Clicky

Olympus E-3 vs Sony H55

Portability
56
Imaging
44
Features
56
Overall
48
Olympus E-3 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H55 front
Portability
92
Imaging
37
Features
28
Overall
33

Olympus E-3 vs Sony H55 Key Specs

Olympus E-3
(Full Review)
  • 10MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 2.5" Fully Articulated Display
  • ISO 100 - 3200
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
  • No Video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 890g - 142 x 116 x 75mm
  • Revealed February 2008
  • Superseded the Olympus E-1
  • Renewed by Olympus E-5
Sony H55
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 80 - 3200
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 25-250mm (F3.5-5.5) lens
  • 200g - 103 x 58 x 29mm
  • Released June 2010
Japan-exclusive Leica Leitz Phone 3 features big sensor and new modes

Olympus E-3 vs Sony H55 Overview

Following is a in depth review of the Olympus E-3 vs Sony H55, former is a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by companies Olympus and Sony. There is a large difference among the image resolutions of the E-3 (10MP) and H55 (14MP) and the E-3 (Four Thirds) and H55 (1/2.3") posses totally different sensor dimensions.

Meta to Introduce 'AI-Generated' Labels for Media starting next month

The E-3 was launched 3 years prior to the H55 which is a fairly serious difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Each of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-3 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony H55 being a Compact camera.

Before going straight to a full comparison, here is a simple highlight of how the E-3 matches up versus the H55 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a Landslide
	
	

Reasons to pick Olympus E-3 over the Sony H55

 E-3 H55 
Manually focus More exact focusing
Screen typeFully ArticulatedFixed Fully Articulating screen
Selfie screen Take selfies

Reasons to pick Sony H55 over the Olympus E-3

 H55 E-3 
ReleasedJune 2010February 2008More modern by 28 months
Screen dimensions3"2.5"Bigger screen (+0.5")

Common features in the Olympus E-3 and Sony H55

 E-3 H55 
Screen resolution230k230kSame screen resolution
Touch screen No Touch screen

Olympus E-3 vs Sony H55 Physical Comparison

If you're planning to carry around your camera often, you will want to take into account its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-3 enjoys outer dimensions of 142mm x 116mm x 75mm (5.6" x 4.6" x 3.0") along with a weight of 890 grams (1.96 lbs) while the Sony H55 has proportions of 103mm x 58mm x 29mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 1.1") with a weight of 200 grams (0.44 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-3 vs Sony H55 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you are employing at that time. Underneath is a front view scale comparison of the E-3 compared to the H55.

Olympus E-3 vs Sony H55 size comparison

Taking into account size and weight, the portability rating of the E-3 and H55 is 56 and 92 respectively.

Olympus E-3 vs Sony H55 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-3 vs Sony H55 Sensor Comparison

In many cases, it is very tough to visualise the contrast in sensor sizes merely by checking out technical specs. The pic underneath will give you a clearer sense of the sensor sizes in the E-3 and H55.

As you have seen, both the cameras provide different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The E-3 due to its bigger sensor will make achieving shallower depth of field less difficult and the Sony H55 will show more detail utilizing its extra 4MP. Higher resolution will help you crop pictures more aggressively. The more aged E-3 will be behind in sensor innovation.

Olympus E-3 vs Sony H55 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-3 vs Sony H55 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-3 vs Sony H55 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
Snapchat Adds Watermarks to AI-Created Images

Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-3 Portrait photography info
Sony H55 Portrait photography info
56
has manual focus
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
megapixel count low (10 megapixels)
28
MP count good (14 megapixels)
manual focus not available
lack of manual mode
cannot use external flash
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW files
Apple Innovates by Creating Next-Level Optical Stabilization for iPhone

Street Comparison

Olympus E-3 Street photography factors
Sony H55 Street photography factors
69
screen articulates
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
weather proof
56
image stabilization (Optical)
screen does not articulate
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW files
Photography Glossary

