Olympus E-500 vs Sony NEX-5R

In this write-up, we will be comparing the Olympus E-500 vs Sony NEX-5R, one being a Advanced DSLR and the latter is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by rivals Olympus and Sony. There is a huge difference between the sensor resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and NEX-5R (16MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and NEX-5R (APS-C) enjoy totally different sensor size.

Photography Glossary

The E-500 was manufactured 7 years prior to the NEX-5R and that is quite a significant gap as far as tech is concerned. Each of these cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony NEX-5R being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before we go straight into a complete comparison, below is a short summation of how the E-500 scores against the NEX-5R with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Here is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus E-500 and Sony Alpha NEX-5R. The entire galleries are available at Olympus E-500 Gallery and Sony NEX-5R Gallery.

For anyone who is looking to lug around your camera frequently, you will have to take into account its weight and size. The Olympus E-500 has outside dimensions of 130mm x 95mm x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") and a weight of 479 grams (1.06 lbs) whilst the Sony NEX-5R has specifications of 111mm x 59mm x 39mm (4.4" x 2.3" x 1.5") having a weight of 276 grams (0.61 lbs).

Check the Olympus E-500 vs Sony NEX-5R in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary depending on the lens you are employing at the time. Underneath is the front view sizing comparison of the E-500 compared to the NEX-5R.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability rating of the E-500 and NEX-5R is 70 and 89 respectively.

Often, it can be tough to envision the difference between sensor measurements only by reading a spec sheet. The visual below may provide you a stronger sense of the sensor sizes in the E-500 and NEX-5R.

As you can see, the 2 cameras enjoy different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The E-500 because of its tinier sensor will make shooting shallower DOF trickier and the Sony NEX-5R will offer you extra detail due to its extra 8MP. Higher resolution will let you crop photographs far more aggressively. The older E-500 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor technology.