Ricoh WG-50 vs Sony A550

Let's look more closely at the Ricoh WG-50 and Sony A550, former being a Waterproof while the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by companies Ricoh and Sony. The sensor resolution of the WG-50 (16MP) and the A550 (14MP) is fairly comparable but the WG-50 (1/2.3") and A550 (APS-C) posses totally different sensor size.

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The WG-50 was unveiled 7 years later than the A550 and that is a fairly large difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of the cameras feature different body design with the Ricoh WG-50 being a Compact camera and the Sony A550 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before we go into a thorough comparison, here is a short introduction of how the WG-50 grades vs the A550 for portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a sample of the gallery pictures for Ricoh WG-50 & Sony Alpha DSLR-A550. The full galleries are available at Ricoh WG-50 Gallery & Sony A550 Gallery.

In case you're going to lug around your camera often, you need to think about its weight and volume. The Ricoh WG-50 comes with exterior measurements of 123mm x 62mm x 30mm (4.8" x 2.4" x 1.2") along with a weight of 193 grams (0.43 lbs) while the Sony A550 has sizing of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") having a weight of 632 grams (1.39 lbs).

Take a look at the Ricoh WG-50 and Sony A550 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you are working with at that moment. Here is a front view overall size comparison of the WG-50 vs the A550.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the WG-50 and A550 is 91 and 63 respectively.

More often than not, it can be tough to see the contrast in sensor measurements only by going through specifications. The graphic below will give you a stronger sense of the sensor sizing in the WG-50 and A550.

Plainly, both of those cameras come with different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The WG-50 using its smaller sensor will make shooting shallower DOF harder and the Ricoh WG-50 will show extra detail having an extra 2 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also make it easier to crop photos a good deal more aggressively. The more recent WG-50 will have a benefit when it comes to sensor technology.