Ricoh WG-20 vs Sigma SD1 Merrill

Let's look more closely at the Ricoh WG-20 and Sigma SD1 Merrill, former is a Waterproof while the other is a Advanced DSLR by manufacturers Ricoh and Sigma. The image resolution of the WG-20 (14MP) and the SD1 Merrill (15MP) is fairly well matched but the WG-20 (1/2.3") and SD1 Merrill (APS-C) enjoy different sensor dimensions.

Photography Glossary

The WG-20 was revealed 23 months after the SD1 Merrill making the cameras a generation away from one another. Each of these cameras offer different body type with the Ricoh WG-20 being a Compact camera and the Sigma SD1 Merrill being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before going in to a in-depth comparison, below is a quick overview of how the WG-20 scores against the SD1 Merrill in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Ricoh WG-20 & Sigma SD1 Merrill. The full galleries are available at Ricoh WG-20 Gallery & Sigma SD1 Merrill Gallery.

If you are intending to carry around your camera regularly, you'll have to factor in its weight and volume. The Ricoh WG-20 has got exterior dimensions 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 Sigma SD1 Merrill has sizing of 146mm x 113mm x 80mm (5.7" x 4.4" x 3.1") along with a weight of 790 grams (1.74 lbs).

Check out the Ricoh WG-20 and Sigma SD1 Merrill in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you use at that moment. Following is the front view dimensions comparison of the WG-20 and the SD1 Merrill.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the WG-20 and SD1 Merrill is 93 and 57 respectively.

More often than not, it can be hard to visualize the difference between sensor sizes only by checking a spec sheet. The pic here may provide you a greater sense of the sensor dimensions in the WG-20 and SD1 Merrill.

Clearly, both of these cameras enjoy different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The WG-20 having a tinier sensor is going to make achieving shallower DOF trickier and the Sigma SD1 Merrill will resolve more detail because of its extra 1 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also help you crop photos far more aggressively. The more recent WG-20 should have an edge in sensor tech.