Olympus E-300 vs Sony HX5

Following is a in depth assessment of the Olympus E-300 vs Sony HX5, former is a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by competitors Olympus and Sony. The image resolution of the E-300 (8MP) and the HX5 (10MP) is pretty close but the E-300 (Four Thirds) and HX5 (1/2.4") have totally different sensor sizes.

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The E-300 was unveiled 6 years prior to the HX5 which is a fairly big difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of these cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-300 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony HX5 being a Compact camera.

Before going into a comprehensive comparison, here is a simple highlight of how the E-300 grades against the HX5 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Below is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus E-300 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX5. The full galleries are available at Olympus E-300 Gallery & Sony HX5 Gallery.

For anyone who is planning to carry around your camera often, you will want to factor its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-300 features physical dimensions of 147mm x 85mm x 64mm (5.8" x 3.3" x 2.5") with a weight of 624 grams (1.38 lbs) and the Sony HX5 has proportions of 102mm x 58mm x 29mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.1") accompanied by a weight of 200 grams (0.44 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-300 vs Sony HX5 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you select at the time. Here is a front view size comparison of the E-300 vs the HX5.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-300 and HX5 is 67 and 92 respectively.

Quite often, it is very difficult to visualise the difference in sensor sizes only by researching technical specs. The pic here may provide you a stronger sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-300 and HX5.

As you have seen, both of those cameras come with different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The E-300 using its bigger sensor will make shooting bokeh less difficult and the Sony HX5 will result in greater detail having an extra 2 Megapixels. Higher resolution will allow you to crop shots a good deal more aggressively. The more aged E-300 will be disadvantaged in sensor technology.