-3 (16MP) and the RX100 VII (20MP) is relatively well matched but the TG-3 (1/2.3") and RX100 VII (1") feature different sensor dimensions.

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The TG-3 was brought out 6 years before the RX100 VII and that is quite a serious difference as far as tech is concerned. Both of these cameras come with different body type with the Olympus TG-3 being a Compact camera and the Sony RX100 VII being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before getting straight into a thorough comparison, below is a short introduction of how the TG-3 matches up vs the RX100 VII with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Olympus TG-3 over the Sony RX100 VII

 TG-3 RX100 VII 

Reasons to pick Sony RX100 VII over the Olympus TG-3

 RX100 VII TG-3 
RevealedJuly 2019March 2014More recent by 64 months
Focus manually Very exact focusing
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen resolution921k460kSharper screen (+461k dot)
Selfie screen Easy selfies
Touch friendly screen Quickly navigate

Common features in the Olympus TG-3 and Sony RX100 VII

 TG-3 RX100 VII 
Screen dimension3"3"Identical screen sizing

Olympus TG-3 vs Sony RX100 VII Physical Comparison

For those who are planning to lug around your camera frequently, you will need to think about its weight and size. The Olympus TG-3 provides physical dimensions of 112mm x 66mm x 31mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.2") along with a weight of 247 grams (0.54 lbs) and the Sony RX100 VII has specifications of 102mm x 58mm x 43mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.7") accompanied by a weight of 302 grams (0.67 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus TG-3 vs Sony RX100 VII in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you have attached at the time. Below is the front view scale comparison of the TG-3 and the RX100 VII.

Olympus TG-3 vs Sony RX100 VII size comparison

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability rating of the TG-3 and RX100 VII is 90 and 88 respectively.

Olympus TG-3 vs Sony RX100 VII top view buttons comparison

Olympus TG-3 vs Sony RX100 VII Sensor Comparison

Usually, it's hard to visualize the difference between sensor measurements purely by looking at a spec sheet. The photograph underneath might provide you a clearer sense of the sensor sizes in the TG-3 and RX100 VII.

As you can see, both of those cameras posses different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The TG-3 due to its tinier sensor is going to make getting shallower DOF more challenging and the Sony RX100 VII will give greater detail having its extra 4MP. Higher resolution will help you crop pictures somewhat more aggressively. The older TG-3 is going to be behind when it comes to sensor innovation.

Olympus TG-3 vs Sony RX100 VII sensor size comparison

Olympus TG-3 vs Sony RX100 VII Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus TG-3 vs Sony RX100 VII Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Portrait photography with Olympus TG-3
Portrait photography with Sony RX100 VII
37
decent sensor resolution (16 megapixels)
provides face detection focusing
manual focus not available
external flash not possible
sensor is very small (1/2.3")
no RAW format
66
focusing manually
high flash sync speed (1/2,000 seconds)
MP count decent (20MP)
nice sensor size (1")
features face detect focusing
exports RAW files
external flash not possible
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Street Comparison

Olympus TG-3 Street photography advice
Sony RX100 VII Street photography advice
59
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
environment sealing
no articulating screen
sensor is very small (1/2.3")
no RAW format
more heavy than competition in class (247g)
85
screen tilts up and down
has image stabilization (Optical)
nice sensor size (1")
exports RAW files
boasts touch to focus
lighter than competition in class (302g)
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Sports Comparison

