Olympus 550WP vs Sony A290

Here is a detailed comparison of the Olympus 550WP vs Sony A290, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by manufacturers Olympus and Sony. There is a considerable difference between the resolutions of the 550WP (10MP) and A290 (14MP) and the 550WP (1/2.3") and A290 (APS-C) have different sensor sizing.

Photography Glossary

The 550WP was introduced 17 months prior to the A290 which makes them a generation apart from each other. Both of these cameras feature different body design with the Olympus 550WP being a Compact camera and the Sony A290 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before delving straight to a full comparison, here is a brief view of how the 550WP scores vs the A290 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Here is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus Stylus 550WP & Sony Alpha DSLR-A290. The whole galleries are available at Olympus 550WP Gallery & Sony A290 Gallery.

For anyone who is going to carry your camera often, you will want to factor its weight and proportions. The Olympus 550WP comes with exterior dimensions of 94mm x 62mm x 22mm (3.7" x 2.4" x 0.9") with a weight of 167 grams (0.37 lbs) while the Sony A290 has measurements of 128mm x 97mm x 86mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 3.4") with a weight of 549 grams (1.21 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus 550WP vs Sony A290 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you are utilising at the time. Underneath is a front view over all size comparison of the 550WP and the A290.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability rating of the 550WP and A290 is 94 and 66 respectively.

Often, it is hard to picture the gap between sensor sizing just by checking specs. The visual underneath will help offer you a clearer sense of the sensor dimensions in the 550WP and A290.

As you can plainly see, the 2 cameras come with different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The 550WP having a tinier sensor is going to make shooting shallow depth of field trickier and the Sony A290 will give you greater detail using its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will allow you to crop pictures a good deal more aggressively. The older 550WP is going to be behind when it comes to sensor innovation.