Olympus VR-320 vs Sony A550

Lets look a little more in depth at the Olympus VR-320 and Sony A550, one being a Small Sensor Superzoom and the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by companies Olympus and Sony. The sensor resolution of the VR-320 (14MP) and the A550 (14MP) is very close but the VR-320 (1/2.3") and A550 (APS-C) posses totally different sensor sizing.

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The VR-320 was unveiled 20 months later than the A550 making them a generation apart from each other. Both cameras feature different body design with the Olympus VR-320 being a Compact camera and the Sony A550 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before getting into a comprehensive comparison, here is a short highlight of how the VR-320 scores versus the A550 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus VR-320 and Sony Alpha DSLR-A550. The full galleries are available at Olympus VR-320 Gallery and Sony A550 Gallery.

For anybody who is going to lug around your camera frequently, you're going to have to consider its weight and proportions. The Olympus VR-320 comes with outside dimensions of 101mm x 58mm x 29mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.1") with a weight of 158 grams (0.35 lbs) and the Sony A550 has measurements of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") with a weight of 632 grams (1.39 lbs).

Look at the Olympus VR-320 and Sony A550 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ based on the lens you are utilizing during that time. Here is a front view physical size comparison of the VR-320 compared to the A550.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability grade of the VR-320 and A550 is 94 and 63 respectively.

Usually, it's hard to envision the difference in sensor measurements only by looking through specs. The visual underneath will give you a much better sense of the sensor sizes in the VR-320 and A550.

All in all, the two cameras come with the identical MP but not the same sensor measurements. The VR-320 has the smaller sensor which should make getting bokeh more challenging. The fresher VR-320 will have an edge in sensor innovation.