Ricoh WG-30 vs Sony A850

Here is a detailed assessment of the Ricoh WG-30 and Sony A850, former being a Waterproof while the latter is a Advanced DSLR by manufacturers Ricoh and Sony. There exists a substantial gap among the sensor resolutions of the WG-30 (16MP) and A850 (25MP) and the WG-30 (1/2.3") and A850 (Full frame) boast different sensor measurements.

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The WG-30 was revealed 4 years later than the A850 and that is a fairly big difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both the cameras feature different body design with the Ricoh WG-30 being a Compact camera and the Sony A850 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before going into a complete comparison, here is a brief summary of how the WG-30 matches up versus the A850 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Below is a preview of the gallery images for Ricoh WG-30 & Sony Alpha DSLR-A850. The full galleries are viewable at Ricoh WG-30 Gallery & Sony A850 Gallery.

In case you're looking to carry your camera, you have to take into account its weight and volume. The Ricoh WG-30 provides exterior dimensions of 123mm x 62mm x 30mm (4.8" x 2.4" x 1.2") having a weight of 192 grams (0.42 lbs) while the Sony A850 has sizing of 156mm x 117mm x 82mm (6.1" x 4.6" x 3.2") and a weight of 895 grams (1.97 lbs).

Check the Ricoh WG-30 and Sony A850 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you select at that time. The following is a front view measurement comparison of the WG-30 and the A850.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the WG-30 and A850 is 91 and 54 respectively.

More often than not, it is difficult to imagine the gap in sensor sizing only by seeing specs. The graphic here should offer you a better sense of the sensor sizes in the WG-30 and A850.

As you can plainly see, each of the cameras come with different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The WG-30 having a smaller sensor is going to make getting shallow depth of field trickier and the Sony A850 will show greater detail because of its extra 9 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also enable you to crop photographs a good deal more aggressively. The younger WG-30 provides an advantage when it comes to sensor innovation.