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Olympus E-PL5 vs Sony A550

Portability
88
Imaging
52
Features
72
Overall
60
Olympus PEN E-PL5 front
 
Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 front
Portability
63
Imaging
53
Features
65
Overall
57

Olympus E-PL5 vs Sony A550 Key Specs

Olympus E-PL5
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 200 - 25600
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 325g - 111 x 64 x 38mm
  • Introduced September 2012
Sony A550
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 200 - 12800
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • No Video
  • Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
  • 632g - 137 x 104 x 84mm
  • Introduced December 2009
  • Superseded the Sony A100
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Olympus E-PL5 vs Sony A550 Overview

Let's look much closer at the Olympus E-PL5 versus Sony A550, one is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by manufacturers Olympus and Sony. The image resolution of the E-PL5 (16MP) and the A550 (14MP) is pretty well matched but the E-PL5 (Four Thirds) and A550 (APS-C) posses totally different sensor size.

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The E-PL5 was introduced 2 years after the A550 which is quite a sizable gap as far as tech is concerned. Each of these cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-PL5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony A550 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before diving into a comprehensive comparison, here is a brief summary of how the E-PL5 scores vs the A550 for portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-PL5 over the Sony A550

 E-PL5 A550 
IntroducedSeptember 2012December 2009More modern by 34 months
Selfie screen Take selfies
Touch friendly screen Quickly navigate

Reasons to pick Sony A550 over the Olympus E-PL5

 A550 E-PL5 
Screen resolution922k460kClearer screen (+462k dot)

Common features in the Olympus E-PL5 and Sony A550

 E-PL5 A550 
Focus manually Dial exact focus
Screen typeTiltingTiltingTilting screen
Screen size3"3"Same screen size

Olympus E-PL5 vs Sony A550 Physical Comparison

When you are intending to carry around your camera, you'll need to factor in its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-PL5 has external measurements of 111mm x 64mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.5") along with a weight of 325 grams (0.72 lbs) whilst the Sony A550 has proportions of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") having a weight of 632 grams (1.39 lbs).

See the Olympus E-PL5 versus Sony A550 in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Don't forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change dependant on the lens you have chosen at that moment. Underneath is a front view physical size comparison of the E-PL5 compared to the A550.

Olympus E-PL5 vs Sony A550 size comparison

Factoring in size and weight, the portability rating of the E-PL5 and A550 is 88 and 63 respectively.

Olympus E-PL5 vs Sony A550 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-PL5 vs Sony A550 Sensor Comparison

Generally, it is very tough to see the difference between sensor sizes purely by checking a spec sheet. The pic here will offer you a far better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-PL5 and A550.

Clearly, both of those cameras feature different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The E-PL5 having a tinier sensor will make achieving shallow DOF trickier and the Olympus E-PL5 will resolve more detail using its extra 2 Megapixels. Higher resolution will enable you to crop shots way more aggressively. The newer E-PL5 is going to have a benefit in sensor tech.

Olympus E-PL5 vs Sony A550 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-PL5 vs Sony A550 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-PL5 vs Sony A550 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-PL5 Portrait photography info
Sony A550 Portrait photography info
71
you can focus manually
decent MP (16 megapixels)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
has face detection focus
saves RAW files
71
manual focus
sensor resolution is decent (14MP)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
provides face detection autofocus
delivers RAW files
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Olympus E-PL5
Street photography with Sony A550
85
has a tilting screen
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW files
includes touch focus
good high ISO (25,600)
74
screen tilts up and down
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
delivers RAW files
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-PL5 Sports photography advice
Sony A550 Sports photography advice
66
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent MP (16 megapixels)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
has tracking autofocus
lack of phase detect auto focus
66
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor resolution is decent (14 megapixels)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
supports phase detect autofocus
not so great battery life (480 per charge)
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-PL5 Travel photography factors
Sony A550 Travel photography factors
75
includes touch focus
decent MP (16 megapixels)
selfie friendly screen
does not have Timelapse function
51
sensor resolution is decent (14MP)
has built in flash
lack of Time Lapse recording
not so great battery life (480 CIPA)
does not have selfie friendly screen
Photography Glossary

Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-PL5 Landscape photography features
Sony A550 Landscape photography features
74
you can focus manually
swap lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
pretty good screen size (3")
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent MP (16 megapixels)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
good high ISO (25,600)
saves RAW files
does not have Timelapse function
66
manual focus
change lenses (Sony/Minolta Alpha mount)
screen size is decent (3")
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor resolution is decent (14MP)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
delivers RAW files
not so great battery life (480 CIPA)
lack of Time Lapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-PL5 Vlogging features
Sony A550 Vlogging features
78
selfie friendly screen
touch screen
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
has face detection focus
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 pxls)
does not have external microphone jack
9
no video
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Olympus E-PL5 vs Sony A550 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-PL5 and Sony A550
 Olympus PEN E-PL5Sony Alpha DSLR-A550
General Information
Make Olympus Sony
Model Olympus PEN E-PL5 Sony Alpha DSLR-A550
Category Entry-Level Mirrorless Entry-Level DSLR
Introduced 2012-09-17 2009-12-09
Body design Rangefinder-style mirrorless Compact SLR
Sensor Information
Powered by - Bionz
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds APS-C
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 23.4 x 15.6mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 365.0mm²
Sensor resolution 16MP 14MP
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 3:2 and 16:9
Peak resolution 4608 x 3456 4592 x 3056
Highest native ISO 25600 12800
Minimum native ISO 200 200
RAW data
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch to focus
Continuous AF
AF single
Tracking AF
AF selectice
Center weighted AF
AF multi area
Live view AF
Face detection focusing
Contract detection focusing
Phase detection focusing
Number of focus points 35 9
Lens
Lens mount Micro Four Thirds Sony/Minolta Alpha
Number of lenses 107 143
Crop factor 2.1 1.5
Screen
Range of screen Tilting Tilting
Screen diagonal 3 inch 3 inch
Resolution of screen 460k dot 922k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch function
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic (optional) Optical (pentamirror)
Viewfinder coverage - 95 percent
Viewfinder magnification - 0.53x
Features
Minimum shutter speed 60 secs 30 secs
Fastest shutter speed 1/4000 secs 1/4000 secs
Continuous shutter speed 8.0 frames per sec 7.0 frames per sec
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Custom WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash range 7.00 m (bundled FL-LM1) 12.00 m
Flash options Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync, Manual (3 levels) Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, High Speed Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in, Wireless
External flash
Auto exposure bracketing
White balance bracketing
Fastest flash sync 1/250 secs 1/160 secs
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (30 fps), 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) -
Highest video resolution 1920x1080 None
Video data format MPEG-4, H.264, Motion JPEG -
Mic jack
Headphone jack
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 325 grams (0.72 lb) 632 grams (1.39 lb)
Physical dimensions 111 x 64 x 38mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.5") 137 x 104 x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3")
DXO scores
DXO Overall score 72 66
DXO Color Depth score 22.8 21.9
DXO Dynamic range score 12.3 11.8
DXO Low light score 889 807
Other
Battery life 360 pictures 480 pictures
Form of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model BLS-5 NP-FM500H
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse shooting
Storage media SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/ SDHC, Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo
Storage slots 1 1
Launch pricing $400 $749