Olympus E-520 vs Sony W550

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.

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The 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.

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.

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.

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.