Olympus XZ-1 vs Ricoh WG-5 GPS

The following is a in depth comparison of the Olympus XZ-1 versus Ricoh WG-5 GPS, former is a Small Sensor Compact while the latter is a Waterproof by companies Olympus and Ricoh. There is a large difference between the image resolutions of the XZ-1 (10MP) and WG-5 GPS (16MP) and the XZ-1 (1/1.63") and WG-5 GPS (1/2.3") use totally different sensor size.

Photography Glossary

The XZ-1 was manufactured 5 years earlier than the WG-5 GPS which is quite a serious difference as far as tech is concerned. Both of the cameras come with the identical body type (Compact).

Before diving in to a thorough comparison, below is a brief summation of how the XZ-1 matches up against the WG-5 GPS with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Below is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus XZ-1 & Ricoh WG-5 GPS. The entire galleries are provided at Olympus XZ-1 Gallery & Ricoh WG-5 GPS Gallery.

For anyone who is looking to travel with your camera often, you need to factor in its weight and measurements. The Olympus XZ-1 has got exterior dimensions of 111mm x 65mm x 42mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.7") having a weight of 275 grams (0.61 lbs) while the Ricoh WG-5 GPS has proportions of 125mm x 65mm x 32mm (4.9" x 2.6" x 1.3") along with a weight of 236 grams (0.52 lbs).

Compare the Olympus XZ-1 versus Ricoh WG-5 GPS in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you select at that time. Here is the front view over all size comparison of the XZ-1 vs the WG-5 GPS.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability grade of the XZ-1 and WG-5 GPS is 88 and 90 respectively.

In many cases, it is very tough to visualise the difference between sensor dimensions simply by reviewing a spec sheet. The pic here might give you a far better sense of the sensor dimensions in the XZ-1 and WG-5 GPS.

Clearly, both of those cameras have got different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The XZ-1 because of its bigger sensor will make getting shallow DOF easier and the Ricoh WG-5 GPS will offer you extra detail due to its extra 6 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also make it easier to crop photographs much more aggressively. The more aged XZ-1 is going to be behind with regard to sensor tech.