Olympus E-300 vs Sony A55

The following is a thorough overview of the Olympus E-300 and Sony A55, former is a Advanced DSLR while the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by manufacturers Olympus and Sony. There is a substantial difference between the sensor resolutions of the E-300 (8MP) and A55 (16MP) and the E-300 (Four Thirds) and A55 (APS-C) feature totally different sensor measurements.

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The E-300 was unveiled 6 years before the A55 which is quite a big difference as far as tech is concerned. Both of these cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-300 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony A55 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before going in to a detailed comparison, below is a simple introduction of how the E-300 scores vs the A55 for portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Here is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus E-300 & Sony SLT-A55. The full galleries are provided at Olympus E-300 Gallery & Sony A55 Gallery.

For those who are planning to travel with your camera frequently, you will have to factor in its weight and size. The Olympus E-300 has got outside dimensions of 147mm x 85mm x 64mm (5.8" x 3.3" x 2.5") along with a weight of 624 grams (1.38 lbs) while the Sony A55 has specifications of 124mm x 92mm x 85mm (4.9" x 3.6" x 3.3") with a weight of 500 grams (1.10 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus E-300 and Sony A55 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you are utilizing at that moment. Underneath is the front view sizing comparison of the E-300 compared to the A55.

Factoring in size and weight, the portability rating of the E-300 and A55 is 67 and 67 respectively.

In many cases, its difficult to visualise the gap between sensor dimensions simply by checking a spec sheet. The picture below should offer you a greater sense of the sensor sizes in the E-300 and A55.

Clearly, both the cameras have got different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The E-300 with its tinier sensor will make shooting shallower DOF harder and the Sony A55 will give you extra detail having an extra 8 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also help you crop photos much more aggressively. The more aged E-300 is going to be behind in sensor technology.