Olympus 550WP vs Sony A500
94 Imaging
33 Features
17 Overall
26
63 Imaging
52 Features
52 Overall
52
Olympus 550WP vs Sony A500 Key Specs
(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
- Released January 2009
- Other Name is mju 550WP
(Full Review)
- 12MP - APS-C Sensor
- 3" Tilting Screen
- ISO 200 - 12800
- Sensor based Image Stabilization
- No Video
- Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
- 630g - 137 x 104 x 84mm
- Revealed August 2009
- Updated by Sony A560
Olympus 550WP vs Sony A500 Overview
Its time to look more closely at the Olympus 550WP versus Sony A500, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by competitors Olympus and Sony. The sensor resolution of the 550WP (10MP) and the A500 (12MP) is pretty well matched but the 550WP (1/2.3") and A500 (APS-C) boast different sensor dimensions.
Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a LandslideThe 550WP was released 7 months prior to the A500 which means that they are both of a similar age. Both of the cameras feature different body design with the Olympus 550WP being a Compact camera and the Sony A500 being a Compact SLR camera.
Before delving right into a comprehensive comparison, here is a simple synopsis of how the 550WP matches up vs the A500 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.
Olympus 550WP vs Sony A500 Gallery
Below is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus Stylus 550WP & Sony Alpha DSLR-A500. The complete galleries are provided at Olympus 550WP Gallery & Sony A500 Gallery.
Reasons to pick Olympus 550WP over the Sony A500
550WP | A500 |
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Reasons to pick Sony A500 over the Olympus 550WP
A500 | 550WP | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Revealed | August 2009 | January 2009 | More recent by 7 months | |
Manually focus | Dial precise focusing | |||
Screen type | Tilting | Fixed | Tilting screen | |
Screen size | 3" | 2.5" | Bigger screen (+0.5") |
Common features in the Olympus 550WP and Sony A500
550WP | A500 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Screen resolution | 230k | 230k | Identical screen resolution | |
Selfie screen | Neither has selfie screen | |||
Touch friendly screen | Absent Touch friendly screen |
Olympus 550WP vs Sony A500 Physical Comparison
For those who are aiming to lug around your camera regularly, you are going to need to factor its weight and size. The Olympus 550WP has external dimensions 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 Sony A500 has specifications of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") with a weight of 630 grams (1.39 lbs).
Examine the Olympus 550WP versus Sony A500 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you are working with at the time. The following is a front view over all size comparison of the 550WP versus the A500.
Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability score of the 550WP and A500 is 94 and 63 respectively.
Olympus 550WP vs Sony A500 Sensor Comparison
In many cases, it is tough to visualize the gap between sensor measurements merely by looking at a spec sheet. The graphic below will help provide you a clearer sense of the sensor dimensions in the 550WP and A500.
As you can see, both of the cameras come with different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The 550WP featuring a tinier sensor is going to make shooting shallower DOF more challenging and the Sony A500 will give extra detail as a result of its extra 2MP. Higher resolution can also enable you to crop pictures a good deal more aggressively. The older 550WP is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor innovation.
Olympus 550WP vs Sony A500 Screen and ViewFinder
Photography Type Scores
Portrait Comparison
Street Comparison
Sports Comparison
Travel Comparison
Landscape Comparison
Vlogging Comparison
Olympus 550WP vs Sony A500 Specifications
Olympus Stylus 550WP | Sony Alpha DSLR-A500 | |
---|---|---|
General Information | ||
Make | Olympus | Sony |
Model type | Olympus Stylus 550WP | Sony Alpha DSLR-A500 |
Otherwise known as | mju 550WP | - |
Category | Small Sensor Compact | Entry-Level DSLR |
Released | 2009-01-07 | 2009-08-27 |
Physical type | Compact | Compact SLR |
Sensor Information | ||
Chip | - | Bionz |
Sensor type | CCD | CMOS |
Sensor size | 1/2.3" | APS-C |
Sensor dimensions | 6.08 x 4.56mm | 23.5 x 15.6mm |
Sensor area | 27.7mm² | 366.6mm² |
Sensor resolution | 10MP | 12MP |
Anti alias filter | ||
Aspect ratio | 16:9, 4:3 and 3:2 | 3:2 and 16:9 |
Max resolution | 3648 x 2736 | 4272 x 2848 |
Max native ISO | 1600 | 12800 |
Lowest native ISO | 64 | 200 |
RAW photos | ||
Autofocusing | ||
Focus manually | ||
AF touch | ||
Continuous AF | ||
AF single | ||
Tracking AF | ||
Selective AF | ||
AF center weighted | ||
AF multi area | ||
AF live view | ||
Face detection focusing | ||
Contract detection focusing | ||
Phase detection focusing | ||
Total focus points | - | 9 |
Lens | ||
Lens mount type | fixed lens | Sony/Minolta Alpha |
Lens zoom range | 38-114mm (3.0x) | - |
Maximum aperture | f/3.5-5.0 | - |
Macro focusing distance | 7cm | - |
Amount of lenses | - | 143 |
Crop factor | 5.9 | 1.5 |
Screen | ||
Type of screen | Fixed Type | Tilting |
Screen sizing | 2.5" | 3" |
Screen resolution | 230k dots | 230k dots |
Selfie friendly | ||
Liveview | ||
Touch friendly | ||
Viewfinder Information | ||
Viewfinder type | None | Optical (pentamirror) |
Viewfinder coverage | - | 95 percent |
Viewfinder magnification | - | 0.53x |
Features | ||
Minimum shutter speed | 4 seconds | 30 seconds |
Fastest shutter speed | 1/1000 seconds | 1/4000 seconds |
Continuous shutter rate | - | 5.0fps |
Shutter priority | ||
Aperture priority | ||
Manual mode | ||
Exposure compensation | - | Yes |
Set WB | ||
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, High Speed Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in, Wireless |
Hot shoe | ||
AEB | ||
White balance bracketing | ||
Fastest flash synchronize | - | 1/160 seconds |
Exposure | ||
Multisegment metering | ||
Average metering | ||
Spot metering | ||
Partial metering | ||
AF area metering | ||
Center weighted metering | ||
Video features | ||
Video resolutions | 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 240 (30, 15 fps) | - |
Max video resolution | 640x480 | None |
Video data format | Motion JPEG | - |
Mic support | ||
Headphone support | ||
Connectivity | ||
Wireless | None | None |
Bluetooth | ||
NFC | ||
HDMI | ||
USB | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) |
GPS | None | None |
Physical | ||
Environment sealing | ||
Water proofing | ||
Dust proofing | ||
Shock proofing | ||
Crush proofing | ||
Freeze proofing | ||
Weight | 167 grams (0.37 pounds) | 630 grams (1.39 pounds) |
Physical dimensions | 94 x 62 x 22mm (3.7" x 2.4" x 0.9") | 137 x 104 x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") |
DXO scores | ||
DXO Overall rating | not tested | 64 |
DXO Color Depth rating | not tested | 21.8 |
DXO Dynamic range rating | not tested | 11.6 |
DXO Low light rating | not tested | 772 |
Other | ||
Battery life | - | 520 photographs |
Type of battery | - | Battery Pack |
Battery ID | - | NP-FM500H |
Self timer | Yes (12 seconds) | Yes (2 or 10 sec) |
Time lapse feature | ||
Type of storage | xD-Picture Card, microSD, internal | SD/ SDHC, Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo |
Card slots | One | One |
Price at release | $399 | $638 |