Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 vs Olympus VR-340

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 and the Olympus VR-340, 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.

Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 was introduced in December 2009 and Olympus VR-340 was introduced in January 2012. 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 Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 over Olympus VR-340.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Olympus VR-340 over Sony Alpha DSLR-A550.

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

Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 and Olympus VR-340 have 3.0" screens with 922k dot and 460k dot resolutions respectively. Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 has a Tilting screen which makes it very useful for photography purposes but not so useful for video shooting. Olympus VR-340 has a Fixed screen

Optical (pentamirror) Viewfinder on Sony Alpha DSLR-A550

Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 has a built-in Optical (pentamirror) viewfinder. It has a 95% coverage and 0.80x (0.53x 35mm equivalent) magnification. There is no built-in or optional viewfinder available on Olympus VR-340.

Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 features a 14.2 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 23.4 x 15.6 mm and a total area of 365 mm². Its native ISO range is 200 - 12,800. Olympus VR-340 features a 16 megapixel 1/2.3-inch CCD 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 Alpha DSLR-A550 is equipped with BIONZ processor and can take pictures up to 4592 x 3056 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4592 x 2576, 3344 x 2224, 3344 x 1872, 2288 x 1520, 2288 x 1280 with 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios. Olympus VR-340 can take pictures up to 4608 x 3456 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 3264 x 2448, 2560 x 1920, 2048 x 1536, 1600 x 1200, 1280 x 960, 640 x 480 with 4:3, 16:9 aspect ratios.

Image Stabilization

The cameras have a built-in image stabilization. On Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 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. Both cameras have HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 comes with NP-FM500H battery pack with battery life of 480 shots and Olympus VR-340 comes with LI-50B battery pack.

External Storage Slots

Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 has a single SD/SDHC, Memory Stick Duo/Pro Duo/Pro-HG Duo card slot. Olympus VR-340 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC card slot.

Shutter

Shutter speed can go up to 1/4000 sec on Sony Alpha DSLR-A550, and up to 1/2000 sec on Olympus VR-340. Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 can shoot continuously up to 7.0 fps.

Flash

Cameras have built-in flash with maximum range of 12.00 m on Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 and 4.80 m on Olympus VR-340. Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 also accepts external flash. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/160 sec on Sony Alpha DSLR-A550.

Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 body has dimensions of 137 x 104 x 84 mm (5.39 x 4.09 x 3.31") and Olympus VR-340 body has dimensions of 96 x 57 x 19 mm (3.78 x 2.24 x 0.75"). Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 weighs 632 g (1.39 lb / 22.29 oz) and Olympus VR-340 weighs 125 g (0.28 lb / 4.41 oz).

Sony Alpha DSLR-A550

Olympus VR-340

137 mm

104 mm

96 mm

57 mm