Olympus TG-610 vs Sony A55

Following is a complete overview of the Olympus TG-610 and Sony A55, former is a Waterproof while the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by companies Olympus and Sony. The sensor resolution of the TG-610 (14MP) and the A55 (16MP) is relatively comparable but the TG-610 (1/2.3") and A55 (APS-C) posses different sensor sizes.

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The TG-610 was unveiled 5 months after the A55 which means that they are of a similar age. Each of the cameras feature different body design with the Olympus TG-610 being a Compact camera and the Sony A55 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before getting straight to a detailed comparison, here is a concise highlight of how the TG-610 grades versus the A55 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Following is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus TG-610 & Sony SLT-A55. The full galleries are provided at Olympus TG-610 Gallery & Sony A55 Gallery.

For anyone who is aiming to carry around your camera, you need to factor its weight and volume. The Olympus TG-610 comes with outside dimensions of 96mm x 65mm x 26mm (3.8" x 2.6" x 1.0") with a weight of 190 grams (0.42 lbs) whilst the Sony A55 has sizing of 124mm x 92mm x 85mm (4.9" x 3.6" x 3.3") and a weight of 500 grams (1.10 lbs).

Look at the Olympus TG-610 and Sony A55 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you have at the time. Underneath is a front view dimensions comparison of the TG-610 and the A55.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the TG-610 and A55 is 93 and 67 respectively.

Typically, it is very difficult to imagine the difference in sensor sizes only by going through technical specs. The picture below might offer you a more clear sense of the sensor sizes in the TG-610 and A55.

As you can tell, the two cameras come with different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The TG-610 having a smaller sensor is going to make getting shallow DOF more difficult and the Sony A55 will produce extra detail having an extra 2 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also make it easier to crop photographs a good deal more aggressively.