Olympus E-520 vs Sony W550
68 Imaging
44 Features
45 Overall
44
96 Imaging
36 Features
28 Overall
32
Olympus E-520 vs Sony W550 Key Specs
(Full Review)
- 10MP - Four Thirds Sensor
- 2.7" Fixed Screen
- ISO 100 - 1600
- Sensor based Image Stabilization
- No Video
- Micro Four Thirds Mount
- 552g - 136 x 92 x 68mm
- Introduced August 2008
- Old Model is Olympus E-510
(Full Review)
- 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
- 3" Fixed Screen
- ISO 80 - 3200
- Optical Image Stabilization
- 1280 x 720 video
- 26-104mm (F2.7-5.7) lens
- 110g - 94 x 56 x 19mm
- Released July 2011
Mastering Nature Photography with a Digital Microscope Camera Olympus E-520 vs Sony W550 Overview
On this page, we will be matching up the Olympus E-520 and Sony W550, former is a Entry-Level DSLR while the latter is a Ultracompact by competitors Olympus and Sony. There exists a sizable gap among the resolutions of the E-520 (10MP) and W550 (14MP) and the E-520 (Four Thirds) and W550 (1/2.3") offer different sensor dimensions.
Photobucket discusses licensing 13 billion images with AI firmsThe E-520 was unveiled 3 years before the W550 which is a fairly significant difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-520 being a Compact SLR camera and the Sony W550 being a Ultracompact camera.
Before we go right into a comprehensive comparison, here is a short summation of how the E-520 grades against the W550 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.
Meta to Introduce 'AI-Generated' Labels for Media starting next month Olympus E-520 vs Sony W550 Gallery
This is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus E-520 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W550. The full galleries are available at Olympus E-520 Gallery & Sony W550 Gallery.
Reasons to pick Olympus E-520 over the Sony W550
| E-520 | W550 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manual focus | Dial exact focus |
Reasons to pick Sony W550 over the Olympus E-520
| W550 | E-520 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Released | July 2011 | August 2008 | More modern by 35 months | |
| Screen dimensions | 3" | 2.7" | Bigger screen (+0.3") |
Common features in the Olympus E-520 and Sony W550
| E-520 | W550 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screen type | Fixed | Fixed | Fixed screen | |
| Screen resolution | 230k | 230k | The same screen resolution | |
| Selfie screen | Neither contains selfie screen | |||
| Touch friendly screen | Absent Touch friendly screen |
Olympus E-520 vs Sony W550 Physical Comparison
For those who are intending to carry around your camera, you have to factor in its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-520 has got external measurements of 136mm x 92mm x 68mm (5.4" x 3.6" x 2.7") and a weight of 552 grams (1.22 lbs) and the Sony W550 has measurements of 94mm x 56mm x 19mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.7") accompanied by a weight of 110 grams (0.24 lbs).
Analyze the Olympus E-520 and Sony W550 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.
Always remember, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you have chosen at the time. Here is a front view overall size comparison of the E-520 versus the W550.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-520 and W550 is 68 and 96 respectively.
Olympus E-520 vs Sony W550 Sensor Comparison
Quite often, it's tough to visualize the contrast in sensor sizes merely by looking through specs. The picture underneath should offer you a stronger sense of the sensor measurements in the E-520 and W550.
All in all, both of the cameras provide different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The E-520 using its bigger sensor is going to make shooting bokeh less difficult and the Sony W550 will render more detail having an extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also help you crop pictures more aggressively. The more aged E-520 will be disadvantaged in sensor tech.
Olympus E-520 vs Sony W550 Screen and ViewFinder
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Olympus E-520 vs Sony W550 Specifications
| Olympus E-520 | Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W550 | |
|---|---|---|
| General Information | ||
| Company | Olympus | Sony |
| Model | Olympus E-520 | Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W550 |
| Category | Entry-Level DSLR | Ultracompact |
| Introduced | 2008-08-20 | 2011-07-24 |
| Physical type | Compact SLR | Ultracompact |
| Sensor Information | ||
| Chip | - | BIONZ |
| Sensor type | CMOS | CCD |
| Sensor size | Four Thirds | 1/2.3" |
| Sensor dimensions | 17.3 x 13mm | 6.17 x 4.55mm |
| Sensor surface 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 | 1600 | 3200 |
| Min native ISO | 100 | 80 |
| RAW support | ||
| Autofocusing | ||
| Focus manually | ||
| Touch to focus | ||
| Continuous autofocus | ||
| Autofocus single | ||
| Autofocus tracking | ||
| Autofocus selectice | ||
| Center weighted autofocus | ||
| Autofocus multi area | ||
| Live view autofocus | ||
| Face detection autofocus | ||
| Contract detection autofocus | ||
| Phase detection autofocus | ||
| Number of focus points | 3 | 9 |
| Lens | ||
| Lens mounting type | Micro Four Thirds | fixed lens |
| Lens focal range | - | 26-104mm (4.0x) |
| Maximum aperture | - | f/2.7-5.7 |
| Macro focus range | - | 5cm |
| Amount of lenses | 45 | - |
| Focal length multiplier | 2.1 | 5.8 |
| Screen | ||
| Screen type | Fixed Type | Fixed Type |
| Screen size | 2.7 inches | 3 inches |
| Resolution of screen | 230 thousand dots | 230 thousand dots |
| Selfie friendly | ||
| Liveview | ||
| Touch functionality | ||
| Screen technology | - | Clear Photo LCD |
| Viewfinder Information | ||
| Viewfinder type | Optical (pentamirror) | None |
| Viewfinder coverage | 95% | - |
| Viewfinder magnification | 0.46x | - |
| Features | ||
| Lowest shutter speed | 60 seconds | 2 seconds |
| Highest shutter speed | 1/4000 seconds | 1/1600 seconds |
| Continuous shooting rate | 4.0fps | 1.0fps |
| Shutter priority | ||
| Aperture priority | ||
| Expose Manually | ||
| Exposure compensation | Yes | - |
| Change white balance | ||
| Image stabilization | ||
| Built-in flash | ||
| Flash range | 12.00 m (at ISO 100) | 3.80 m |
| Flash settings | Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye | Auto, On, Off, Slow Sync |
| External flash | ||
| AE bracketing | ||
| WB bracketing | ||
| Highest flash synchronize | 1/180 seconds | - |
| Exposure | ||
| Multisegment exposure | ||
| Average exposure | ||
| Spot exposure | ||
| Partial exposure | ||
| AF area exposure | ||
| Center weighted exposure | ||
| 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 |
| Mic support | ||
| Headphone support | ||
| 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 sealing | ||
| Water proof | ||
| Dust proof | ||
| Shock proof | ||
| Crush proof | ||
| Freeze proof | ||
| Weight | 552 gr (1.22 lbs) | 110 gr (0.24 lbs) |
| Physical dimensions | 136 x 92 x 68mm (5.4" x 3.6" x 2.7") | 94 x 56 x 19mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.7") |
| DXO scores | ||
| DXO All around score | 55 | not tested |
| DXO Color Depth score | 21.4 | not tested |
| DXO Dynamic range score | 10.4 | not tested |
| DXO Low light score | 548 | not tested |
| Other | ||
| Battery life | 650 photographs | - |
| Form of battery | Battery Pack | - |
| Battery model | - | NP-BN1 |
| Self timer | Yes (2 or 12 sec) | Yes (2 or 10 sec, Portrait 1/2) |
| Time lapse shooting | ||
| Storage type | Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card | SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Duo/Memory Stick Pro Duo, Memory Stick Pro-HG Duo |
| Card slots | One | - |
| Launch cost | $400 | $119 |