Olympus E-510 vs Sony NEX-5R

Its time to take a more detailed look at the Olympus E-510 and Sony NEX-5R, one is a Advanced DSLR and the other is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by rivals Olympus and Sony. There is a sizeable difference among the sensor resolutions of the E-510 (10MP) and NEX-5R (16MP) and the E-510 (Four Thirds) and NEX-5R (APS-C) boast totally different sensor dimensions.

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The E-510 was announced 5 years prior to the NEX-5R which is a fairly large gap as far as camera tech is concerned. Each of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-510 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony NEX-5R being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before delving into a in depth comparison, here is a concise summation of how the E-510 grades against the NEX-5R in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus E-510 and Sony Alpha NEX-5R. The whole galleries are provided at Olympus E-510 Gallery and Sony NEX-5R Gallery.

If you're looking to travel with your camera frequently, you should factor its weight and volume. The Olympus E-510 comes with outer dimensions of 136mm x 92mm x 68mm (5.4" x 3.6" x 2.7") with a weight of 490 grams (1.08 lbs) whilst the Sony NEX-5R has sizing of 111mm x 59mm x 39mm (4.4" x 2.3" x 1.5") accompanied by a weight of 276 grams (0.61 lbs).

Examine the Olympus E-510 and Sony NEX-5R in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary dependant on the lens you select during that time. The following is a front view measurement comparison of the E-510 vs the NEX-5R.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability grade of the E-510 and NEX-5R is 69 and 89 respectively.

Often, it is very tough to see the gap in sensor dimensions simply by checking out technical specs. The image here should give you a greater sense of the sensor sizes in the E-510 and NEX-5R.

As you can tell, the 2 cameras have different resolutions and different sensor dimensions. The E-510 using its smaller sensor will make shooting bokeh more challenging and the Sony NEX-5R will provide more detail with its extra 6 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also let you crop photos a bit more aggressively. The more aged E-510 will be behind with regard to sensor tech.