Sigma SD15 vs Olympus Stylus SH-3

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Sigma SD15 and the Olympus Stylus SH-3, highlighting the advantages of each over the other, discussing their pros and cons, shared strengths and weaknesses, and providing a rating based on their available features and specifications to assist you in choosing the one that best suits your needs.

Sigma SD15 was introduced in February 2010 and Olympus Stylus SH-3 was introduced in February 2016. Let us first list highlights of the models.

Now that we've looked at the most essential specifications and gained a basic understanding of these cameras, we can delve into more details and see the differences between them.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Sigma SD15 over Olympus Stylus SH-3.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Olympus Stylus SH-3 over Sigma SD15.

We already listed pros and cons of each model. However, you may also find useful to look at their common strengths and weaknesses shown side-by-side.

Screen

Sigma SD15 and Olympus Stylus SH-3 have 3.0" Fixed screens with 460k dot resolution. Olympus Stylus SH-3 also features touchscreen which has advantages such as easy menu navigation, intuitive controls, quick setting adjustment and most importantly a Touch-to-Focus functionality (available only on Olympus Stylus SH-3) allowing users to select a specific point on the screen where they want the camera to focus. This feature can be helpful for achieving precise focus in both photo and video recording.

Optical (pentaprism) Viewfinder on Sigma SD15

Sigma SD15 has a built-in Optical (pentaprism) viewfinder. It has a 96% coverage and 0.90x (0.60x 35mm equivalent) magnification. There is no built-in or optional viewfinder available on Olympus Stylus SH-3.

Sigma SD15 features a 5 megapixel APS-C CMOS (Foveon X3) sensor with dimensions of 20.7 x 13.8 mm and a total area of 285.7 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 1,600 and expands to 50 - 3,200 in boosted mode. Olympus Stylus SH-3 features a 16 megapixel 1/2.3-inch BSI-CMOS sensor with dimensions of 6.17 x 4.55 mm and a total area of 20.7 mm². Its native ISO range is 125 - 6,400.

Olympus Stylus SH-3 has BSI-CMOS sensor, short for Backside Illuminated Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor sensor. In traditional CMOS sensors, the wiring and circuitry are located on the front side of the sensor, which can block some of the incoming light. BSI technology flips this design by placing the photosensitive elements (pixels) on the backside of the sensor, allowing more light to reach the pixels. This significantly enhances light sensitivity and improves low-light performance. BSI-CMOS sensors are particularly effective in low-light conditions, as they can capture more light, resulting in brighter and less noisy images. This makes them well-suited for indoor and night photography. BSI-CMOS sensors deliver a higher SNR and reduced cross-talk.

Sigma SD15 is equipped with TRUE II processor and can take pictures up to 2640 x 1760 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 1776 x 1184, 1296 x 864 with 3:2 aspect ratios. Olympus Stylus SH-3 is equipped with TruePic VII processor and can take pictures up to 4608 x 3456 resolution.

No Low-Pass Filter on Sigma SD15

There is no optical low-pass filter (OLPF), also known as an anti-aliasing filter, in front of the sensor on Sigma SD15. This results in a slightly sharper image but may also introduce moiré patterns and aliasing artifacts when photographing subjects with fine, repetitive patterns or details.

Olympus Stylus SH-3 has an image stabilization.

Built-in Wi-Fi on Olympus Stylus SH-3

Olympus Stylus SH-3 has a built-in Wi-Fi which allows to easily transfer photos and videos from the camera to other Wi-Fi-enabled devices, such as smartphones, tablets, printers, or computers. This eliminates the need for cables and allows for quick and convenient media sharing and social media integration. It gives you the ability to control your camera remotely using a smartphone or tablet. This is particularly useful for taking self-portraits, group shots, or capturing images in challenging conditions without having to touch the camera. Firmware updates can also be downloaded and installed wirelessly.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in WiFi.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) inputs for data transfer. Sigma SD15 has an HDMI and Olympus Stylus SH-3 has a Micro HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Olympus Stylus SH-3 comes with LI-92B battery pack with battery life of 380 shots.

External Storage Slots

Sigma SD15 has a single SD/SDHC card slot. Olympus Stylus SH-3 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC Memory card slot.

Shutter

Shutter speed can go up to 1/4000 sec on Sigma SD15, and up to 1/2000 sec on Olympus Stylus SH-3. Sigma SD15 can shoot continuously up to 3.0 fps. Olympus Stylus SH-3 can shoot continuously up to 11.5 fps.

Flash

Cameras have built-in flash with maximum range of 8.30 m at ISO 3200 on Olympus Stylus SH-3. Sigma SD15 also accepts external flash which can be connected via Hot Shoe. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/180 sec on Sigma SD15.

Sigma SD15 body has dimensions of 144 x 107 x 81 mm (5.67 x 4.21 x 3.19") and Olympus Stylus SH-3 body has dimensions of 109 x 63 x 42 mm (4.29 x 2.48 x 1.65"). Sigma SD15 weighs 750 g (1.65 lb / 26.46 oz) and Olympus Stylus SH-3 weighs 271 g (0.60 lb / 9.56 oz).

Sigma SD15

Olympus Stylus SH-3

144 mm

107 mm

109 mm

63 mm

107 mm

63 mm

81 mm

42 mm