Olympus 550WP vs Panasonic GH4

Following is a extended analysis of the Olympus 550WP and Panasonic GH4, former is a Small Sensor Compact while the other is a Pro Mirrorless by rivals Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a sizable gap among the image resolutions of the 550WP (10MP) and GH4 (16MP) and the 550WP (1/2.3") and GH4 (Four Thirds) provide totally different sensor measurements.

Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a Landslide

The 550WP was announced 6 years before the GH4 which is a fairly significant difference as far as camera technology is concerned. The two cameras have different body design with the Olympus 550WP being a Compact camera and the Panasonic GH4 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera.

Before getting into a thorough comparison, here is a short introduction of how the 550WP matches up against the GH4 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Below is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus Stylus 550WP & Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH4. The whole galleries are provided at Olympus 550WP Gallery & Panasonic GH4 Gallery.

For anybody who is intending to carry around your camera, you should factor its weight and dimensions. The Olympus 550WP has got outside dimensions of 94mm x 62mm x 22mm (3.7" x 2.4" x 0.9") accompanied by a weight of 167 grams (0.37 lbs) while the Panasonic GH4 has dimensions of 133mm x 93mm x 84mm (5.2" x 3.7" x 3.3") and a weight of 560 grams (1.23 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus 550WP and Panasonic GH4 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you select during that time. Below is a front view measurement comparison of the 550WP compared to the GH4.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the 550WP and GH4 is 94 and 66 respectively.

More often than not, it's difficult to visualise the gap in sensor sizes just by researching a spec sheet. The picture below should offer you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the 550WP and GH4.

As you can see, both the cameras have different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The 550WP having a smaller sensor will make getting shallower depth of field tougher and the Panasonic GH4 will provide you with more detail with its extra 6 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also make it easier to crop images a bit more aggressively. The more aged 550WP will be behind with regard to sensor innovation.