Olympus E-420 vs Sony NEX-5N

In this write-up, we will be comparing the Olympus E-420 vs Sony NEX-5N, former being a Entry-Level DSLR while the latter is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by competitors Olympus and Sony. There is a sizable difference between the sensor resolutions of the E-420 (10MP) and NEX-5N (16MP) and the E-420 (Four Thirds) and NEX-5N (APS-C) enjoy different sensor size.

Sora from OpenAI releases its first ever music video

The E-420 was manufactured 4 years prior to the NEX-5N and that is quite a significant difference as far as tech is concerned. Both cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-420 being a Compact SLR camera and the Sony NEX-5N being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before delving through a in-depth comparison, below is a concise overview of how the E-420 matches up against the NEX-5N with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Here is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus E-420 & Sony Alpha NEX-5N. The entire galleries are available at Olympus E-420 Gallery & Sony NEX-5N Gallery.

If you are aiming to lug around your camera often, you will need to factor in its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-420 has got outer measurements of 130mm x 91mm x 53mm (5.1" x 3.6" x 2.1") along with a weight of 426 grams (0.94 lbs) and the Sony NEX-5N has proportions of 111mm x 59mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.3" x 1.5") accompanied by a weight of 269 grams (0.59 lbs).

See the Olympus E-420 vs Sony NEX-5N in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you are using at the time. Below is the front view dimension comparison of the E-420 and the NEX-5N.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability score of the E-420 and NEX-5N is 77 and 89 respectively.

In many cases, it is hard to picture the contrast between sensor measurements just by reading technical specs. The graphic here will help give you a stronger sense of the sensor sizing in the E-420 and NEX-5N.

As you can tell, both of those cameras offer different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-420 featuring a tinier sensor is going to make achieving shallower depth of field more difficult and the Sony NEX-5N will deliver extra detail due to its extra 6MP. Higher resolution will make it easier to crop pictures a little more aggressively. The older E-420 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor tech.