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Olympus E-510 vs Sony NEX-6

Portability
69
Imaging
44
Features
42
Overall
43
Olympus E-510 front
 
Sony Alpha NEX-6 front
Portability
85
Imaging
57
Features
76
Overall
64

Olympus E-510 vs Sony NEX-6 Key Specs

Olympus E-510
(Full Review)
  • 10MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 2.5" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 1600
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • No Video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 490g - 136 x 92 x 68mm
  • Released November 2007
  • Additionally referred to as EVOLT E-510
  • Replaced the Olympus E-500
  • Successor is Olympus E-520
Sony NEX-6
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 100 - 25600
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Sony E Mount
  • 345g - 120 x 67 x 43mm
  • Launched March 2013
  • New Model is Sony A6000
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Olympus E-510 vs Sony NEX-6 Overview

Following is a complete overview of the Olympus E-510 vs Sony NEX-6, former is a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Advanced Mirrorless by manufacturers Olympus and Sony. There is a large difference among the sensor resolutions of the E-510 (10MP) and NEX-6 (16MP) and the E-510 (Four Thirds) and NEX-6 (APS-C) offer different sensor size.

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The E-510 was brought out 6 years prior to the NEX-6 which is a fairly serious difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Both of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-510 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony NEX-6 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before delving straight to a complete comparison, here is a concise view of how the E-510 scores against the NEX-6 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-510 over the Sony NEX-6

 E-510 NEX-6 

Reasons to pick Sony NEX-6 over the Olympus E-510

 NEX-6 E-510 
LaunchedMarch 2013November 2007More modern by 64 months
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen dimensions3"2.5"Bigger screen (+0.5")
Screen resolution921k230kSharper screen (+691k dot)

Common features in the Olympus E-510 and Sony NEX-6

 E-510 NEX-6 
Manually focus Very accurate focusing
Selfie screen Missing selfie screen
Touch friendly screen Neither provides Touch friendly screen

Olympus E-510 vs Sony NEX-6 Physical Comparison

For anybody who is looking to carry around your camera frequently, you will have to take into account its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-510 provides exterior measurements of 136mm x 92mm x 68mm (5.4" x 3.6" x 2.7") having a weight of 490 grams (1.08 lbs) and the Sony NEX-6 has proportions of 120mm x 67mm x 43mm (4.7" x 2.6" x 1.7") having a weight of 345 grams (0.76 lbs).

Examine the Olympus E-510 vs Sony NEX-6 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Don't forget, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you have chosen at that time. The following is a front view measurement comparison of the E-510 versus the NEX-6.

Olympus E-510 vs Sony NEX-6 size comparison

Taking into account size and weight, the portability grade of the E-510 and NEX-6 is 69 and 85 respectively.

Olympus E-510 vs Sony NEX-6 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-510 vs Sony NEX-6 Sensor Comparison

In many cases, its difficult to imagine the gap in sensor sizes just by going through a spec sheet. The pic underneath may offer you a greater sense of the sensor measurements in the E-510 and NEX-6.

Clearly, each of these cameras provide different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The E-510 due to its smaller sensor is going to make shooting shallow depth of field harder and the Sony NEX-6 will provide extra detail having its extra 6MP. Higher resolution will also make it easier to crop photographs more aggressively. The more aged E-510 will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor technology.

Olympus E-510 vs Sony NEX-6 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-510 vs Sony NEX-6 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-510 vs Sony NEX-6 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
Photography Glossary

Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-510 Portrait photography information
Sony NEX-6 Portrait photography information
56
has manual focus
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
exports RAW files
low MP (10MP)
74
focusing manually
good resolution (16MP)
good sensor size (APS-C)
features face detect focus
exports RAW files
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-510 Street photography details
Sony NEX-6 Street photography details
68
image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
exports RAW files
lighter than competition in class (490g)
screen is fixed
78
screen tilts up and down
good sensor size (APS-C)
exports RAW files
lighter than average in class (345 grams)
great ISO range (25,600)
no image stabilization
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Sports Comparison

