Olympus SZ-11 vs Sony A55

Let's look more closely at the Olympus SZ-11 versus Sony A55, former is a Small Sensor Superzoom while the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by companies Olympus and Sony. The sensor resolution of the SZ-11 (14MP) and the A55 (16MP) is pretty similar but the SZ-11 (1/2.3") and A55 (APS-C) come with different sensor measurements.

Photography Glossary

The SZ-11 was introduced 12 months after the A55 which means that they are of a similar age. Both cameras offer different body type with the Olympus SZ-11 being a Compact camera and the Sony A55 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before diving through a full comparison, below is a brief summary of how the SZ-11 grades vs the A55 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

This is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus SZ-11 & Sony SLT-A55. The whole galleries are provided at Olympus SZ-11 Gallery & Sony A55 Gallery.

If you're going to travel with your camera frequently, you should factor in its weight and volume. The Olympus SZ-11 features external dimensions of 106mm x 69mm x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6") with a weight of 226 grams (0.50 lbs) and the Sony A55 has sizing of 124mm x 92mm x 85mm (4.9" x 3.6" x 3.3") accompanied by a weight of 500 grams (1.10 lbs).

See the Olympus SZ-11 versus Sony A55 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you select at the time. Here is the front view measurement comparison of the SZ-11 versus the A55.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the SZ-11 and A55 is 89 and 67 respectively.

Typically, it can be difficult to visualize the gap between sensor dimensions merely by going over specs. The image here should provide you a stronger sense of the sensor dimensions in the SZ-11 and A55.

As you can plainly see, both cameras enjoy different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The SZ-11 with its tinier sensor is going to make getting shallow DOF tougher and the Sony A55 will offer you more detail using its extra 2MP. Higher resolution will also make it easier to crop shots far more aggressively. The more recent SZ-11 provides an edge when it comes to sensor technology.