Olympus 550WP vs Sony A580

Let's look much closer at the Olympus 550WP vs Sony A580, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by competitors Olympus and Sony. There exists a sizable gap between the resolutions of the 550WP (10MP) and A580 (16MP) and the 550WP (1/2.3") and A580 (APS-C) provide totally different sensor sizing.

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The 550WP was launched 3 years prior to the A580 and that is quite a significant difference as far as technology is concerned. Both of these cameras feature different body design with the Olympus 550WP being a Compact camera and the Sony A580 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before getting into a step-by-step comparison, here is a concise overview of how the 550WP matches up versus the A580 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

The following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus Stylus 550WP & Sony Alpha DSLR-A580. The complete galleries are available at Olympus 550WP Gallery & Sony A580 Gallery.

For anybody who is planning to carry your camera frequently, you need to think about its weight and size. The Olympus 550WP comes with outer 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 A580 has specifications of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") and a weight of 599 grams (1.32 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus 550WP vs Sony A580 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you choose at that time. Underneath is a front view physical size comparison of the 550WP compared to the A580.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability score of the 550WP and A580 is 94 and 64 respectively.

Sometimes, it's difficult to envision the difference between sensor sizing merely by looking at specs. The visual below might give you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the 550WP and A580.

All in all, both the cameras come with different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The 550WP featuring a tinier sensor will make shooting shallow depth of field more challenging and the Sony A580 will give extra detail utilizing its extra 6MP. Greater resolution can also help you crop pics a good deal more aggressively. The older 550WP is going to be disadvantaged in sensor innovation.