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Olympus E-M5 vs Sony H55

Portability
81
Imaging
52
Features
70
Overall
59
Olympus OM-D E-M5 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H55 front
Portability
92
Imaging
37
Features
28
Overall
33

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony H55 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
  • Introduced April 2012
  • Refreshed by Olympus E-M5 II
Sony H55
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 80 - 3200
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 25-250mm (F3.5-5.5) lens
  • 200g - 103 x 58 x 29mm
  • Announced June 2010
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Olympus E-M5 vs Sony H55 Overview

In this write-up, we are evaluating the Olympus E-M5 vs Sony H55, one is a Advanced Mirrorless and the other is a Small Sensor Compact by companies Olympus and Sony. The resolution of the E-M5 (16MP) and the H55 (14MP) is fairly well matched but the E-M5 (Four Thirds) and H55 (1/2.3") come with different sensor sizes.

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The E-M5 was manufactured 23 months after the H55 making the cameras a generation away from each other. Each of the cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-M5 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Sony H55 being a Compact camera.

Before delving through a more detailed comparison, below is a brief view of how the E-M5 grades against the H55 for portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-M5 over the Sony H55

 E-M5 H55 
AnnouncedApril 2012June 2010More modern by 23 months
Manual focus Very accurate focusing
Display typeTiltingFixed Tilting display
Display resolution610k230kClearer display (+380k dot)
Touch friendly display Easily navigate

Reasons to pick Sony H55 over the Olympus E-M5

 H55 E-M5 

Common features in the Olympus E-M5 and Sony H55

 E-M5 H55 
Display sizing3"3"Equivalent display dimensions
Selfie screen Lack of selfie screen

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony H55 Physical Comparison

For those who are looking to carry around your camera regularly, you're going to have to factor in its weight and size. The Olympus E-M5 comes with physical dimensions of 122mm x 89mm x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") along with a weight of 425 grams (0.94 lbs) while the Sony H55 has specifications of 103mm x 58mm x 29mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 1.1") having a weight of 200 grams (0.44 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus E-M5 vs Sony H55 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into consideration, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change depending on the lens you are using at that moment. Following is the front view size comparison of the E-M5 and the H55.

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony H55 size comparison

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability grade of the E-M5 and H55 is 81 and 92 respectively.

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony H55 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony H55 Sensor Comparison

Oftentimes, it is very hard to picture the contrast between sensor sizes purely by looking at specs. The image below may give you a stronger sense of the sensor sizes in the E-M5 and H55.

All in all, both the cameras enjoy different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The E-M5 because of its larger sensor is going to make shooting shallower depth of field simpler and the Olympus E-M5 will resolve extra detail due to its extra 2 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also enable you to crop photos far more aggressively. The younger E-M5 should have an edge when it comes to sensor innovation.

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony H55 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony H55 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony H55 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Portrait photography features
Sony H55 Portrait photography features
71
manual focus
megapixel count decent (16MP)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
has face detection focus
saves RAW files
28
MP count good (14MP)
focusing manually not possible
no manual control
cannot use external flash
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW support
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Street photography info
Sony H55 Street photography info
82
screen tilts
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW files
offers focus via touch
environment proofing
great high ISO (25,600)
56
built in image stabilization (Optical)
no moving screen
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW support
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-M5 as a Sports photography camera
Sony H55 as a Sports photography camera
67
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
megapixel count decent (16MP)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
has tracking autofocus
environment proofing
has no phase detect auto focus
38
built in image stabilization (Optical)
MP count good (14 megapixels)
no shutter priority mode
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
doesn't have phase detect auto focus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Travel photography advice
Sony H55 Travel photography advice
66
environment proofing
offers focus via touch
megapixel count decent (16 megapixels)
no Timelapse function
doesn't have a selfie friendly screen
67
MP count good (14 megapixels)
flash built-in
relatively wide (25mm)
long reach (250mm)
lack of Timelapse recording
display is not selfie friendly
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.5)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Landscape photography info
Sony H55 Landscape photography info
73
manual focus
change lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
decent sized screen (3 inches)
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
megapixel count decent (16 megapixels)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
great high ISO (25,600)
saves RAW files
environment proofing
no Timelapse function
42
relatively wide (25mm)
good sized screen (3 inch)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
MP count good (14 megapixels)
focusing manually not possible
can't change lens (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.5)
no manual control
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW support
lack of Timelapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Vlogging highlights
Sony H55 Vlogging highlights
34
touchscreen enabled
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
has face detection focus
high quality video (1920 x 1080 pixels)
doesn't have a selfie friendly screen
no external microphone support
28
relatively wide (25mm)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.5)
display is not selfie friendly
low video resolution (1280 x 720 pxls)
lack of microphone support
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Olympus E-M5 vs Sony H55 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-M5 and Sony H55
 Olympus OM-D E-M5Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H55
General Information
Brand Olympus Sony
Model type Olympus OM-D E-M5 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H55
Class Advanced Mirrorless Small Sensor Compact
Introduced 2012-04-30 2010-06-16
Physical type SLR-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor Information
Processor TruePic VI Bionz
Sensor type CMOS CCD
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 16MP 14MP
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 4:3 and 16:9
Peak resolution 4608 x 3456 4320 x 3240
Highest native ISO 25600 3200
Minimum native ISO 200 80
RAW files
Minimum enhanced ISO 100 -
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch to focus
AF continuous
Single AF
Tracking AF
Selective AF
Center weighted AF
Multi area AF
AF live view
Face detect AF
Contract detect AF
Phase detect AF
Total focus points 35 9
Lens
Lens support Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 25-250mm (10.0x)
Maximal aperture - f/3.5-5.5
Macro focusing range - 5cm
Available lenses 107 -
Crop factor 2.1 5.8
Screen
Display type Tilting Fixed Type
Display sizing 3 inches 3 inches
Display resolution 610k dots 230k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch friendly
Display tech Touch control in electrostatic capacitance type OLED monitor -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic None
Viewfinder resolution 1,440k dots -
Viewfinder coverage 100 percent -
Viewfinder magnification 0.58x -
Features
Min shutter speed 60s 30s
Max shutter speed 1/4000s 1/1600s
Continuous shutter rate 9.0fps 10.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes -
Change WB
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash distance no built-in flash 3.80 m
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync (2), Manual (3 levels) Auto, On, Slow Syncro, Off
External flash
AE bracketing
WB bracketing
Max flash synchronize 1/250s -
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1280 x 720 (60, 30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Highest video resolution 1920x1080 1280x720
Video data format H.264, Motion JPEG MPEG-4
Microphone support
Headphone support
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 sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 425 gr (0.94 lb) 200 gr (0.44 lb)
Dimensions 122 x 89 x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") 103 x 58 x 29mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 1.1")
DXO scores
DXO Overall rating 71 not tested
DXO Color Depth rating 22.8 not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating 12.3 not tested
DXO Low light rating 826 not tested
Other
Battery life 360 photos -
Type of battery Battery Pack -
Battery ID BLN-1 NP-BG1
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec, portrait1/ portrait2)
Time lapse shooting
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC Memory Stick Duo / Pro Duo/ PRO HG-Duo, SD/SDHC, Internal
Card slots Single Single
Retail pricing $799 $235