Sony Alpha 9 III vs Ricoh WG-4 GPS

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Sony Alpha 9 III and the Ricoh WG-4 GPS, 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.

Sony Alpha 9 III was introduced in November 2023 and Ricoh WG-4 GPS was introduced in February 2014. 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 Sony Alpha 9 III over Ricoh WG-4 GPS.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Ricoh WG-4 GPS over Sony Alpha 9 III.

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

Sony Alpha 9 III has a 3.2" Fully Articulated screen with 2,360k dots resolution and Ricoh WG-4 GPS has a 3.0" Fixed screen with 460k dot resolution. Fully articulated screen makes Sony Alpha 9 III selfie and vlogger friendly and generally very useful for video shooting. Sony Alpha 9 III also features touchscreen which has advantages such as easy menu navigation, intuitive controls, quick setting adjustment and most importantly a Touch-to-Focus functionality 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.

Electronic (OLED) Viewfinder on Sony Alpha 9 III

Sony Alpha 9 III has a built-in 0.64" Electronic (OLED) viewfinder with 9,437k dots resolution. It has a 100% coverage and 0.9x magnification. There is no built-in or optional viewfinder available on Ricoh WG-4 GPS.

Sony Alpha 9 III features a 24.6 megapixel Full Frame Stacked CMOS sensor with dimensions of 35.6 x 23.8 mm and a total area of 847.3 mm². Its native ISO range is 250 - 25,600 and expands to 125 - 51,200 in boosted mode. Ricoh WG-4 GPS 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.

Sony Alpha 9 III has Stacked CMOS sensor. The key feature of such sensor is its three-dimensional structure, which consists of multiple layers of semiconductor material and circuitry stacked on top of each other. This allows the sensor to have dedicated layers for image capture and signal processing. This separation allows for faster data readout, reducing rolling shutter effects and enabling high-speed shooting and video recording. It is also more power-efficient.

Ricoh WG-4 GPS 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.

Sony Alpha 9 III is equipped with BIONZ XR processor and can take pictures up to 6000 x 4000 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 3936 x 2632, 3008 x 2000 with 1:1, 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios. Ricoh WG-4 GPS can take pictures up to 4608 x 3456 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4608 x 2592, 3456 x 3456, 3072 x 2304, 3072 x 1728, 2592 x 1464, 2048 x 1536, 1920 x 1080, 640 x 480 with 1:1, 4:3, 16:9 aspect ratios.

Image Stabilization

The cameras have a built-in image stabilization (8 stops of compensation in Sony Alpha 9 III). On Sony Alpha 9 III it means that you are still getting vibration reduction when it is paired with non-image stabilizied lenses. It also works with lenses with optical image stabilization and in combination can achieve even better compensation.

Built-in GPS on Ricoh WG-4 GPS

Ricoh WG-4 GPS has a built-in GPS (Global Positioning System) technology which allows you to automatically tag the location where you took your photos. You can later categorize, organize, and search for photos based on location. This is very useful for travel and outdoor photographers for documenting the locations where images were captured.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in GPS.

Built-in Wi-Fi on Sony Alpha 9 III

Sony Alpha 9 III has a built-in Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi 5, 802.11ac/b/g/n, 2.4/5 GHz) 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.

Bluetooth on Sony Alpha 9 III

Sony Alpha 9 III has a built-in Bluetooth (version 5.0) which lets you to connect the camera to a smartphone or a dedicated remote control device. This allows you to remotely trigger the camera, adjust settings and controls remotely through a paired mobile app. While Wi-Fi is generally faster for transferring larger files, Bluetooth can be used for small, selective transfers, it can provide real-time information about your camera's battery status, memory card capacity, and other key settings directly on your paired smartphone or smartwatch.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in Bluetooth.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB inputs for data transfer. Sony Alpha 9 III has a Full Size HDMI and Ricoh WG-4 GPS has a Micro HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Sony Alpha 9 III comes with NP-FZ100 battery pack with battery life of 530 shots with LVD
400 shots with viewfinder and Ricoh WG-4 GPS comes with D-LI92 battery pack with battery life of 240 shots.

External Storage Slots

Sony Alpha 9 III has Dual CFexpress Type A / SD (UHS-II) card slots. Ricoh WG-4 GPS has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC card slot.

Shutter

Sony Alpha 9 III has Electronic Global Shutter shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/80000 sec with electronic shutter and up to 1/8000 sec with mechanical shutter on Sony Alpha 9 III, and up to 1/4000 sec on Ricoh WG-4 GPS. Sony Alpha 9 III can shoot continuously up to 120.0 fps with electronic shutter and up to 30.0 fps with mechanical shutter. Ricoh WG-4 GPS can shoot continuously up to 1.5 fps.

Focusing

Sony Alpha 9 III has Fast Hybrid AF (Phase-detection / Contrast-detection) system with 759 focusing points and Ricoh WG-4 GPS has 9 focusing points. Sony Alpha 9 III has detection range from -5 to +20 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Sony Alpha 9 III ranges from -5 to +17 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range on Sony Alpha 9 III. You can also do exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Sony Alpha 9 III and exposure bracketing on Ricoh WG-4 GPS.

Flash

Ricoh WG-4 GPS has a built-in flash with maximum range of 10.00 m Auto ISO. Sony Alpha 9 III has no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected via Shoe Mount or PC Terminal. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/80000 sec on Sony Alpha 9 III.

Sony Alpha 9 III body has dimensions of 136 x 97 x 83 mm (5.35 x 3.82 x 3.27") and Ricoh WG-4 GPS body has dimensions of 124 x 64 x 33 mm (4.88 x 2.52 x 1.3"). Sony Alpha 9 III weighs 678 g (1.49 lb / 23.92 oz) and Ricoh WG-4 GPS weighs 235 g (0.52 lb / 8.29 oz).

Sony Alpha 9 III

Ricoh WG-4 GPS

136 mm

97 mm

124 mm

64 mm

83 mm

33 mm