Olympus E-330 vs Sony NEX-5

Its time to look more closely at the Olympus E-330 vs Sony NEX-5, former is a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by competitors Olympus and Sony. There exists a sizable gap among the image resolutions of the E-330 (7MP) and NEX-5 (14MP) and the E-330 (Four Thirds) and NEX-5 (APS-C) use totally different sensor sizing.

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The E-330 was released 5 years earlier than the NEX-5 which is a fairly significant difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of these cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-330 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony NEX-5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before diving in to a detailed comparison, below is a quick synopsis of how the E-330 scores versus the NEX-5 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

This is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus E-330 & Sony Alpha NEX-5. The complete galleries are available at Olympus E-330 Gallery & Sony NEX-5 Gallery.

If you are intending to carry around your camera often, you have to factor in its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-330 enjoys exterior dimensions of 140mm x 87mm x 72mm (5.5" x 3.4" x 2.8") accompanied by a weight of 616 grams (1.36 lbs) while the Sony NEX-5 has dimensions of 111mm x 59mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.3" x 1.5") with a weight of 287 grams (0.63 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-330 vs Sony NEX-5 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you are working with at that time. Below is the front view dimensions comparison of the E-330 compared to the NEX-5.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-330 and NEX-5 is 65 and 89 respectively.

Quite often, it can be hard to visualise the gap in sensor sizes simply by checking out technical specs. The pic below might give you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-330 and NEX-5.

As you have seen, both of these cameras offer different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The E-330 featuring a smaller sensor will make achieving shallow DOF tougher and the Sony NEX-5 will produce extra detail as a result of its extra 7MP. Higher resolution can also make it easier to crop shots a little more aggressively. The more aged E-330 will be behind in sensor tech.