Olympus 550WP vs Sony NEX-5N

Below is a in depth comparison of the Olympus 550WP and Sony NEX-5N, one being a Small Sensor Compact and the latter is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by rivals Olympus and Sony. There is a sizeable difference among the resolutions of the 550WP (10MP) and NEX-5N (16MP) and the 550WP (1/2.3") and NEX-5N (APS-C) feature totally different sensor sizes.

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The 550WP was announced 3 years prior to the NEX-5N and that is a fairly large gap as far as camera tech is concerned. Both the cameras offer different body type with the Olympus 550WP being a Compact camera and the Sony NEX-5N being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before we go in to a complete comparison, below is a simple summary of how the 550WP scores vs the NEX-5N for portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus Stylus 550WP and Sony Alpha NEX-5N. The whole galleries are available at Olympus 550WP Gallery and Sony NEX-5N Gallery.

For anyone who is intending to lug around your camera often, you are going to need to factor in its weight and volume. The Olympus 550WP provides outer dimensions of 94mm x 62mm x 22mm (3.7" x 2.4" x 0.9") along with a weight of 167 grams (0.37 lbs) and the Sony NEX-5N has sizing of 111mm x 59mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.3" x 1.5") with a weight of 269 grams (0.59 lbs).

Check out the Olympus 550WP and Sony NEX-5N in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change based on the lens you have attached at the time. Below is the front view measurements comparison of the 550WP versus the NEX-5N.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability score of the 550WP and NEX-5N is 94 and 89 respectively.

Oftentimes, it is tough to envision the difference in sensor measurements simply by viewing specifications. The visual here might offer you a stronger sense of the sensor dimensions in the 550WP and NEX-5N.

Plainly, both of those cameras offer different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The 550WP having a smaller sensor will make achieving shallower DOF harder and the Sony NEX-5N will render extra detail with its extra 6 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also enable you to crop pictures a little more aggressively. The older 550WP will be disadvantaged in sensor innovation.