Olympus E-P1 vs Sony A550

Below is a comprehensive comparison of the Olympus E-P1 and Sony A550, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by competitors Olympus and Sony. The image resolution of the E-P1 (12MP) and the A550 (14MP) is fairly close but the E-P1 (Four Thirds) and A550 (APS-C) feature different sensor sizing.

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The E-P1 was manufactured 4 months prior to the A550 which means that they are both of a similar age. Both the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-P1 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony A550 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before going in to a thorough comparison, below is a simple synopsis of how the E-P1 scores against the A550 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus PEN E-P1 & Sony Alpha DSLR-A550. The entire galleries are provided at Olympus E-P1 Gallery & Sony A550 Gallery.

In case you're going to lug around your camera frequently, you will need to think about its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-P1 provides outer measurements of 121mm x 70mm x 36mm (4.8" x 2.8" x 1.4") and a weight of 355 grams (0.78 lbs) while the Sony A550 has proportions of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") along with a weight of 632 grams (1.39 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-P1 and Sony A550 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you are utilising at the time. Below is the front view dimensions comparison of the E-P1 against the A550.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-P1 and A550 is 86 and 63 respectively.

Sometimes, it can be tough to imagine the contrast in sensor measurements simply by viewing technical specs. The graphic below should offer you a greater sense of the sensor sizing in the E-P1 and A550.

As you can tell, both of these cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-P1 because of its smaller sensor is going to make getting bokeh harder and the Sony A550 will provide you with greater detail due to its extra 2MP. Greater resolution will help you crop photos somewhat more aggressively.