Sports photography with Olympus E-510
Sports photography with Sony NEX-6
52
image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
sensor has phase detect autofocus
max frames per second very slow (3.0 frames/s)
low MP (10 megapixels)
66
good resolution (16 megapixels)
good sensor size (APS-C)
supports phase detect auto focus
no image stabilization
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-510 Travel photography features
Sony NEX-6 Travel photography features
52
lighter than competition in class (490 grams)
built-in flash
does not have Timelapse function
low MP (10MP)
screen isn't selfie friendly
75
lighter than average in class (345g)
good resolution (16 megapixels)
flash built-in
display isn't selfie friendly
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-510 as a Landscape photography camera
Sony NEX-6 as a Landscape photography camera
55
has manual focus
swap lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
exports RAW files
screen is small (2.5 inches)
low MP (10 megapixels)
does not have Timelapse function
75
focusing manually
switch lenses (Sony E mount)
screen size is good (3")
good resolution (16MP)
good sensor size (APS-C)
great ISO range (25,600)
exports RAW files
no image stabilization
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-510 Vlogging advice
Sony NEX-6 Vlogging advice
9
no video recording
32
features face detect focus
video res high (1920 x 1080 pxls)
lighter than average in class (345g)
display isn't selfie friendly
no image stabilization
doesn't have microphone support
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Olympus E-510 vs Sony NEX-6 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-510 and Sony NEX-6
 Olympus E-510Sony Alpha NEX-6
General Information
Brand Name Olympus Sony
Model Olympus E-510 Sony Alpha NEX-6
Also referred to as EVOLT E-510 -
Category Advanced DSLR Advanced Mirrorless
Released 2007-11-23 2013-03-25
Physical type Mid-size SLR Rangefinder-style mirrorless
Sensor Information
Processor Chip - Bionz
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds APS-C
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 23.5 x 15.6mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 366.6mm²
Sensor resolution 10 megapixels 16 megapixels
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 3:2 and 16:9
Highest resolution 3648 x 2736 4912 x 3264
Highest native ISO 1600 25600
Minimum native ISO 100 100
RAW pictures
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch to focus
AF continuous
Single AF
Tracking AF
AF selectice
AF center weighted
Multi area AF
Live view AF
Face detect AF
Contract detect AF
Phase detect AF
Number of focus points 3 99
Lens
Lens mounting type Micro Four Thirds Sony E
Total lenses 45 121
Crop factor 2.1 1.5
Screen
Display type Fixed Type Tilting
Display diagonal 2.5 inch 3 inch
Resolution of display 230 thousand dots 921 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch function
Display tech - Xtra Fine LCD with Tilt Up 90� and Down 45�
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Optical (pentamirror) Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 2,359 thousand dots
Viewfinder coverage 95% 100%
Viewfinder magnification 0.46x 0.73x
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60 seconds 30 seconds
Highest shutter speed 1/4000 seconds 1/4000 seconds
Continuous shooting rate 3.0 frames per sec 10.0 frames per sec
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Set WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash range 12.00 m (at ISO 100) 6.00 m
Flash settings Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in
External flash
AE bracketing
WB bracketing
Highest flash synchronize 1/180 seconds 1/160 seconds
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Video resolutions - 1920 x 1080 (60, 24 fps), 1440 x 1080 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Highest video resolution None 1920x1080
Video format - MPEG-4, AVCHD
Microphone support
Headphone support
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 490 gr (1.08 lb) 345 gr (0.76 lb)
Physical dimensions 136 x 92 x 68mm (5.4" x 3.6" x 2.7") 120 x 67 x 43mm (4.7" x 2.6" x 1.7")
DXO scores
DXO All around score 52 78
DXO Color Depth score 21.2 23.7
DXO Dynamic range score 10.0 13.1
DXO Low light score 442 1018
Other
Battery life - 360 photographs
Battery style - Battery Pack
Battery model - NPFW50
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec, 10sec (3 images))
Time lapse recording With downloadable app
Type of storage Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo
Card slots Single Single
Retail pricing $550 $365