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Olympus 550WP vs Panasonic GH3

Portability
94
Imaging
33
Features
17
Overall
26
Olympus Stylus 550WP front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 front
Portability
66
Imaging
52
Features
80
Overall
63

Olympus 550WP vs Panasonic GH3 Key Specs

Olympus 550WP
(Full Review)
  • 10MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 2.5" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 64 - 1600
  • Digital Image Stabilization
  • 640 x 480 video
  • 38-114mm (F3.5-5.0) lens
  • 167g - 94 x 62 x 22mm
  • Revealed January 2009
  • Other Name is mju 550WP
Panasonic GH3
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Fully Articulated Screen
  • ISO 200 - 12800
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 550g - 133 x 93 x 82mm
  • Released September 2012
  • Replaced the Panasonic GH2
  • New Model is Panasonic GH4
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Olympus 550WP vs Panasonic GH3 Overview

Below is a complete assessment of the Olympus 550WP vs Panasonic GH3, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the latter is a Advanced Mirrorless by manufacturers Olympus and Panasonic. There is a sizable difference among the resolutions of the 550WP (10MP) and GH3 (16MP) and the 550WP (1/2.3") and GH3 (Four Thirds) provide different sensor dimensions.

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The 550WP was launched 4 years before the GH3 and that is a fairly significant difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Each of these cameras feature different body design with the Olympus 550WP being a Compact camera and the Panasonic GH3 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera.

Before we go straight to a in-depth comparison, here is a brief introduction of how the 550WP scores vs the GH3 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Olympus 550WP over the Panasonic GH3

 550WP GH3 

Reasons to pick Panasonic GH3 over the Olympus 550WP

 GH3 550WP 
ReleasedSeptember 2012January 2009More recent by 44 months
Focus manually Very precise focusing
Screen typeFully ArticulatedFixed Fully Articulating screen
Screen size3"2.5"Bigger screen (+0.5")
Screen resolution614k230kCrisper screen (+384k dot)
Selfie screen Take selfies
Touch screen Quickly navigate

Common features in the Olympus 550WP and Panasonic GH3

 550WP GH3 

Olympus 550WP vs Panasonic GH3 Physical Comparison

For anybody who is planning to lug around your camera often, you'll have to factor in its weight and size. The Olympus 550WP has got physical measurements of 94mm x 62mm x 22mm (3.7" x 2.4" x 0.9") along with a weight of 167 grams (0.37 lbs) and the Panasonic GH3 has specifications of 133mm x 93mm x 82mm (5.2" x 3.7" x 3.2") accompanied by a weight of 550 grams (1.21 lbs).

See the Olympus 550WP vs Panasonic GH3 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Always remember, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you have at that time. The following is a front view over all size comparison of the 550WP against the GH3.

Olympus 550WP vs Panasonic GH3 size comparison

Looking at size and weight, the portability rating of the 550WP and GH3 is 94 and 66 respectively.

Olympus 550WP vs Panasonic GH3 top view buttons comparison

Olympus 550WP vs Panasonic GH3 Sensor Comparison

In many cases, it can be difficult to imagine the contrast in sensor measurements just by looking through specifications. The graphic below should offer you a greater sense of the sensor measurements in the 550WP and GH3.

Plainly, the 2 cameras feature different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The 550WP due to its smaller sensor is going to make achieving shallower DOF more difficult and the Panasonic GH3 will render greater detail utilizing its extra 6 Megapixels. Higher resolution will allow you to crop shots way more aggressively. The older 550WP will be disadvantaged in sensor innovation.

Olympus 550WP vs Panasonic GH3 sensor size comparison

Olympus 550WP vs Panasonic GH3 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus 550WP vs Panasonic GH3 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus 550WP Portrait photography info
Panasonic GH3 Portrait photography info
19
manual focus not available
no manual control
external flash not possible
low MP (10MP)
sensor is small (1/2.3")
does not have RAW format
71
focusing manually
MP count decent (16MP)
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
provides face detect focusing
supports RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Olympus 550WP Street photography features
Panasonic GH3 Street photography features
61
built in image stabilization (Digital)
weather sealing
screen does not articulate
sensor is small (1/2.3")
does not have RAW format
65
screen articulates
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports RAW formats
features touch focus
weather sealing
no image stabilization
heavier than competition (550g)
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Sports Comparison

