Olympus 550WP vs Sony NEX-5R

Its time to look closer at the Olympus 550WP and Sony NEX-5R, one being a Small Sensor Compact and the latter is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by competitors Olympus and Sony. There exists a significant gap between the sensor resolutions of the 550WP (10MP) and NEX-5R (16MP) and the 550WP (1/2.3") and NEX-5R (APS-C) use different sensor sizes.

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The 550WP was introduced 4 years prior to the NEX-5R and that is quite a sizable gap as far as technology is concerned. Each of these cameras come with different body type with the Olympus 550WP being a Compact camera and the Sony NEX-5R being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before going in to a thorough comparison, below is a brief introduction of how the 550WP matches up versus the NEX-5R with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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

If you are intending to lug around your camera regularly, you'll have to think about its weight and volume. The Olympus 550WP provides exterior 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) whilst the Sony NEX-5R has sizing of 111mm x 59mm x 39mm (4.4" x 2.3" x 1.5") having a weight of 276 grams (0.61 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus 550WP and Sony NEX-5R in the latest Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change depending on the lens you have attached at that moment. Here is the front view dimensions comparison of the 550WP and the NEX-5R.

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

Typically, its difficult to imagine the difference between sensor measurements merely by going over specifications. The visual here might provide you a clearer sense of the sensor dimensions in the 550WP and NEX-5R.

To sum up, both cameras have got different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The 550WP using its tinier sensor is going to make getting bokeh more challenging and the Sony NEX-5R will deliver more detail using its extra 6 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also enable you to crop pictures much more aggressively. The older 550WP is going to be behind with regard to sensor technology.