Clicky

Olympus SP-610UZ vs Sony A550

Portability
79
Imaging
37
Features
31
Overall
34
Olympus SP-610UZ front
 
Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 front
Portability
63
Imaging
53
Features
65
Overall
57

Olympus SP-610UZ vs Sony A550 Key Specs

Olympus SP-610UZ
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 3200
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 28-616mm (F3.3-5.7) lens
  • 405g - 107 x 73 x 73mm
  • Released January 2011
  • Succeeded the Olympus SP-600 UZ
  • New Model is Olympus SP-620 UZ
Sony A550
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Display
  • ISO 200 - 12800
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • No Video
  • Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
  • 632g - 137 x 104 x 84mm
  • Introduced December 2009
  • Previous Model is Sony A100
Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a Landslide

Olympus SP-610UZ vs Sony A550 Overview

Lets look closer at the Olympus SP-610UZ and Sony A550, former is a Small Sensor Superzoom while the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by manufacturers Olympus and Sony. The image resolution of the SP-610UZ (14MP) and the A550 (14MP) is fairly close but the SP-610UZ (1/2.3") and A550 (APS-C) feature totally different sensor sizing.

President Biden pushes bill mandating TikTok sale or ban

The SP-610UZ was unveiled 14 months after the A550 making the cameras a generation away from each other. Both the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus SP-610UZ being a Compact camera and the Sony A550 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before getting through a in-depth comparison, below is a simple highlight of how the SP-610UZ scores against the A550 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Sora from OpenAI releases its first ever music video
	
	

Reasons to pick Olympus SP-610UZ over the Sony A550

 SP-610UZ A550 
IntroducedJanuary 2011December 2009Newer by 14 months

Reasons to pick Sony A550 over the Olympus SP-610UZ

 A550 SP-610UZ 
Manually focus Very accurate focus
Display typeTiltingFixed Tilting display
Display resolution922k230kClearer display (+692k dot)

Common features in the Olympus SP-610UZ and Sony A550

 SP-610UZ A550 
Display dimension3"3"Identical display measurement
Selfie screen Neither provides selfie screen
Touch friendly display Neither provides Touch friendly display

Olympus SP-610UZ vs Sony A550 Physical Comparison

If you're going to travel with your camera, you have to factor in its weight and volume. The Olympus SP-610UZ provides exterior dimensions of 107mm x 73mm x 73mm (4.2" x 2.9" x 2.9") along with a weight of 405 grams (0.89 lbs) and the Sony A550 has sizing of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") with a weight of 632 grams (1.39 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus SP-610UZ and Sony A550 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you are working with at the time. Following is the front view over all size comparison of the SP-610UZ compared to the A550.

Olympus SP-610UZ vs Sony A550 size comparison

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability score of the SP-610UZ and A550 is 79 and 63 respectively.

Olympus SP-610UZ vs Sony A550 top view buttons comparison

Olympus SP-610UZ vs Sony A550 Sensor Comparison

Oftentimes, it's difficult to visualise the gap in sensor dimensions just by researching a spec sheet. The pic below will help offer you a greater sense of the sensor dimensions in the SP-610UZ and A550.

As you can see, the two cameras have got the exact same resolution but not the same sensor dimensions. The SP-610UZ provides the smaller sensor which is going to make getting bokeh trickier. The newer SP-610UZ will have a benefit with regard to sensor innovation.

Olympus SP-610UZ vs Sony A550 sensor size comparison

Olympus SP-610UZ vs Sony A550 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus SP-610UZ vs Sony A550 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
Meta to Introduce 'AI-Generated' Labels for Media starting next month

Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus SP-610UZ as a Portrait photography camera
Sony A550 as a Portrait photography camera
28
MP count decent (14MP)
lack of manual focus
no manual control
cannot use external flash
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
no RAW format
71
manual focus
megapixel count decent (14MP)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
offers face detection focus
exports RAW formats
Photobucket discusses licensing 13 billion images with AI firms

Street Comparison

Olympus SP-610UZ Street photography factors
Sony A550 Street photography factors
50
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
fixed screen
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
no RAW format
74
tilting screen
image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
exports RAW formats
Apple Innovates by Creating Next-Level Optical Stabilization for iPhone