Olympus 550WP as a Sports photography camera
Panasonic GH3 as a Sports photography camera
30
built in image stabilization (Digital)
weather sealing
maximum shutter speed is a little low (1/1,000s)
lack of shutter priority mode
low MP (10MP)
sensor is small (1/2.3")
does not have phase detect auto focus
63
max frames per second high (20.0 frames/s)
MP count decent (16MP)
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
provides tracking focus
weather sealing
better than average battery pack (540 CIPA)
no image stabilization
does not have phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Olympus 550WP Travel photography factors
Panasonic GH3 Travel photography factors
55
weather sealing
flash built-in
doesn't have Timelapse function
low MP (10 megapixels)
does not have a selfie friendly screen
wide angle not the best (38mm)
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.5)
71
better than average battery pack (540 CIPA)
weather sealing
features touch focus
MP count decent (16MP)
built-in flash
selfie friendly screen
heavier than competition (550g)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus 550WP as a Landscape photography camera
Panasonic GH3 as a Landscape photography camera
30
built in image stabilization (Digital)
weather sealing
manual focus not available
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
wide angle not the best (38mm)
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.5)
tiny screen (2.5 inches)
no manual control
low MP (10 megapixels)
sensor is small (1/2.3")
does not have RAW format
doesn't have Timelapse function
71
focusing manually
swap lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
pretty good screen size (3")
MP count decent (16MP)
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports RAW formats
weather sealing
better than average battery pack (540 shots)
no image stabilization
Photography Glossary

Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Olympus 550WP
Vlogging with Panasonic GH3
25
built in image stabilization (Digital)
wide angle not the best (38mm)
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.5)
does not have a selfie friendly screen
video quality not great (640 x 480 pixels)
doesn't have microphone support
65
selfie friendly screen
screen is touchscreen
provides face detect focusing
great video quality (1920 x 1080 pxls)
comes with mic jack
no image stabilization
heavier than competition (550 grams)
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Olympus 550WP vs Panasonic GH3 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus 550WP and Panasonic GH3
 Olympus Stylus 550WPPanasonic Lumix DMC-GH3
General Information
Manufacturer Olympus Panasonic
Model type Olympus Stylus 550WP Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3
Also called mju 550WP -
Category Small Sensor Compact Advanced Mirrorless
Revealed 2009-01-07 2012-09-17
Body design Compact SLR-style mirrorless
Sensor Information
Processor - Venus Engine VII FHD
Sensor type CCD CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" Four Thirds
Sensor dimensions 6.08 x 4.56mm 17.3 x 13mm
Sensor surface area 27.7mm² 224.9mm²
Sensor resolution 10 megapixel 16 megapixel
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 16:9, 4:3 and 3:2 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Max resolution 3648 x 2736 4608 x 3456
Max native ISO 1600 12800
Lowest native ISO 64 200
RAW format
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
Touch focus
Autofocus continuous
Single autofocus
Autofocus tracking
Autofocus selectice
Autofocus center weighted
Multi area autofocus
Live view autofocus
Face detection autofocus
Contract detection autofocus
Phase detection autofocus
Total focus points - 23
Lens
Lens mount type fixed lens Micro Four Thirds
Lens zoom range 38-114mm (3.0x) -
Maximum aperture f/3.5-5.0 -
Macro focusing distance 7cm -
Available lenses - 107
Crop factor 5.9 2.1
Screen
Range of screen Fixed Type Fully Articulated
Screen sizing 2.5" 3"
Resolution of screen 230k dot 614k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch display
Screen technology - OLED Monitor with static touch control
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder None Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 1,744k dot
Viewfinder coverage - 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification - 0.67x
Features
Min shutter speed 4 seconds 60 seconds
Max shutter speed 1/1000 seconds 1/4000 seconds
Continuous shutter speed - 20.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation - Yes
Change white balance
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash distance - 12.00 m
Flash options Auto, Fill-in, Red-Eye reduction, Off, On Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync
Hot shoe
AE bracketing
White balance bracketing
Max flash sync - 1/160 seconds
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Supported video resolutions 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 240 (30, 15 fps) 1920 x 1080 (60, 50, 30, 25 24 fps) 1280 x 720 (60, 50, 30, 25fps), 640 x 480 (30, 25fps
Max video resolution 640x480 1920x1080
Video format Motion JPEG MPEG-4, AVCHD, H.264
Mic input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
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 167 gr (0.37 lbs) 550 gr (1.21 lbs)
Physical dimensions 94 x 62 x 22mm (3.7" x 2.4" x 0.9") 133 x 93 x 82mm (5.2" x 3.7" x 3.2")
DXO scores
DXO Overall rating not tested 71
DXO Color Depth rating not tested 22.7
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested 12.4
DXO Low light rating not tested 812
Other
Battery life - 540 photos
Battery format - Battery Pack
Self timer Yes (12 seconds) Yes (2 or 10 sec, 10 sec (3 images))
Time lapse feature
Storage media xD-Picture Card, microSD, internal SD/SDHC/SDXC
Storage slots 1 1
Cost at release $399 $799