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Olympus E-300 vs Olympus 550WP

Portability
67
Imaging
41
Features
31
Overall
37
Olympus E-300 front
 
Olympus Stylus 550WP front
Portability
94
Imaging
33
Features
17
Overall
26

Olympus E-300 vs Olympus 550WP Key Specs

Olympus E-300
(Full Review)
  • 8MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 1.8" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 400 (Bump to 1600)
  • No Video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 624g - 147 x 85 x 64mm
  • Announced January 2005
  • Additionally referred to as EVOLT E-300
  • Renewed by Olympus E-330
Olympus 550WP
(Full Review)
  • 10MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 2.5" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 64 - 1600
  • Digital Image Stabilization
  • 640 x 480 video
  • 38-114mm (F3.5-5.0) lens
  • 167g - 94 x 62 x 22mm
  • Announced January 2009
  • Additionally Known as mju 550WP
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Olympus E-300 vs Olympus 550WP Overview

Below, we will be evaluating the Olympus E-300 versus Olympus 550WP, former being a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact and both of them are built by Olympus. The resolution of the E-300 (8MP) and the 550WP (10MP) is pretty well matched but the E-300 (Four Thirds) and 550WP (1/2.3") use different sensor size.

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The E-300 was launched 5 years earlier than the 550WP and that is quite a large difference as far as technology is concerned. Both the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-300 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Olympus 550WP being a Compact camera.

Before delving through a step-by-step comparison, below is a brief summation of how the E-300 grades against the 550WP for portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Photography Glossary
	
	

Reasons to pick Olympus E-300 over the Olympus 550WP

 E-300 550WP 
Manual focus More precise focusing

Reasons to pick Olympus 550WP over the Olympus E-300

 550WP E-300 
AnnouncedJanuary 2009January 2005More recent by 48 months
Screen dimension2.5"1.8"Bigger screen (+0.7")
Screen resolution230k134kSharper screen (+96k dot)

Common features in the Olympus E-300 and Olympus 550WP

 E-300 550WP 
Screen typeFixed Fixed Fixed screen
Selfie screen Neither provides selfie screen
Touch screen Missing Touch screen

Olympus E-300 vs Olympus 550WP Physical Comparison

If you are intending to lug around your camera frequently, you'll have to take into account its weight and size. The Olympus E-300 provides physical measurements of 147mm x 85mm x 64mm (5.8" x 3.3" x 2.5") having a weight of 624 grams (1.38 lbs) while the Olympus 550WP has specifications of 94mm x 62mm x 22mm (3.7" x 2.4" x 0.9") along with a weight of 167 grams (0.37 lbs).

Check the Olympus E-300 versus Olympus 550WP in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you are utilizing at the time. The following is the front view overall size comparison of the E-300 compared to the 550WP.

Olympus E-300 vs Olympus 550WP size comparison

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-300 and 550WP is 67 and 94 respectively.

Olympus E-300 vs Olympus 550WP top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-300 vs Olympus 550WP Sensor Comparison

Typically, it is very difficult to imagine the contrast between sensor measurements simply by checking technical specs. The photograph underneath will help offer you a stronger sense of the sensor measurements in the E-300 and 550WP.

As you can tell, both the cameras have got different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-300 due to its bigger sensor is going to make achieving bokeh easier and the Olympus 550WP will resolve more detail utilizing its extra 2 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also allow you to crop pictures much more aggressively. The older E-300 is going to be behind when it comes to sensor technology.

