Olympus PEN E-P2 vs Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX55

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Olympus PEN E-P2 and the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX55, highlighting the advantages of each over the other, discussing their pros and cons, shared strengths and weaknesses, and providing a rating based on their available features and specifications to assist you in choosing the one that best suits your needs.

Olympus PEN E-P2 was introduced in April 2010 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX55 was introduced in July 2011. Let us first list highlights of the models.

Now that we've looked at the most essential specifications and gained a basic understanding of these cameras, we can delve into more details and see the differences between them.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Olympus PEN E-P2 over Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX55.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX55 over Olympus PEN E-P2.

We already listed pros and cons of each model. However, you may also find useful to look at their common strengths and weaknesses shown side-by-side.

Screen

Olympus PEN E-P2 has a 3.0" screen with 230k dot resolution and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX55 has a 3.30" screen with 1,230k dot resolution. Both have Fixed screens. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX55 also features touchscreen which has advantages such as easy menu navigation, intuitive controls, quick setting adjustment

Camera does not have a built-in viewfinder but an optional electronic VF-2 can be attached on Olympus PEN E-P2.

Olympus PEN E-P2 features a 12 megapixel Micro Four Thirds CMOS sensor with dimensions of 17.3 x 13 mm and a total area of 224.9 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 6,400. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX55 features a 16.2 megapixel 1/2.3-inch BSI-CMOS sensor with dimensions of 6.17 x 4.55 mm and a total area of 20.7 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 3,200.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX55 has BSI-CMOS sensor, short for Backside Illuminated Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor sensor. In traditional CMOS sensors, the wiring and circuitry are located on the front side of the sensor, which can block some of the incoming light. BSI technology flips this design by placing the photosensitive elements (pixels) on the backside of the sensor, allowing more light to reach the pixels. This significantly enhances light sensitivity and improves low-light performance. BSI-CMOS sensors are particularly effective in low-light conditions, as they can capture more light, resulting in brighter and less noisy images. This makes them well-suited for indoor and night photography. BSI-CMOS sensors deliver a higher SNR and reduced cross-talk.

Olympus PEN E-P2 is equipped with TruePic V processor and can take pictures up to 4032 x 3024 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 3200 x 2400, 2560 x 1920, 1600 x 1200, 1280 x 960, 1024 x 768, 640 x 480 with 1:1, 4:3, 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX55 is equipped with BIONZ processor and can take pictures up to 4608 x 3456 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4608 x 2592, 3648 x 2736, 2592 x 1944, 1920 x 1080, 640 x 480 with 4:3, 16:9 aspect ratios.

Image Stabilization

The cameras have a built-in image stabilization. On Olympus PEN E-P2 it means that you are still getting vibration reduction when it is paired with non-image stabilizied lenses. It also works with lenses with optical image stabilization and in combination can achieve even better compensation.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) inputs for data transfer. Olympus PEN E-P2 has a Mini type C HDMI and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX55 has an HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Olympus PEN E-P2 comes with BLS-1 battery pack with battery life of 300 shots and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX55 comes with NP-BN battery pack with battery life of 250 shots.

External Storage Slots

Olympus PEN E-P2 has a single SD/SDHC card slot. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX55 has a single microSD/SDHC/Memory Stick Micro card slot.

Shutter

Shutter speed can go up to 1/4000 sec on Olympus PEN E-P2, and up to 1/1600 sec on Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX55. Olympus PEN E-P2 can shoot continuously up to 3.0 fps. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX55 can shoot continuously up to 10.0 fps.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Olympus PEN E-P2 ranges from 0 to +18 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±3 EV range on Olympus PEN E-P2 and ±2 range on Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX55. You can also do exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Olympus PEN E-P2 and exposure bracketing on Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX55.

Flash

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX55 has a built-in flash with maximum range of 3.70 m. Olympus PEN E-P2 has no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected via Hot Shoe. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/180 sec on Olympus PEN E-P2.

Olympus PEN E-P2 body has dimensions of 121 x 70 x 36 mm (4.76 x 2.76 x 1.42") and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX55 body has dimensions of 93 x 54 x 13 mm (3.66 x 2.13 x 0.51"). Olympus PEN E-P2 weighs 355 g (0.78 lb / 12.52 oz) and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX55 weighs 109 g (0.24 lb / 3.84 oz).

Olympus PEN E-P2

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX55

121 mm

70 mm

93 mm

54 mm

70 mm

54 mm