Olympus E-PL5 vs Sony W550
88 Imaging
52 Features
72 Overall
60


96 Imaging
37 Features
28 Overall
33
Olympus E-PL5 vs Sony W550 Key Specs
(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
- Released September 2012
(Full Review)
- 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
- 3" Fixed Display
- ISO 80 - 3200
- Optical Image Stabilization
- 1280 x 720 video
- 26-104mm (F2.7-5.7) lens
- 110g - 94 x 56 x 19mm
- Introduced July 2011

Olympus E-PL5 vs Sony W550 Overview
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.

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.

Olympus E-PL5 vs Sony W550 Gallery
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.
Reasons to pick Olympus E-PL5 over the Sony W550
E-PL5 | W550 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Introduced | September 2012 | ![]() | July 2011 | More modern by 15 months |
Manual focus | ![]() | Very exact focus | ||
Display type | Tilting | ![]() | Fixed | Tilting display |
Display resolution | 460k | ![]() | 230k | Clearer display (+230k dot) |
Selfie screen | ![]() | Easy selfies | ||
Touch display | ![]() | Easily navigate |
Reasons to pick Sony W550 over the Olympus E-PL5
W550 | E-PL5 |
---|
Common features in the Olympus E-PL5 and Sony W550
E-PL5 | W550 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Display sizing | 3" | ![]() | 3" | Equivalent display size |
Olympus E-PL5 vs Sony W550 Physical Comparison
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.

Olympus E-PL5 vs Sony W550 Sensor Comparison
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.

Olympus E-PL5 vs Sony W550 Screen and ViewFinder


Photography Type Scores
Portrait Comparison

Street Comparison

Sports Comparison

Travel Comparison

Landscape Comparison

Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-PL5 vs Sony W550 Specifications
Olympus PEN E-PL5 | Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W550 | |
---|---|---|
General Information | ||
Make | Olympus | Sony |
Model type | Olympus PEN E-PL5 | Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W550 |
Type | Entry-Level Mirrorless | Ultracompact |
Released | 2012-09-17 | 2011-07-24 |
Body design | Rangefinder-style mirrorless | Ultracompact |
Sensor Information | ||
Processor Chip | - | BIONZ |
Sensor type | CMOS | CCD |
Sensor size | Four Thirds | 1/2.3" |
Sensor measurements | 17.3 x 13mm | 6.17 x 4.55mm |
Sensor surface area | 224.9mm² | 28.1mm² |
Sensor resolution | 16MP | 14MP |
Anti alias filter | ||
Aspect ratio | 4:3 | 4:3 and 16:9 |
Highest resolution | 4608 x 3456 | 4320 x 3240 |
Highest native ISO | 25600 | 3200 |
Min native ISO | 200 | 80 |
RAW files | ||
Autofocusing | ||
Focus manually | ||
Touch to focus | ||
Continuous AF | ||
Single AF | ||
Tracking AF | ||
AF selectice | ||
AF center weighted | ||
AF multi area | ||
Live view AF | ||
Face detection focusing | ||
Contract detection focusing | ||
Phase detection focusing | ||
Total focus points | 35 | 9 |
Lens | ||
Lens mount type | Micro Four Thirds | fixed lens |
Lens zoom range | - | 26-104mm (4.0x) |
Largest aperture | - | f/2.7-5.7 |
Macro focusing distance | - | 5cm |
Total lenses | 107 | - |
Crop factor | 2.1 | 5.8 |
Screen | ||
Screen type | Tilting | Fixed Type |
Screen diagonal | 3 inch | 3 inch |
Screen resolution | 460 thousand dot | 230 thousand dot |
Selfie friendly | ||
Liveview | ||
Touch functionality | ||
Screen tech | - | Clear Photo LCD |
Viewfinder Information | ||
Viewfinder type | Electronic (optional) | None |
Features | ||
Lowest shutter speed | 60 seconds | 2 seconds |
Highest shutter speed | 1/4000 seconds | 1/1600 seconds |
Continuous shooting speed | 8.0 frames per second | 1.0 frames per second |
Shutter priority | ||
Aperture priority | ||
Manually set exposure | ||
Exposure compensation | Yes | - |
Custom WB | ||
Image stabilization | ||
Integrated flash | ||
Flash distance | 7.00 m (bundled FL-LM1) | 3.80 m |
Flash modes | Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync, Manual (3 levels) | Auto, On, Off, Slow Sync |
External flash | ||
AEB | ||
White balance bracketing | ||
Highest flash sync | 1/250 seconds | - |
Exposure | ||
Multisegment exposure | ||
Average exposure | ||
Spot exposure | ||
Partial exposure | ||
AF area exposure | ||
Center weighted exposure | ||
Video features | ||
Video resolutions | 1920 x 1080 (30 fps), 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) | 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) |
Highest video resolution | 1920x1080 | 1280x720 |
Video format | MPEG-4, H.264, Motion JPEG | MPEG-4 |
Microphone 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 proofing | ||
Dust proofing | ||
Shock proofing | ||
Crush proofing | ||
Freeze proofing | ||
Weight | 325 grams (0.72 lbs) | 110 grams (0.24 lbs) |
Dimensions | 111 x 64 x 38mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.5") | 94 x 56 x 19mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.7") |
DXO scores | ||
DXO All around rating | 72 | not tested |
DXO Color Depth rating | 22.8 | not tested |
DXO Dynamic range rating | 12.3 | not tested |
DXO Low light rating | 889 | not tested |
Other | ||
Battery life | 360 images | - |
Battery form | Battery Pack | - |
Battery ID | BLS-5 | NP-BN1 |
Self timer | Yes (2 or 12 sec) | Yes (2 or 10 sec, Portrait 1/2) |
Time lapse feature | ||
Type of storage | SD/SDHC/SDXC | SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Duo/Memory Stick Pro Duo, Memory Stick Pro-HG Duo |
Storage slots | One | - |
Pricing at launch | $400 | $119 |