Olympus E-400 vs Sony W550

Below is a extensive review of the Olympus E-400 versus Sony W550, one being a Entry-Level DSLR and the other is a Ultracompact by competitors Olympus and Sony. There is a significant difference between the image resolutions of the E-400 (10MP) and W550 (14MP) and the E-400 (Four Thirds) and W550 (1/2.3") posses different sensor sizes.

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The E-400 was unveiled 5 years before the W550 and that is quite a sizable gap as far as tech is concerned. Both cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-400 being a Compact SLR camera and the Sony W550 being a Ultracompact camera.

Before we go into a comprehensive comparison, here is a quick summary of how the E-400 grades versus the W550 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus E-400 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W550. The full galleries are available at Olympus E-400 Gallery and Sony W550 Gallery.

For those who are going to lug around your camera regularly, you should factor its weight and volume. The Olympus E-400 offers physical dimensions of 130mm x 91mm x 53mm (5.1" x 3.6" x 2.1") accompanied by a weight of 435 grams (0.96 lbs) whilst the Sony W550 has sizing of 94mm x 56mm x 19mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.7") accompanied by a weight of 110 grams (0.24 lbs).

Look at the Olympus E-400 versus Sony W550 in the latest Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary depending on the lens you are employing at that time. Underneath is a front view over all size comparison of the E-400 against the W550.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability rating of the E-400 and W550 is 77 and 96 respectively.

Often, it is hard to visualize the gap between sensor measurements merely by checking a spec sheet. The graphic below might give you a clearer sense of the sensor sizes in the E-400 and W550.

As you can see, each of the cameras feature different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-400 having a larger sensor is going to make shooting shallower DOF simpler and the Sony W550 will give you greater detail having an extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also make it easier to crop images way more aggressively. The older E-400 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor tech.