Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A55

The following is a thorough overview of the Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A55, one is a Advanced Mirrorless and the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by brands Olympus and Sony. The image resolution of the E-M5 (16MP) and the A55 (16MP) is relatively close but the E-M5 (Four Thirds) and A55 (APS-C) use totally different sensor size.

Meta to Introduce 'AI-Generated' Labels for Media starting next month

The E-M5 was brought out 21 months after the A55 which makes the cameras a generation away from one another. Both cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-M5 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Sony A55 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before we go straight into a in-depth comparison, below is a short synopsis of how the E-M5 matches up versus the A55 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

This is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus OM-D E-M5 and Sony SLT-A55. The entire galleries are provided at Olympus E-M5 Gallery and Sony A55 Gallery.

For anybody who is aiming to travel with your camera regularly, you have to consider its weight and volume. The Olympus E-M5 provides outer measurements of 122mm x 89mm x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") having a weight of 425 grams (0.94 lbs) and the Sony A55 has sizing of 124mm x 92mm x 85mm (4.9" x 3.6" x 3.3") with a weight of 500 grams (1.10 lbs).

Compare the Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A55 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ based on the lens you have attached at that moment. Underneath is the front view physical size comparison of the E-M5 and the A55.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-M5 and A55 is 81 and 67 respectively.

Quite often, it's difficult to visualise the contrast in sensor dimensions only by researching specs. The pic underneath should offer you a greater sense of the sensor measurements in the E-M5 and A55.

As you can plainly see, each of these cameras posses the exact same megapixels albeit not the same sensor dimensions. The E-M5 uses the smaller sensor which should make achieving shallow DOF more challenging. The younger E-M5 is going to have an edge in sensor technology.