Olympus TG-3 vs Sony A77

Its time to take a closer look at the Olympus TG-3 and Sony A77, former being a Waterproof while the latter is a Advanced DSLR by rivals Olympus and Sony. There exists a sizable gap among the sensor resolutions of the TG-3 (16MP) and A77 (24MP) and the TG-3 (1/2.3") and A77 (APS-C) use totally different sensor sizes.

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The TG-3 was announced 2 years later than the A77 and that is a fairly significant difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus TG-3 being a Compact camera and the Sony A77 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before we go through a step-by-step comparison, below is a concise summary of how the TG-3 grades against the A77 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Here is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus Tough TG-3 & Sony SLT-A77. The whole galleries are available at Olympus TG-3 Gallery & Sony A77 Gallery.

For those who are looking to lug around your camera often, you'll need to factor in its weight and dimensions. The Olympus TG-3 provides outside measurements of 112mm x 66mm x 31mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.2") accompanied by a weight of 247 grams (0.54 lbs) and the Sony A77 has dimensions of 143mm x 104mm x 81mm (5.6" x 4.1" x 3.2") and a weight of 732 grams (1.61 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus TG-3 and Sony A77 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you have attached during that time. Following is the front view proportions comparison of the TG-3 and the A77.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the TG-3 and A77 is 90 and 59 respectively.

Sometimes, it is difficult to visualise the gap in sensor measurements merely by seeing specifications. The visual here might offer you a far better sense of the sensor measurements in the TG-3 and A77.

To sum up, the 2 cameras have got different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The TG-3 with its smaller sensor will make getting shallower DOF more difficult and the Sony A77 will provide more detail with its extra 8 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also allow you to crop photographs much more aggressively. The newer TG-3 will have an edge when it comes to sensor technology.