Olympus XZ-1 vs Sony A550

Let's look a little more in depth at the Olympus XZ-1 vs Sony A550, one being a Small Sensor Compact and the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by manufacturers Olympus and Sony. There exists a significant gap among the image resolutions of the XZ-1 (10MP) and A550 (14MP) and the XZ-1 (1/1.63") and A550 (APS-C) enjoy totally different sensor measurements.

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The XZ-1 was revealed 14 months later than the A550 making the cameras a generation apart from one another. Both of the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus XZ-1 being a Compact camera and the Sony A550 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before delving straight into a full comparison, below is a quick view of how the XZ-1 scores against the A550 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus XZ-1 and Sony Alpha DSLR-A550. The full galleries are provided at Olympus XZ-1 Gallery and Sony A550 Gallery.

If you're aiming to carry your camera often, you will want to consider its weight and proportions. The Olympus XZ-1 has outer measurements of 111mm x 65mm x 42mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.7") with a weight of 275 grams (0.61 lbs) whilst the Sony A550 has measurements of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") having a weight of 632 grams (1.39 lbs).

Look at the Olympus XZ-1 vs Sony A550 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ dependant on the lens you are using at the time. Following is the front view measurement comparison of the XZ-1 vs the A550.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability score of the XZ-1 and A550 is 88 and 63 respectively.

Normally, it is tough to visualise the gap in sensor sizing purely by going through specs. The photograph below will offer you a more clear sense of the sensor measurements in the XZ-1 and A550.

As you can plainly see, the 2 cameras have got different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The XZ-1 with its smaller sensor will make shooting shallow depth of field harder and the Sony A550 will provide extra detail because of its extra 4MP. Greater resolution can also make it easier to crop pics much more aggressively. The younger XZ-1 will have an advantage in sensor tech.