Olympus E-M10 vs Sony A550

Here is a extensive analysis of the Olympus E-M10 versus Sony A550, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by companies Olympus and Sony. The image resolution of the E-M10 (16MP) and the A550 (14MP) is fairly well matched but the E-M10 (Four Thirds) and A550 (APS-C) have different sensor measurements.

Photography Glossary

The E-M10 was launched 4 years later than the A550 and that is quite a significant difference as far as tech is concerned. Each of these cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-M10 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Sony A550 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before delving straight to a in depth comparison, here is a brief summary of how the E-M10 scores vs the A550 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

The following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus OM-D E-M10 & Sony Alpha DSLR-A550. The complete galleries are viewable at Olympus E-M10 Gallery & Sony A550 Gallery.

For anybody who is intending to carry your camera often, you are going to need to take into account its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-M10 has external dimensions of 119mm x 82mm x 46mm (4.7" x 3.2" x 1.8") with a weight of 396 grams (0.87 lbs) while the Sony A550 has proportions of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") and a weight of 632 grams (1.39 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus E-M10 versus Sony A550 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you are working with at the time. Following is a front view physical size comparison of the E-M10 against the A550.

Using size and weight, the portability grade of the E-M10 and A550 is 82 and 63 respectively.

Usually, it is very difficult to imagine the contrast between sensor sizing simply by reading through technical specs. The photograph underneath might give you a much better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-M10 and A550.

As you can tell, the two cameras come with different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The E-M10 featuring a tinier sensor is going to make shooting shallow DOF more difficult and the Olympus E-M10 will resolve more detail utilizing its extra 2MP. Greater resolution can also help you crop photos a good deal more aggressively. The more modern E-M10 should have a benefit in sensor technology.