Olympus XZ-10 vs Sony A550

Following is a in-depth comparison of the Olympus XZ-10 and Sony A550, former is a Small Sensor Compact while the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by manufacturers Olympus and Sony. The image resolution of the XZ-10 (12MP) and the A550 (14MP) is pretty comparable but the XZ-10 (1/2.3") and A550 (APS-C) posses totally different sensor sizing.

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The XZ-10 was launched 3 years after the A550 which is a fairly big difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of these cameras feature different body design with the Olympus XZ-10 being a Compact camera and the Sony A550 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before diving into a more detailed comparison, here is a brief synopsis of how the XZ-10 grades vs the A550 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

The following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus Stylus XZ-10 & Sony Alpha DSLR-A550. The complete galleries are provided at Olympus XZ-10 Gallery & Sony A550 Gallery.

If you're looking to carry around your camera, you'll need to consider its weight and volume. The Olympus XZ-10 offers external dimensions of 102mm x 61mm x 34mm (4.0" x 2.4" x 1.3") accompanied by a weight of 221 grams (0.49 lbs) whilst the Sony A550 has sizing of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") accompanied by a weight of 632 grams (1.39 lbs).

Check out the Olympus XZ-10 and Sony A550 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you use at that time. Underneath is a front view dimension comparison of the XZ-10 versus the A550.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the XZ-10 and A550 is 91 and 63 respectively.

Typically, its difficult to visualise the gap in sensor sizes just by going through specifications. The picture below might offer you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the XZ-10 and A550.

Plainly, both of these cameras come with different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The XZ-10 featuring a smaller sensor will make achieving bokeh more difficult and the Sony A550 will show more detail utilizing its extra 2MP. Higher resolution will also enable you to crop photographs a good deal more aggressively. The fresher XZ-10 is going to have an edge in sensor technology.