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Olympus E-400 vs Sony A55

Portability
77
Imaging
44
Features
31
Overall
38
Olympus E-400 front
 
Sony SLT-A55 front
Portability
67
Imaging
56
Features
80
Overall
65

Olympus E-400 vs Sony A55 Key Specs

Olympus E-400
(Full Review)
  • 10MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 2.5" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 1600
  • No Video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 435g - 130 x 91 x 53mm
  • Announced September 2006
  • Refreshed by Olympus E-410
Sony A55
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Fully Articulated Display
  • ISO 100 - 12800 (Raise to 25600)
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
  • 500g - 124 x 92 x 85mm
  • Launched August 2010
  • Refreshed by Sony A57
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Olympus E-400 vs Sony A55 Overview

In this write-up, we are comparing the Olympus E-400 vs Sony A55, both Entry-Level DSLR digital cameras by rivals Olympus and Sony. There is a considerable difference between the resolutions of the E-400 (10MP) and A55 (16MP) and the E-400 (Four Thirds) and A55 (APS-C) enjoy different sensor dimensions.

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The E-400 was manufactured 4 years prior to the A55 which is quite a large difference as far as tech is concerned. Both of the cameras offer the identical body type (Compact SLR).

Before going through a comprehensive comparison, below is a brief overview of how the E-400 matches up vs the A55 for portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-400 over the Sony A55

 E-400 A55 

Reasons to pick Sony A55 over the Olympus E-400

 A55 E-400 
LaunchedAugust 2010September 2006Newer by 48 months
Display typeFully ArticulatedFixed Fully Articulating display
Display sizing3"2.5"Larger display (+0.5")
Display resolution921k215kClearer display (+706k dot)
Selfie screen Easy selfies

Common features in the Olympus E-400 and Sony A55

 E-400 A55 
Focus manually More accurate focusing
Touch friendly display Neither comes with Touch friendly display

Olympus E-400 vs Sony A55 Physical Comparison

If you are aiming to travel with your camera frequently, you will have to factor in its weight and volume. The Olympus E-400 comes with physical dimensions of 130mm x 91mm x 53mm (5.1" x 3.6" x 2.1") with a weight of 435 grams (0.96 lbs) whilst the Sony A55 has sizing of 124mm x 92mm x 85mm (4.9" x 3.6" x 3.3") accompanied by a weight of 500 grams (1.10 lbs).

Look at the Olympus E-400 vs Sony A55 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you are employing at the time. The following is the front view sizing comparison of the E-400 versus the A55.

Olympus E-400 vs Sony A55 size comparison

Looking at size and weight, the portability score of the E-400 and A55 is 77 and 67 respectively.

Olympus E-400 vs Sony A55 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-400 vs Sony A55 Sensor Comparison

In many cases, it is difficult to picture the contrast between sensor dimensions merely by reading through a spec sheet. The pic below will provide you a stronger sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-400 and A55.

Clearly, both cameras enjoy different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The E-400 because of its tinier sensor is going to make achieving shallow DOF tougher and the Sony A55 will give you greater detail due to its extra 6 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also help you crop images far more aggressively. The more aged E-400 is going to be behind with regard to sensor technology.

Olympus E-400 vs Sony A55 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-400 vs Sony A55 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-400 vs Sony A55 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
Photography Glossary

Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-400 Portrait photography features
Sony A55 Portrait photography features
46
you can focus manually
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW files
no liveview
manual mode not available
low MP (10 megapixels)
73
focusing manually
MP count good (16MP)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
includes face detection focus
supports RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-400 Street photography highlights
Sony A55 Street photography highlights
60
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW files
screen is fixed
no image stabilization
77
fully articulated screen
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
supports RAW formats
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-400 Sports photography highlights
Sony A55 Sports photography highlights
38
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
comes with phase detect autofocus
no liveview
low fps (3.0 fps)
no image stabilization
low MP (10 megapixels)
68
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
MP count good (16MP)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
has phase detect auto focus
not so great battery pack (380 shots)
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-400 as a Travel photography camera
Sony A55 as a Travel photography camera
49
has built in flash
doesn't have Time Lapse function
low MP (10MP)
does not contain selfie friendly screen
62
MP count good (16MP)
built-in flash
selfie friendly display
doesn't have Timelapse recording
not so great battery pack (380 per charge)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-400 Landscape photography factors
Sony A55 Landscape photography factors
45
you can focus manually
swap lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW files
small screen (2.5 inch)
no liveview
manual mode not available
no image stabilization
low MP (10 megapixels)
doesn't have Time Lapse function
67
focusing manually
switch lenses (Sony/Minolta Alpha mount)
nice screen size (3 inch)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
MP count good (16 megapixels)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
supports RAW formats
not so great battery pack (380 CIPA)
doesn't have Timelapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-400 as a Vlogging camera
Sony A55 as a Vlogging camera
9
lack of video recording
78
selfie friendly display
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
includes face detection focus
high res video (1920 x 1080 resolution)
has external microphone port
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Olympus E-400 vs Sony A55 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-400 and Sony A55
 Olympus E-400Sony SLT-A55
General Information
Brand Name Olympus Sony
Model type Olympus E-400 Sony SLT-A55
Category Entry-Level DSLR Entry-Level DSLR
Announced 2006-09-14 2010-08-24
Body design Compact SLR Compact SLR
Sensor Information
Powered by - Bionz
Sensor type CCD CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds APS-C
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 23.5 x 15.6mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 366.6mm²
Sensor resolution 10MP 16MP
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 3:2 and 16:9
Peak resolution 3648 x 2736 4912 x 3264
Highest native ISO 1600 12800
Highest enhanced ISO - 25600
Min native ISO 100 100
RAW photos
Autofocusing
Focus manually
AF touch
Continuous AF
AF single
AF tracking
AF selectice
AF center weighted
AF multi area
Live view AF
Face detect focusing
Contract detect focusing
Phase detect focusing
Total focus points 3 15
Cross type focus points - 3
Lens
Lens support Micro Four Thirds Sony/Minolta Alpha
Number of lenses 45 143
Focal length multiplier 2.1 1.5
Screen
Range of display Fixed Type Fully Articulated
Display diagonal 2.5 inches 3 inches
Resolution of display 215 thousand dot 921 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch friendly
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Optical (pentamirror) Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 1,150 thousand dot
Viewfinder coverage 95% 100%
Viewfinder magnification 0.46x 0.73x
Features
Min shutter speed 60 secs 30 secs
Max shutter speed 1/4000 secs 1/4000 secs
Continuous shutter speed 3.0 frames per second 10.0 frames per second
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation - Yes
Set WB
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash distance 10.00 m (at ISO 100) 10.00 m (@ ISO 100)
Flash options Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, High Speed Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in, Wireless
Hot shoe
Auto exposure bracketing
White balance bracketing
Max flash sync - 1/160 secs
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Video resolutions - 1920 x 1080 (60, 29.97 fps), 1440 x 1080 (30fps), 640 x 424 (29.97 fps)
Highest video resolution None 1920x1080
Video data format - MPEG-4, AVCHD, H.264
Microphone jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless None Eye-Fi Connected
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None BuiltIn
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 435 gr (0.96 lbs) 500 gr (1.10 lbs)
Dimensions 130 x 91 x 53mm (5.1" x 3.6" x 2.1") 124 x 92 x 85mm (4.9" x 3.6" x 3.3")
DXO scores
DXO Overall rating not tested 73
DXO Color Depth rating not tested 23.0
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested 12.4
DXO Low light rating not tested 816
Other
Battery life - 380 images
Type of battery - Battery Pack
Battery ID - NP-FW50
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse shooting
Type of storage Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo
Storage slots 1 1
Retail cost $599 $800