Olympus TG-3 Sports photography factors
Sony RX100 VII Sports photography factors
47
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
decent sensor resolution (16 megapixels)
provides tracking autofocus
environment sealing
great battery power (330 CIPA)
max fps very slow (5.0 frames per second)
no shutter priority
sensor is very small (1/2.3")
no phase detect AF
70
silent mode (1/32,000 seconds)
max frames per second high (20.0 frames per second)
has image stabilization (Optical)
MP count decent (20 megapixels)
nice sensor size (1")
features tracking focus
sensor has phase detect AF
terrible battery power (260 CIPA)
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Olympus TG-3
Travel photography with Sony RX100 VII
74
great battery power (330 shots)
environment sealing
decent sensor resolution (16 megapixels)
has built in flash
pretty wide (25mm)
great maximum aperture (f2.0)
more heavy than competition in class (247g)
screen isn't selfie friendly
77
lighter than competition in class (302g)
supports bluetooth
boasts touch to focus
MP count decent (20 megapixels)
built-in flash
selfie friendly display
rather wide (24mm)
terrible battery power (260 per charge)
sluggish max aperture (f2.8)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus TG-3 Landscape photography highlights
Sony RX100 VII Landscape photography highlights
56
pretty wide (25mm)
great maximum aperture (f2.0)
pretty good screen size (3 inches)
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
decent sensor resolution (16 megapixels)
environment sealing
great battery power (330 CIPA)
manual focus not available
cannot swap lenses (fixed lens mount)
sensor is very small (1/2.3")
no RAW format
65
focusing manually
rather wide (24mm)
decent sized screen (3 inches)
has image stabilization (Optical)
MP count decent (20 megapixels)
nice sensor size (1")
exports RAW files
cannot switch lenses (fixed lens mount)
sluggish max aperture (f2.8)
terrible battery power (260 shots)
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus TG-3 as a Vlogging camera
Sony RX100 VII as a Vlogging camera
34
pretty wide (25mm)
great maximum aperture (f2.0)
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
provides face detection focusing
good video quality (1920 x 1080 pixels)
screen isn't selfie friendly
lack of external microphone support
more heavy than competition in class (247g)
81
rather wide (24mm)
selfie friendly display
touchscreen enabled
has image stabilization (Optical)
features face detect focusing
high video quality (3840 x 2160 pxls)
includes microphone socket
lighter than competition in class (302g)
sluggish max aperture (f2.8)
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Olympus TG-3 vs Sony RX100 VII Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus TG-3 and Sony RX100 VII
 Olympus Tough TG-3Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 VII
General Information
Brand Olympus Sony
Model Olympus Tough TG-3 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 VII
Type Waterproof Large Sensor Compact
Announced 2014-03-31 2019-07-25
Physical type Compact Large Sensor Compact
Sensor Information
Processor Chip TruePic VII Bionz X
Sensor type BSI-CMOS BSI-CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" 1"
Sensor measurements 6.17 x 4.55mm 13.2 x 8.8mm
Sensor surface area 28.1mm² 116.2mm²
Sensor resolution 16 megapixel 20 megapixel
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 3:2 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Maximum resolution 4608 x 3456 5472 x 3648
Maximum native ISO 6400 12800
Minimum native ISO 100 125
RAW data
Minimum boosted ISO - 64
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch to focus
Continuous AF
Single AF
Tracking AF
AF selectice
AF center weighted
AF multi area
Live view AF
Face detection AF
Contract detection AF
Phase detection AF
Lens
Lens mounting type fixed lens fixed lens
Lens focal range 25-100mm (4.0x) 24-200mm (8.3x)
Max aperture f/2.0-4.9 f/2.8-4.5
Macro focus distance 1cm 8cm
Crop factor 5.8 2.7
Screen
Screen type Fixed Type Tilting
Screen size 3 inches 3 inches
Screen resolution 460 thousand dots 921 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch functionality
Screen tech TFT-LCD -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type None Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 2,360 thousand dots
Viewfinder coverage - 100%
Viewfinder magnification - 0.59x
Features
Lowest shutter speed 4 secs 30 secs
Highest shutter speed 1/2000 secs 1/2000 secs
Highest silent shutter speed - 1/32000 secs
Continuous shooting rate 5.0 frames per sec 20.0 frames per sec
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual mode
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Change WB
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash range - 5.90 m (at Auto ISO)
Flash options Auto, redeye reduction, fill-in, off, LED -
External flash
Auto exposure bracketing
White balance bracketing
Highest flash synchronize - 1/2000 secs
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (30p), 1280 x 720 (30p), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 3840 x 2160 @ 30p / 100 Mbps, XAVC S, MP4, H.264, Linear PCM
Maximum video resolution 1920x1080 3840x2160
Video format H.264, Motion JPEG MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC S
Microphone port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless Built-In Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) NP-BX1 lithium-ion battery & USB charger
GPS BuiltIn None
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 247 grams (0.54 lb) 302 grams (0.67 lb)
Dimensions 112 x 66 x 31mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.2") 102 x 58 x 43mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.7")
DXO scores
DXO All around score not tested 63
DXO Color Depth score not tested 21.8
DXO Dynamic range score not tested 12.4
DXO Low light score not tested 418
Other
Battery life 330 photographs 260 photographs
Battery type Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model LI-92B NP-BX1
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec, custom) Yes
Time lapse shooting
Type of storage SD, SDHC, SDXC, Internal Memory SD/ SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Pro Duo
Card slots Single Single
Pricing at launch $350 $1,298