Olympus E-300 vs Sony NEX-5

Its time to examine more in depth at the Olympus E-300 and Sony NEX-5, one is a Advanced DSLR and the latter is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by brands Olympus and Sony. There exists a big gap among the resolutions of the E-300 (8MP) and NEX-5 (14MP) and the E-300 (Four Thirds) and NEX-5 (APS-C) use different sensor sizes.

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The E-300 was introduced 6 years earlier than the NEX-5 which is a fairly big gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of these cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-300 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony NEX-5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before delving through a more detailed comparison, below is a quick summary of how the E-300 scores versus the NEX-5 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus E-300 and Sony Alpha NEX-5. The whole galleries are provided at Olympus E-300 Gallery and Sony NEX-5 Gallery.

If you are planning to carry around your camera, you'll have to take into account its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-300 has got external measurements of 147mm x 85mm x 64mm (5.8" x 3.3" x 2.5") along with a weight of 624 grams (1.38 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).

Take a look at the Olympus E-300 and Sony NEX-5 in the latest Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change depending on the lens you select at that time. Underneath is the front view overall size comparison of the E-300 versus the NEX-5.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-300 and NEX-5 is 67 and 89 respectively.

Normally, it's tough to picture the difference in sensor sizes purely by seeing a spec sheet. The image underneath might provide you a much better sense of the sensor sizing in the E-300 and NEX-5.

As you can see, each of these cameras enjoy different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The E-300 with its smaller sensor is going to make shooting shallow DOF harder and the Sony NEX-5 will provide extra detail using its extra 6 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also allow you to crop photographs far more aggressively. The more aged E-300 will be behind when it comes to sensor tech.