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Olympus E-30 vs Sony NEX-5

Portability
60
Imaging
46
Features
54
Overall
49
Olympus E-30 front
 
Sony Alpha NEX-5 front
Portability
89
Imaging
54
Features
58
Overall
55

Olympus E-30 vs Sony NEX-5 Key Specs

Olympus E-30
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 2.7" Fully Articulated Screen
  • ISO 100 - 3200
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
  • No Video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 695g - 142 x 108 x 75mm
  • Revealed March 2009
Sony NEX-5
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 200 - 12800
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Sony E Mount
  • 287g - 111 x 59 x 38mm
  • Announced June 2010
  • Later Model is Sony NEX-5N
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Olympus E-30 vs Sony NEX-5 Overview

Below is a complete analysis of the Olympus E-30 versus Sony NEX-5, former being a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by companies Olympus and Sony. The image resolution of the E-30 (12MP) and the NEX-5 (14MP) is pretty similar but the E-30 (Four Thirds) and NEX-5 (APS-C) come with different sensor sizes.

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The E-30 was announced 14 months before the NEX-5 which makes the cameras a generation apart from each other. Both the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-30 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony NEX-5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before getting in to a in depth comparison, below is a short highlight of how the E-30 grades versus the NEX-5 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-30 over the Sony NEX-5

 E-30 NEX-5 
Screen typeFully ArticulatedTiltingFully Articulating screen
Selfie screen Easy selfies

Reasons to pick Sony NEX-5 over the Olympus E-30

 NEX-5 E-30 
AnnouncedJune 2010March 2009More recent by 14 months
Screen dimension3"2.7"Bigger screen (+0.3")
Screen resolution920k230kClearer screen (+690k dot)

Common features in the Olympus E-30 and Sony NEX-5

 E-30 NEX-5 
Focus manually Dial exact focus
Touch screen No Touch screen

Olympus E-30 vs Sony NEX-5 Physical Comparison

For those who are intending to lug around your camera, you need to consider its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-30 comes with outer dimensions of 142mm x 108mm x 75mm (5.6" x 4.3" x 3.0") along with a weight of 695 grams (1.53 lbs) while the Sony NEX-5 has proportions of 111mm x 59mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.3" x 1.5") accompanied by a weight of 287 grams (0.63 lbs).

Look at the Olympus E-30 versus Sony NEX-5 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you choose during that time. Underneath is the front view dimension comparison of the E-30 versus the NEX-5.

Olympus E-30 vs Sony NEX-5 size comparison

Considering size and weight, the portability score of the E-30 and NEX-5 is 60 and 89 respectively.

Olympus E-30 vs Sony NEX-5 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-30 vs Sony NEX-5 Sensor Comparison

Generally, it is hard to visualize the contrast between sensor measurements purely by going over specifications. The visual below will help give you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-30 and NEX-5.

To sum up, the 2 cameras posses different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The E-30 having a tinier sensor is going to make getting shallow depth of field harder and the Sony NEX-5 will deliver more detail with its extra 2MP. Higher resolution will also let you crop photographs somewhat more aggressively. The older E-30 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor technology.

Olympus E-30 vs Sony NEX-5 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-30 vs Sony NEX-5 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-30 vs Sony NEX-5 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-30 as a Portrait photography camera
Sony NEX-5 as a Portrait photography camera
59
focusing manually
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
has face detection focus
saves RAW formats
megapixel count low (12 megapixels)
72
manual focus
MP count decent (14MP)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
exports RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-30 Street photography info
Sony NEX-5 Street photography info
72
fully articulated screen
image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
76
has a tilting screen
sensor size is good (APS-C)
exports RAW formats
no image stabilization
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-30 Sports photography details
Sony NEX-5 Sports photography details
51
maximum shutter speed is high (1/8,000 seconds)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
sensor has phase detect auto focus
max frames per second low (5.0 frames/s)
megapixel count low (12 megapixels)
terrible battery (750 CIPA)
52
MP count decent (14 megapixels)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
no image stabilization
doesn't have phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Olympus E-30
Travel photography with Sony NEX-5
49
flash built-in
selfie friendly screen
does not have Time Lapse mode
terrible battery (750 shots)
megapixel count low (12MP)
59
MP count decent (14 megapixels)
lack of Timelapse mode
screen is not selfie friendly
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-30 Landscape photography factors
Sony NEX-5 Landscape photography factors
52
focusing manually
interchangeable lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
tiny screen (2.7 inch)
megapixel count low (12 megapixels)
terrible battery (750 shots)
does not have Time Lapse mode
68
manual focus
swap lenses (Sony E mount)
nice screen size (3 inch)
MP count decent (14 megapixels)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
exports RAW formats
no image stabilization
lack of Timelapse mode
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-30 as a Vlogging camera
Sony NEX-5 as a Vlogging camera
18
lack of video recording
28
high res video (1920 x 1080 pixels)
screen is not selfie friendly
no image stabilization
lack of external microphone port
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Olympus E-30 vs Sony NEX-5 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-30 and Sony NEX-5
 Olympus E-30Sony Alpha NEX-5
General Information
Make Olympus Sony
Model type Olympus E-30 Sony Alpha NEX-5
Type Advanced DSLR Entry-Level Mirrorless
Revealed 2009-03-24 2010-06-07
Body design Mid-size SLR Rangefinder-style mirrorless
Sensor Information
Chip TruePic III+ Bionz
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds APS-C
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 23.4 x 15.6mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 365.0mm²
Sensor resolution 12 megapixels 14 megapixels
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 5:4, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 3:2 and 16:9
Highest resolution 4032 x 3024 4592 x 3056
Highest native ISO 3200 12800
Minimum native ISO 100 200
RAW images
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
AF touch
AF continuous
AF single
AF tracking
Selective AF
AF center weighted
Multi area AF
AF live view
Face detection focusing
Contract detection focusing
Phase detection focusing
Total focus points 11 25
Lens
Lens mount type Micro Four Thirds Sony E
Amount of lenses 45 121
Focal length multiplier 2.1 1.5
Screen
Range of screen Fully Articulated Tilting
Screen diagonal 2.7 inch 3 inch
Screen resolution 230 thousand dot 920 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch function
Screen tech HyperCrystal II LCD -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Optical (pentaprism) None
Viewfinder coverage 98% -
Viewfinder magnification 0.56x -
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60 seconds 30 seconds
Highest shutter speed 1/8000 seconds 1/4000 seconds
Continuous shooting speed 5.0 frames per second 7.0 frames per second
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Set WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash distance 13.00 m 12.00 m
Flash settings Auto, Manual, Fill, Red-eye reduction, Slow sync with red-eye reduction, Slow sync, Slow sync 2nd curtain, Off Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in
Hot shoe
AE bracketing
WB bracketing
Highest flash sync 1/250 seconds 1/160 seconds
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions - 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1440 x 1080 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Highest video resolution None 1920x1080
Video data format - AVCHD
Microphone jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless None None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 695 grams (1.53 lbs) 287 grams (0.63 lbs)
Dimensions 142 x 108 x 75mm (5.6" x 4.3" x 3.0") 111 x 59 x 38mm (4.4" x 2.3" x 1.5")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating 55 69
DXO Color Depth rating 21.3 22.2
DXO Dynamic range rating 10.4 12.2
DXO Low light rating 530 796
Other
Battery life 750 photos 330 photos
Form of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID BLM-1 NPFW50
Self timer Yes (12 or 2 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec, 10sec (3 images))
Time lapse recording
Storage media Compact Flash (Type I or II) / xD Picture Card SD/ SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo
Storage slots 1 1
Launch price $1,299 $599