Olympus E-400 vs Sony A57

Its time to look a little more closely at the Olympus E-400 and Sony A57, both Entry-Level DSLR digital cameras by manufacturers Olympus and Sony. There is a big difference between the sensor resolutions of the E-400 (10MP) and A57 (16MP) and the E-400 (Four Thirds) and A57 (APS-C) feature totally different sensor sizes.

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The E-400 was released 7 years prior to the A57 which is quite a big gap as far as tech is concerned. Both of these cameras come with the identical body type (Compact SLR).

Before getting through a complete comparison, below is a brief synopsis of how the E-400 grades versus the A57 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Following is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus E-400 and Sony SLT-A57. The complete galleries are viewable at Olympus E-400 Gallery and Sony A57 Gallery.

For anybody who is planning to carry around your camera, you'll need to factor in its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-400 has got external measurements of 130mm x 91mm x 53mm (5.1" x 3.6" x 2.1") and a weight of 435 grams (0.96 lbs) whilst the Sony A57 has measurements of 132mm x 98mm x 81mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.2") with a weight of 618 grams (1.36 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-400 and Sony A57 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ based on the lens you use at the time. The following is the front view scale comparison of the E-400 vs the A57.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability grade of the E-400 and A57 is 77 and 64 respectively.

Often, it is hard to see the gap between sensor sizes only by reading through specifications. The pic here might give you a clearer sense of the sensor sizing in the E-400 and A57.

To sum up, both of these cameras posses different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The E-400 due to its tinier sensor will make getting shallow DOF harder and the Sony A57 will resolve more detail as a result of its extra 6MP. Greater resolution will also make it easier to crop images somewhat more aggressively. The more aged E-400 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor tech.