Clicky

Panasonic S2 vs Ricoh WG-4

Portability
96
Imaging
37
Features
29
Overall
33
Panasonic Lumix DMC-S2 front
 
Ricoh WG-4 front
Portability
90
Imaging
40
Features
44
Overall
41

Panasonic S2 vs Ricoh WG-4 Key Specs

Panasonic S2
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 6400
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 28-112mm (F3.1-6.5) lens
  • 112g - 98 x 57 x 21mm
  • Revealed January 2012
Ricoh WG-4
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 125 - 6400
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 25-100mm (F2.0-4.9) lens
  • 230g - 124 x 64 x 33mm
  • Released February 2014
Samsung Releases Faster Versions of EVO MicroSD Cards

Panasonic S2 vs Ricoh WG-4 Overview

Its time to look more closely at the Panasonic S2 vs Ricoh WG-4, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the latter is a Waterproof by brands Panasonic and Ricoh. The resolution of the S2 (14MP) and the WG-4 (16MP) is relatively close and they enjoy the same exact sensor sizing (1/2.3").

Apple Innovates by Creating Next-Level Optical Stabilization for iPhone

The S2 was revealed 3 years before the WG-4 and that is a fairly large difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Both cameras offer the identical body type (Compact).

Before delving straight into a more detailed comparison, below is a concise synopsis of how the S2 scores versus the WG-4 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a Landslide

        

Reasons to pick Panasonic S2 over the Ricoh WG-4

 S2 WG-4 

Reasons to pick Ricoh WG-4 over the Panasonic S2

 WG-4 S2 
ReleasedFebruary 2014January 2012More recent by 25 months
Manual focus More accurate focus
Screen sizing3"2.7"Bigger screen (+0.3")
Screen resolution460k230kCrisper screen (+230k dot)

Common features in the Panasonic S2 and Ricoh WG-4

 S2 WG-4 
Screen typeFixed Fixed Fixed screen
Selfie screen Neither has selfie screen
Touch friendly screen Neither has Touch friendly screen

Panasonic S2 vs Ricoh WG-4 Physical Comparison

If you're looking to lug around your camera frequently, you are going to need to take into account its weight and proportions. The Panasonic S2 has outer dimensions of 98mm x 57mm x 21mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 0.8") having a weight of 112 grams (0.25 lbs) while the Ricoh WG-4 has measurements of 124mm x 64mm x 33mm (4.9" x 2.5" x 1.3") accompanied by a weight of 230 grams (0.51 lbs).

See the Panasonic S2 vs Ricoh WG-4 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you are utilizing during that time. Underneath is the front view physical size comparison of the S2 against the WG-4.

Panasonic S2 vs Ricoh WG-4 size comparison

Factoring in size and weight, the portability grade of the S2 and WG-4 is 96 and 90 respectively.

Panasonic S2 vs Ricoh WG-4 top view buttons comparison

Panasonic S2 vs Ricoh WG-4 Sensor Comparison

Oftentimes, it can be tough to visualize the difference in sensor measurements only by viewing specs. The graphic here will help provide you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the S2 and WG-4.

All in all, both of these cameras enjoy the same exact sensor sizing albeit different megapixels. You can count on the Ricoh WG-4 to provide you with greater detail because of its extra 2 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also let you crop pictures far more aggressively. The older S2 will be behind when it comes to sensor technology.

Panasonic S2 vs Ricoh WG-4 sensor size comparison

Panasonic S2 vs Ricoh WG-4 Screen and ViewFinder

Panasonic S2 vs Ricoh WG-4 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
Photobucket discusses licensing 13 billion images with AI firms

Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Panasonic S2 Portrait photography highlights
Ricoh WG-4 Portrait photography highlights
33
decent MP (14MP)
comes with face detection focus
manual focus not available
no manual control
cannot use external flash
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
lack of RAW format
41
has manual focus
resolution is good (16MP)
provides face detect autofocus
no manual exposure
cannot use external flash
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
has no RAW format
Japan-exclusive Leica Leitz Phone 3 features big sensor and new modes

Street Comparison

Panasonic S2 Street photography features
Ricoh WG-4 Street photography features
63
has image stabilization (Optical)
lighter than others (112g)
screen is fixed
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
lack of RAW format
61
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
weather sealing
screen does not articulate
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
has no RAW format
Meta to Introduce 'AI-Generated' Labels for Media starting next month

