Olympus SH-50 vs Sony A550

Lets look more in depth at the Olympus SH-50 vs Sony A550, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by brands Olympus and Sony. The resolution of the SH-50 (16MP) and the A550 (14MP) is very comparable but the SH-50 (1/2.3") and A550 (APS-C) posses different sensor sizing.

Photography Glossary

The SH-50 was unveiled 3 years later than the A550 and that is a fairly serious difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Both of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus SH-50 being a Compact camera and the Sony A550 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before delving right into a in depth comparison, here is a quick summary of how the SH-50 scores versus the A550 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus SH-50 & Sony Alpha DSLR-A550. The full galleries are available at Olympus SH-50 Gallery & Sony A550 Gallery.

If you're aiming to lug around your camera, you'll have to think about its weight and size. The Olympus SH-50 offers outside dimensions of 112mm x 63mm x 42mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.7") along with a weight of 269 grams (0.59 lbs) while the Sony A550 has specifications of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") accompanied by a weight of 632 grams (1.39 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus SH-50 vs Sony A550 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you have chosen at that moment. Following is a front view physical size comparison of the SH-50 compared to the A550.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability score of the SH-50 and A550 is 88 and 63 respectively.

Usually, it is very difficult to imagine the difference in sensor measurements only by going through specifications. The photograph underneath will help offer you a better sense of the sensor dimensions in the SH-50 and A550.

To sum up, both of those cameras have different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The SH-50 having a smaller sensor is going to make achieving shallower DOF harder and the Olympus SH-50 will produce greater detail having an extra 2MP. Greater resolution will help you crop images a bit more aggressively. The younger SH-50 provides an edge in sensor tech.