Olympus 550WP vs Pentax K-5

Its time to look closer at the Olympus 550WP and Pentax K-5, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the other is a Advanced DSLR by competitors Olympus and Pentax. There exists a large gap among the resolutions of the 550WP (10MP) and K-5 (16MP) and the 550WP (1/2.3") and K-5 (APS-C) enjoy different sensor sizes.

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The 550WP was brought out 23 months before the K-5 making the cameras a generation apart from one another. Each of these cameras offer different body type with the Olympus 550WP being a Compact camera and the Pentax K-5 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before we go through a thorough comparison, below is a quick synopsis of how the 550WP scores versus the K-5 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Below is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus Stylus 550WP & Pentax K-5. The entire galleries are provided at Olympus 550WP Gallery & Pentax K-5 Gallery.

If you're looking to carry your camera frequently, you will have to factor in its weight and dimensions. The Olympus 550WP has got outer measurements of 94mm x 62mm x 22mm (3.7" x 2.4" x 0.9") with a weight of 167 grams (0.37 lbs) whilst the Pentax K-5 has dimensions of 131mm x 97mm x 73mm (5.2" x 3.8" x 2.9") with a weight of 740 grams (1.63 lbs).

Check out the Olympus 550WP and Pentax K-5 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you are working with during that time. The following is the front view dimension comparison of the 550WP against the K-5.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the 550WP and K-5 is 94 and 60 respectively.

Normally, it can be hard to visualize the difference in sensor sizing only by researching specs. The photograph underneath will help offer you a much better sense of the sensor measurements in the 550WP and K-5.

As you can plainly see, each of the cameras offer different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The 550WP because of its smaller sensor is going to make getting shallow depth of field trickier and the Pentax K-5 will provide you with extra detail having its extra 6MP. Greater resolution can also let you crop pics a little more aggressively. The older 550WP will be behind in sensor technology.