Sports Comparison

Panasonic S2 as a Sports photography camera
Ricoh WG-4 as a Sports photography camera
39
has image stabilization (Optical)
decent MP (14 megapixels)
good battery (280 CIPA)
painfully slow continuous shooting (2.0 frames per second)
no shutter priority mode
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
lack of phase detect auto focus
45
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
resolution is good (16MP)
provides tracking focus
weather sealing
max fps low (2.0 frames/s)
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
terrible battery power (240 CIPA)
has no phase detect autofocus
Snapchat Adds Watermarks to AI-Created Images

Travel Comparison

Panasonic S2 Travel photography details
Ricoh WG-4 Travel photography details
70
good battery (280 shots)
lighter than others (112 grams)
decent MP (14MP)
flash built-in
rather wide (28mm)
missing Time Lapse recording
screen isn't selfie friendly
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.1)
72
weather sealing
resolution is good (16 megapixels)
flash built-in
quite wide (25mm)
very good maximum aperture (f2.0)
terrible battery power (240 per charge)
display is not selfie friendly
Photography Glossary

Landscape Comparison

Panasonic S2 Landscape photography information
Ricoh WG-4 Landscape photography information
41
rather wide (28mm)
has image stabilization (Optical)
decent MP (14MP)
good battery (280 shots)
manual focus not available
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.1)
small screen (2.7")
no manual control
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
lack of RAW format
missing Time Lapse recording
54
has manual focus
quite wide (25mm)
very good maximum aperture (f2.0)
nice screen size (3")
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
resolution is good (16 megapixels)
weather sealing
can't switch lens (fixed lens mount)
no manual exposure
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
has no RAW format
terrible battery power (240 shots)
President Biden pushes bill mandating TikTok sale or ban

Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Panasonic S2
Vlogging with Ricoh WG-4
32
rather wide (28mm)
has image stabilization (Optical)
comes with face detection focus
lighter than others (112g)
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.1)
screen isn't selfie friendly
low quality video (1280 x 720 pixels)
missing external mic port
36
quite wide (25mm)
very good maximum aperture (f2.0)
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
provides face detect autofocus
high quality video (1920 x 1080 pxls)
display is not selfie friendly
does not have microphone port
Sora from OpenAI releases its first ever music video

Panasonic S2 vs Ricoh WG-4 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Panasonic S2 and Ricoh WG-4
 Panasonic Lumix DMC-S2Ricoh WG-4
General Information
Make Panasonic Ricoh
Model type Panasonic Lumix DMC-S2 Ricoh WG-4
Type Small Sensor Compact Waterproof
Revealed 2012-01-09 2014-02-05
Body design Compact Compact
Sensor Information
Sensor type CCD BSI-CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 6.08 x 4.56mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor surface area 27.7mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 14MP 16MP
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 and 16:9 1:1, 4:3 and 16:9
Highest resolution 4320 x 3240 4608 x 3456
Highest native ISO 6400 6400
Minimum native ISO 100 125
RAW images
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch to focus
AF continuous
Single AF
Tracking AF
AF selectice
AF center weighted
Multi area AF
Live view AF
Face detect AF
Contract detect AF
Phase detect AF
Total focus points 23 9
Lens
Lens support fixed lens fixed lens
Lens zoom range 28-112mm (4.0x) 25-100mm (4.0x)
Highest aperture f/3.1-6.5 f/2.0-4.9
Macro focusing distance 5cm 1cm
Crop factor 5.9 5.8
Screen
Display type Fixed Type Fixed Type
Display size 2.7 inches 3 inches
Resolution of display 230k dot 460k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch function
Display tech TFT Color LCD TFT LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type None None
Features
Lowest shutter speed 8 secs 4 secs
Highest shutter speed 1/1600 secs 1/4000 secs
Continuous shooting speed 2.0 frames per second 2.0 frames per second
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Set WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash distance 3.30 m 10.00 m (Auto ISO)
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye reduction Auto, flash off, flash on, auto + redeye, on + redeye
External flash
Auto exposure bracketing
WB bracketing
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps) 1920 x 1080 (30p), 1280 x 720 (60p, 30p)
Highest video resolution 1280x720 1920x1080
Video format Motion JPEG H.264
Microphone jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless None None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 112 gr (0.25 lb) 230 gr (0.51 lb)
Dimensions 98 x 57 x 21mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 0.8") 124 x 64 x 33mm (4.9" x 2.5" x 1.3")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating not tested not tested
DXO Color Depth rating not tested not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested not tested
DXO Low light rating not tested not tested
Other
Battery life 280 pictures 240 pictures
Battery form Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID - D-LI92
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec) Yes (2 or 10 secs)
Time lapse recording
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal SD/SDHC/SDXC, internal
Storage slots 1 1
Retail pricing $109 $330