Olympus E-300 vs Olympus 550WP sensor size comparison

Olympus E-300 vs Olympus 550WP Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-300 vs Olympus 550WP Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-300 Portrait photography factors
Olympus 550WP Portrait photography factors
48
manual focus
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
exports RAW files
doesn't have liveview
low MP (8 megapixels)
19
lack of manual focus
no manual control
can't use external flash
megapixel count low (10MP)
sensor is tiny (1/2.3")
lack of RAW format
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Olympus E-300
Street photography with Olympus 550WP
51
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
exports RAW files
screen is fixed
no image stabilization
low maximum ISO (400)
61
built in image stabilization (Digital)
weather sealing
screen does not articulate
sensor is tiny (1/2.3")
lack of RAW format
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-300 Sports photography details
Olympus 550WP Sports photography details
37
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
comes with phase detect AF
doesn't have liveview
slow continuous shooting (3.0 frames per second)
no image stabilization
low MP (8 megapixels)
30
built in image stabilization (Digital)
weather sealing
low max shutter speed (1/1,000s)
no shutter priority
megapixel count low (10MP)
sensor is tiny (1/2.3")
lack of phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-300 Travel photography highlights
Olympus 550WP Travel photography highlights
45
built-in flash
lack of Timelapse function
low MP (8 megapixels)
doesn't feature selfie friendly display
55
weather sealing
built-in flash
does not have Timelapse mode
megapixel count low (10 megapixels)
doesn't offer selfie friendly display
wide angle not great (38mm)
sluggish max aperture (f3.5)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-300 Landscape photography highlights
Olympus 550WP Landscape photography highlights
43
manual focus
interchangeable lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
exports RAW files
screen is somewhat small (1.8")
doesn't have liveview
no image stabilization
low MP (8 megapixels)
low maximum ISO (400)
lack of Timelapse function
30
built in image stabilization (Digital)
weather sealing
lack of manual focus
cannot switch lens (fixed lens mount)
wide angle not great (38mm)
sluggish max aperture (f3.5)
tiny screen (2.5")
no manual control
megapixel count low (10 megapixels)
sensor is tiny (1/2.3")
lack of RAW format
does not have Timelapse mode
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-300 Vlogging information
Olympus 550WP Vlogging information
9
no video recording
25
built in image stabilization (Digital)
wide angle not great (38mm)
sluggish max aperture (f3.5)
doesn't offer selfie friendly display
video resolution low (640 x 480 resolution)
does not have microphone socket
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Olympus E-300 vs Olympus 550WP Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-300 and Olympus 550WP
 Olympus E-300Olympus Stylus 550WP
General Information
Manufacturer Olympus Olympus
Model Olympus E-300 Olympus Stylus 550WP
Also referred to as EVOLT E-300 mju 550WP
Type Advanced DSLR Small Sensor Compact
Announced 2005-01-10 2009-01-07
Physical type Mid-size SLR Compact
Sensor Information
Sensor type CCD CCD
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 6.08 x 4.56mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 27.7mm²
Sensor resolution 8 megapixel 10 megapixel
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 16:9, 4:3 and 3:2
Highest resolution 3264 x 2448 3648 x 2736
Highest native ISO 400 1600
Highest boosted ISO 1600 -
Lowest native ISO 100 64
RAW images
Autofocusing
Focus manually
AF touch
AF continuous
Single AF
Tracking AF
AF selectice
AF center weighted
Multi area AF
Live view AF
Face detect AF
Contract detect AF
Phase detect AF
Number of focus points 3 -
Lens
Lens mount Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens focal range - 38-114mm (3.0x)
Highest aperture - f/3.5-5.0
Macro focus distance - 7cm
Available lenses 45 -
Crop factor 2.1 5.9
Screen
Display type Fixed Type Fixed Type
Display diagonal 1.8" 2.5"
Resolution of display 134 thousand dots 230 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch display
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Optical (pentamirror) None
Features
Slowest shutter speed 60 secs 4 secs
Maximum shutter speed 1/4000 secs 1/1000 secs
Continuous shooting rate 3.0fps -
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes -
Set WB
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash settings Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye Auto, Fill-in, Red-Eye reduction, Off, On
Hot shoe
Auto exposure bracketing
WB bracketing
Maximum flash synchronize 1/180 secs -
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Video resolutions - 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 240 (30, 15 fps)
Highest video resolution None 640x480
Video format - Motion JPEG
Microphone port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless None None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 1.0 (1.5 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 624 grams (1.38 lb) 167 grams (0.37 lb)
Dimensions 147 x 85 x 64mm (5.8" x 3.3" x 2.5") 94 x 62 x 22mm (3.7" x 2.4" x 0.9")
DXO scores
DXO All around score not tested not tested
DXO Color Depth score not tested not tested
DXO Dynamic range score not tested not tested
DXO Low light score not tested not tested
Other
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (12 seconds)
Time lapse feature
Type of storage Compact Flash (Type I or II) xD-Picture Card, microSD, internal
Card slots 1 1
Price at launch $800 $399