Ricoh WG-20 vs Samsung SL30

Its time to look much closer at the Ricoh WG-20 and Samsung SL30, former is a Waterproof while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by rivals Ricoh and Samsung. There is a noticeable difference among the sensor resolutions of the WG-20 (14MP) and SL30 (10MP) but both cameras have the identical sensor measurements (1/2.3").

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The WG-20 was announced 5 years after the SL30 which is a fairly sizable difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Both cameras feature the same body design (Compact).

Before delving straight to a thorough comparison, here is a concise overview of how the WG-20 matches up against the SL30 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Following is a preview of the gallery photos for Ricoh WG-20 & Samsung SL30. The whole galleries are available at Ricoh WG-20 Gallery & Samsung SL30 Gallery.

In case you're going to carry around your camera, you will want to consider its weight and size. The Ricoh WG-20 enjoys physical measurements of 114mm x 58mm x 28mm (4.5" x 2.3" x 1.1") along with a weight of 164 grams (0.36 lbs) and the Samsung SL30 has specifications of 94mm x 61mm x 23mm (3.7" x 2.4" x 0.9") having a weight of 140 grams (0.31 lbs).

See the Ricoh WG-20 and Samsung SL30 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you use at that moment. Below is a front view scale comparison of the WG-20 compared to the SL30.

Considering size and weight, the portability score of the WG-20 and SL30 is 93 and 95 respectively.

Oftentimes, it is difficult to visualize the gap in sensor sizes purely by going through specifications. The picture below should give you a clearer sense of the sensor sizing in the WG-20 and SL30.

To sum up, both of those cameras feature the identical sensor size albeit different resolution. You can count on the Ricoh WG-20 to produce extra detail with its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also make it easier to crop photographs way more aggressively. The more recent WG-20 should have a benefit with regard to sensor innovation.