Sports Comparison

Olympus SP-610UZ Sports photography factors
Sony A550 Sports photography factors
39
great zoom range (28-616mm 22.0 x zoom)
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
MP count decent (14 megapixels)
slow continuous shooting (1.0 fps)
no shutter priority mode
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
no phase detect autofocus
66
image stabilization (Sensor based)
megapixel count decent (14MP)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
comes with phase detect auto focus
low battery power (480 shots)
Japan-exclusive Leica Leitz Phone 3 features big sensor and new modes

Travel Comparison

Olympus SP-610UZ Travel photography factors
Sony A550 Travel photography factors
61
MP count decent (14 megapixels)
has built in flash
rather wide (28mm)
very long zoom (616mm)
no Time Lapse function
doesn't feature selfie friendly screen
slow maximum aperture (f3.3)
51
megapixel count decent (14MP)
built-in flash
no Timelapse recording
low battery power (480 per charge)
doesn't have selfie friendly screen
Samsung Releases Faster Versions of EVO MicroSD Cards

Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Olympus SP-610UZ
Landscape photography with Sony A550
40
rather wide (28mm)
nice screen size (3 inches)
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
MP count decent (14 megapixels)
lack of manual focus
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
slow maximum aperture (f3.3)
no manual control
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
no RAW format
no Time Lapse function
66
manual focus
change lenses (Sony/Minolta Alpha mount)
nice screen size (3 inch)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
megapixel count decent (14 megapixels)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
exports RAW formats
low battery power (480 shots)
no Timelapse recording
Snapchat Adds Watermarks to AI-Created Images

Vlogging Comparison

Olympus SP-610UZ Vlogging features
Sony A550 Vlogging features
26
rather wide (28mm)
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
slow maximum aperture (f3.3)
doesn't feature selfie friendly screen
video res low (1280 x 720 pxls)
no mic port
9
no video recording
Photography Glossary

Olympus SP-610UZ vs Sony A550 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus SP-610UZ and Sony A550
 Olympus SP-610UZSony Alpha DSLR-A550
General Information
Company Olympus Sony
Model type Olympus SP-610UZ Sony Alpha DSLR-A550
Class Small Sensor Superzoom Entry-Level DSLR
Released 2011-01-06 2009-12-09
Body design Compact Compact SLR
Sensor Information
Powered by TruePic III Bionz
Sensor type CCD CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" APS-C
Sensor measurements 6.17 x 4.55mm 23.4 x 15.6mm
Sensor area 28.1mm² 365.0mm²
Sensor resolution 14 megapixel 14 megapixel
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 and 16:9 3:2 and 16:9
Full resolution 4288 x 3216 4592 x 3056
Max native ISO 3200 12800
Lowest native ISO 100 200
RAW format
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
Touch to focus
Continuous autofocus
Autofocus single
Autofocus tracking
Selective autofocus
Autofocus center weighted
Autofocus multi area
Autofocus live view
Face detection focus
Contract detection focus
Phase detection focus
Total focus points 11 9
Lens
Lens support fixed lens Sony/Minolta Alpha
Lens zoom range 28-616mm (22.0x) -
Maximum aperture f/3.3-5.7 -
Macro focusing range 1cm -
Number of lenses - 143
Focal length multiplier 5.8 1.5
Screen
Range of screen Fixed Type Tilting
Screen diagonal 3 inches 3 inches
Screen resolution 230 thousand dot 922 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch function
Screen tech TFT Color LCD -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type None Optical (pentamirror)
Viewfinder coverage - 95%
Viewfinder magnification - 0.53x
Features
Lowest shutter speed 4 seconds 30 seconds
Highest shutter speed 1/2000 seconds 1/4000 seconds
Continuous shooting speed 1.0 frames per second 7.0 frames per second
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation - Yes
Change white balance
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash distance 6.30 m 12.00 m
Flash options Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, High Speed Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in, Wireless
External flash
Auto exposure bracketing
White balance bracketing
Highest flash sync - 1/160 seconds
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 180 (30fps) -
Max video resolution 1280x720 None
Video data format Motion JPEG -
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
Environmental seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 405 gr (0.89 lbs) 632 gr (1.39 lbs)
Dimensions 107 x 73 x 73mm (4.2" x 2.9" x 2.9") 137 x 104 x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating not tested 66
DXO Color Depth rating not tested 21.9
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested 11.8
DXO Low light rating not tested 807
Other
Battery life 340 photographs 480 photographs
Battery form AA Battery Pack
Battery ID 4 x AA NP-FM500H
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse recording
Storage media SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/ SDHC, Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo
Storage slots One One
Launch price $299 $749