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Olympus E-M5 vs Olympus 550WP

Portability
81
Imaging
52
Features
70
Overall
59
Olympus OM-D E-M5 front
 
Olympus Stylus 550WP front
Portability
94
Imaging
33
Features
17
Overall
26

Olympus E-M5 vs Olympus 550WP Key Specs

Olympus E-M5
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Display
  • ISO 200 - 25600
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 425g - 122 x 89 x 43mm
  • Launched April 2012
  • Refreshed by Olympus E-M5 II
Olympus 550WP
(Full Review)
  • 10MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 2.5" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 64 - 1600
  • Digital Image Stabilization
  • 640 x 480 video
  • 38-114mm (F3.5-5.0) lens
  • 167g - 94 x 62 x 22mm
  • Launched January 2009
  • Alternative Name is mju 550WP
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Olympus E-M5 vs Olympus 550WP Overview

Lets look more closely at the Olympus E-M5 versus Olympus 550WP, former is a Advanced Mirrorless while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact and they are both produced by Olympus. There is a noticeable difference between the resolutions of the E-M5 (16MP) and 550WP (10MP) and the E-M5 (Four Thirds) and 550WP (1/2.3") have totally different sensor sizing.

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The E-M5 was announced 3 years after the 550WP which is quite a sizable difference as far as tech is concerned. Both cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-M5 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Olympus 550WP being a Compact camera.

Before going straight to a more detailed comparison, here is a short highlight of how the E-M5 grades vs the 550WP with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-M5 over the Olympus 550WP

 E-M5 550WP 
LaunchedApril 2012January 2009Newer by 41 months
Manual focus Dial precise focus
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen dimensions3"2.5"Bigger screen (+0.5")
Screen resolution610k230kCrisper screen (+380k dot)
Touch screen Quickly navigate

Reasons to pick Olympus 550WP over the Olympus E-M5

 550WP E-M5 

Common features in the Olympus E-M5 and Olympus 550WP

 E-M5 550WP 
Selfie screen Lack of selfie screen

Olympus E-M5 vs Olympus 550WP Physical Comparison

If you're intending to travel with your camera often, you will have to consider its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-M5 features outer measurements of 122mm x 89mm x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") with a weight of 425 grams (0.94 lbs) while the Olympus 550WP has measurements of 94mm x 62mm x 22mm (3.7" x 2.4" x 0.9") having a weight of 167 grams (0.37 lbs).

Compare the Olympus E-M5 versus Olympus 550WP in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you choose at that time. Here is a front view measurements comparison of the E-M5 versus the 550WP.

Olympus E-M5 vs Olympus 550WP size comparison

Considering size and weight, the portability grade of the E-M5 and 550WP is 81 and 94 respectively.

Olympus E-M5 vs Olympus 550WP top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-M5 vs Olympus 550WP Sensor Comparison

Generally, it's difficult to envision the gap between sensor dimensions purely by checking specifications. The pic below should provide you a clearer sense of the sensor measurements in the E-M5 and 550WP.

To sum up, both of these cameras have different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The E-M5 using its bigger sensor will make shooting shallow DOF less difficult and the Olympus E-M5 will resolve greater detail with its extra 6MP. Higher resolution will also make it easier to crop pictures a bit more aggressively. The fresher E-M5 is going to have a benefit with regard to sensor technology.