Sports Comparison

Olympus E-3 Sports photography info
Sony H55 Sports photography info
57
max shutter speed is good (1/8,000 seconds)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
weather proof
sensor has phase detect autofocus
painfully slow continuous shooting (5.0 fps)
megapixel count low (10MP)
38
image stabilization (Optical)
MP count good (14 megapixels)
no shutter priority
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
doesn't have phase detect AF
President Biden pushes bill mandating TikTok sale or ban

Travel Comparison

Olympus E-3 Travel photography features
Sony H55 Travel photography features
55
weather proof
has built in flash
screen is selfie friendly
does not have Time Lapse mode
megapixel count low (10MP)
67
MP count good (14 megapixels)
has built in flash
quite wide (25mm)
long zoom (250mm)
lack of Timelapse recording
doesn't contain selfie friendly display
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
Samsung Releases Faster Versions of EVO MicroSD Cards

Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-3 as a Landscape photography camera
Sony H55 as a Landscape photography camera
56
has manual focus
switch lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
weather proof
screen is small (2.5")
megapixel count low (10 megapixels)
does not have Time Lapse mode
42
quite wide (25mm)
screen size is good (3")
image stabilization (Optical)
MP count good (14 megapixels)
manual focus not available
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
lack of manual mode
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW files
lack of Timelapse recording
Photobucket discusses licensing 13 billion images with AI firms

Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-3 Vlogging advice
Sony H55 Vlogging advice
18
lack of video recording
28
quite wide (25mm)
image stabilization (Optical)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
doesn't contain selfie friendly display
low quality video (1280 x 720 pxls)
lack of microphone jack
Sora from OpenAI releases its first ever music video

Olympus E-3 vs Sony H55 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-3 and Sony H55
 Olympus E-3Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H55
General Information
Manufacturer Olympus Sony
Model Olympus E-3 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H55
Class Advanced DSLR Small Sensor Compact
Revealed 2008-02-20 2010-06-16
Body design Mid-size SLR Compact
Sensor Information
Processor Chip TruePic III Bionz
Sensor type CMOS CCD
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 10 megapixels 14 megapixels
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 4:3 and 16:9
Maximum resolution 3648 x 2736 4320 x 3240
Maximum native ISO 3200 3200
Lowest native ISO 100 80
RAW support
Autofocusing
Manual focus
Touch to focus
Continuous AF
Single AF
AF tracking
Selective AF
AF center weighted
AF multi area
AF live view
Face detect focusing
Contract detect focusing
Phase detect focusing
Number of focus points 11 9
Lens
Lens mounting type Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens focal range - 25-250mm (10.0x)
Maximum aperture - f/3.5-5.5
Macro focus range - 5cm
Total lenses 45 -
Focal length multiplier 2.1 5.8
Screen
Range of display Fully Articulated Fixed Type
Display size 2.5 inches 3 inches
Resolution of display 230 thousand dot 230 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch operation
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Optical (pentaprism) None
Viewfinder coverage 100% -
Viewfinder magnification 0.58x -
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60s 30s
Highest shutter speed 1/8000s 1/1600s
Continuous shooting speed 5.0 frames/s 10.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes -
Custom WB
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash range 13.00 m 3.80 m
Flash options Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye Auto, On, Slow Syncro, Off
External flash
AEB
White balance bracketing
Highest flash sync 1/250s -
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Supported video resolutions - 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Maximum video resolution None 1280x720
Video data format - MPEG-4
Microphone input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless None None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 890 gr (1.96 lbs) 200 gr (0.44 lbs)
Physical dimensions 142 x 116 x 75mm (5.6" x 4.6" x 3.0") 103 x 58 x 29mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 1.1")
DXO scores
DXO All around score 56 not tested
DXO Color Depth score 21.6 not tested
DXO Dynamic range score 10.5 not tested
DXO Low light score 571 not tested
Other
Battery model - NP-BG1
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec, portrait1/ portrait2)
Time lapse feature
Storage media Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card Memory Stick Duo / Pro Duo/ PRO HG-Duo, SD/SDHC, Internal
Storage slots One One
Retail pricing $670 $235