Olympus E-PL5 vs Sony W550

Following is a comprehensive review of the Olympus E-PL5 vs Sony W550, former is a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Ultracompact by rivals Olympus and Sony. The resolution of the E-PL5 (16MP) and the W550 (14MP) is very well matched but the E-PL5 (Four Thirds) and W550 (1/2.3") come with different sensor size.

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The E-PL5 was announced 15 months after the W550 making the cameras a generation away from one another. Both of the cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-PL5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony W550 being a Ultracompact camera.

Before going in to a complete comparison, below is a simple synopsis of how the E-PL5 scores versus the W550 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

This is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus PEN E-PL5 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W550. The whole galleries are available at Olympus E-PL5 Gallery & Sony W550 Gallery.

In case you're aiming to carry around your camera regularly, you will have to factor its weight and volume. The Olympus E-PL5 offers external dimensions of 111mm x 64mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.5") accompanied by a weight of 325 grams (0.72 lbs) while the Sony W550 has sizing of 94mm x 56mm x 19mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.7") accompanied by a weight of 110 grams (0.24 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus E-PL5 vs Sony W550 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you have attached during that time. Below is the front view proportions comparison of the E-PL5 against the W550.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-PL5 and W550 is 88 and 96 respectively.

Quite often, it can be hard to visualize the contrast between sensor sizes purely by checking technical specs. The picture underneath will help provide you a much better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-PL5 and W550.

As you can tell, both of these cameras offer different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The E-PL5 having a larger sensor is going to make achieving shallow DOF simpler and the Olympus E-PL5 will resolve more detail with its extra 2MP. Greater resolution can also make it easier to crop pics a little more aggressively. The more modern E-PL5 provides an edge with regard to sensor innovation.