Olympus E-M5 vs Olympus 550WP sensor size comparison

Olympus E-M5 vs Olympus 550WP Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-M5 vs Olympus 550WP Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Portrait photography factors
Olympus 550WP Portrait photography factors
71
has manual focus
decent megapixels (16MP)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
supports face detect focusing
delivers RAW formats
19
manual focus not available
no manual control
cannot use external flash
MP count low (10MP)
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
lacks RAW format
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Street photography features
Olympus 550WP Street photography features
82
screen tilts up and down
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW formats
comes with touch to focus
weather proof
very good high ISO (25,600)
61
built in image stabilization (Digital)
weather sealing
no articulating screen
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
lacks RAW format
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Sports photography factors
Olympus 550WP Sports photography factors
67
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
decent megapixels (16MP)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
supports tracking focus
weather proof
lack of phase detect AF
30
built in image stabilization (Digital)
weather sealing
maximum shutter speed is a little low (1/1,000s)
lack of shutter priority mode
MP count low (10MP)
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
lacks phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Travel photography info
Olympus 550WP Travel photography info
66
weather proof
comes with touch to focus
decent megapixels (16 megapixels)
lack of Timelapse function
screen is not selfie friendly
55
weather sealing
flash built-in
does not have Time Lapse mode
MP count low (10MP)
doesn't contain selfie friendly display
wide angle not great (38mm)
sluggish max aperture (f3.5)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Landscape photography info
Olympus 550WP Landscape photography info
73
has manual focus
change lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
pretty good screen size (3 inches)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
decent megapixels (16 megapixels)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
very good high ISO (25,600)
delivers RAW formats
weather proof
lack of Timelapse function
30
built in image stabilization (Digital)
weather sealing
manual focus not available
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
wide angle not great (38mm)
sluggish max aperture (f3.5)
tiny screen (2.5")
no manual control
MP count low (10MP)
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
lacks RAW format
does not have Time Lapse mode
Photography Glossary

Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-M5 as a Vlogging camera
Olympus 550WP as a Vlogging camera
34
has touchscreen
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
supports face detect focusing
high quality video (1920 x 1080 pixels)
screen is not selfie friendly
lack of microphone port
25
built in image stabilization (Digital)
wide angle not great (38mm)
sluggish max aperture (f3.5)
doesn't contain selfie friendly display
low quality video (640 x 480 pxls)
does not have mic jack
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Olympus E-M5 vs Olympus 550WP Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-M5 and Olympus 550WP
 Olympus OM-D E-M5Olympus Stylus 550WP
General Information
Brand Name Olympus Olympus
Model Olympus OM-D E-M5 Olympus Stylus 550WP
Alternate name - mju 550WP
Class Advanced Mirrorless Small Sensor Compact
Launched 2012-04-30 2009-01-07
Body design SLR-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor Information
Processor Chip TruePic VI -
Sensor type CMOS CCD
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 6.08 x 4.56mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 27.7mm²
Sensor resolution 16 megapixels 10 megapixels
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 16:9, 4:3 and 3:2
Maximum resolution 4608 x 3456 3648 x 2736
Maximum native ISO 25600 1600
Min native ISO 200 64
RAW photos
Min boosted ISO 100 -
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch focus
Continuous autofocus
Autofocus single
Autofocus tracking
Autofocus selectice
Autofocus center weighted
Autofocus multi area
Live view autofocus
Face detect autofocus
Contract detect autofocus
Phase detect autofocus
Number of focus points 35 -
Lens
Lens mount Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens focal range - 38-114mm (3.0x)
Max aperture - f/3.5-5.0
Macro focus range - 7cm
Total lenses 107 -
Crop factor 2.1 5.9
Screen
Display type Tilting Fixed Type
Display sizing 3" 2.5"
Resolution of display 610k dot 230k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch friendly
Display technology Touch control in electrostatic capacitance type OLED monitor -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Electronic None
Viewfinder resolution 1,440k dot -
Viewfinder coverage 100 percent -
Viewfinder magnification 0.58x -
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60 secs 4 secs
Highest shutter speed 1/4000 secs 1/1000 secs
Continuous shooting speed 9.0fps -
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes -
Set white balance
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash range no built-in flash -
Flash options Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync (2), Manual (3 levels) Auto, Fill-in, Red-Eye reduction, Off, On
External flash
Auto exposure bracketing
White balance bracketing
Highest flash sync 1/250 secs -
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1280 x 720 (60, 30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 240 (30, 15 fps)
Maximum video resolution 1920x1080 640x480
Video format H.264, Motion JPEG Motion JPEG
Mic input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless Eye-Fi Connected None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 425g (0.94 pounds) 167g (0.37 pounds)
Physical dimensions 122 x 89 x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") 94 x 62 x 22mm (3.7" x 2.4" x 0.9")
DXO scores
DXO All around score 71 not tested
DXO Color Depth score 22.8 not tested
DXO Dynamic range score 12.3 not tested
DXO Low light score 826 not tested
Other
Battery life 360 photographs -
Style of battery Battery Pack -
Battery model BLN-1 -
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (12 seconds)
Time lapse feature
Storage media SD/SDHC/SDXC xD-Picture Card, microSD, internal
Storage slots One One
Retail pricing $799 $399