Olympus 1 vs Olympus 550WP

Its time to look a little more closely at the Olympus 1 vs Olympus 550WP, former is a Small Sensor Superzoom while the other is a Small Sensor Compact and both of them are built by Olympus. The resolution of the 1 (12MP) and the 550WP (10MP) is fairly similar but the 1 (1/1.7") and 550WP (1/2.3") boast different sensor sizing.

Photography Glossary

The 1 was announced 4 years after the 550WP which is quite a big difference as far as tech is concerned. The two cameras feature different body design with the Olympus 1 being a SLR-like (bridge) camera and the Olympus 550WP being a Compact camera.

Before diving right into a detailed comparison, here is a concise overview of how the 1 matches up against the 550WP when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

The following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus Stylus 1 & Olympus Stylus 550WP. The whole galleries are viewable at Olympus 1 Gallery & Olympus 550WP Gallery.

If you are looking to carry around your camera, you have to consider its weight and proportions. The Olympus 1 offers external measurements of 116mm x 87mm x 57mm (4.6" x 3.4" x 2.2") and a weight of 402 grams (0.89 lbs) and the Olympus 550WP has measurements of 94mm x 62mm x 22mm (3.7" x 2.4" x 0.9") with a weight of 167 grams (0.37 lbs).

See the Olympus 1 vs Olympus 550WP in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you are utilising at the time. Following is a front view overall size comparison of the 1 versus the 550WP.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability grade of the 1 and 550WP is 79 and 94 respectively.

Oftentimes, it is very hard to visualize the difference between sensor sizes simply by reading technical specs. The picture below will help offer you a better sense of the sensor measurements in the 1 and 550WP.

As you can tell, each of the cameras come with different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The 1 using its larger sensor is going to make getting shallow DOF less difficult and the Olympus 1 will offer you more detail with its extra 2MP. Greater resolution can also enable you to crop photos a good deal more aggressively. The more modern 1 should have a benefit when it comes to sensor innovation.