Olympus E-510 vs Sony a5000

Following is a comprehensive comparison of the Olympus E-510 versus Sony a5000, former is a Advanced DSLR while the other is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by rivals Olympus and Sony. There is a substantial difference between the resolutions of the E-510 (10MP) and a5000 (20MP) and the E-510 (Four Thirds) and a5000 (APS-C) feature different sensor measurements.

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The E-510 was manufactured 7 years prior to the a5000 which is quite a big difference as far as tech is concerned. The two cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-510 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony a5000 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before diving through a complete comparison, below is a short introduction of how the E-510 grades against the a5000 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

This is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus E-510 & Sony Alpha a5000. The entire galleries are available at Olympus E-510 Gallery & Sony a5000 Gallery.

For those who are looking to carry around your camera often, you'll have to think about its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-510 enjoys physical measurements of 136mm x 92mm x 68mm (5.4" x 3.6" x 2.7") with a weight of 490 grams (1.08 lbs) and the Sony a5000 has dimensions of 110mm x 63mm x 36mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.4") and a weight of 269 grams (0.59 lbs).

Check the Olympus E-510 versus Sony a5000 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you select during that time. Here is the front view dimension comparison of the E-510 vs the a5000.

Considering size and weight, the portability grade of the E-510 and a5000 is 69 and 89 respectively.

Oftentimes, it's difficult to visualize the contrast between sensor sizes only by checking a spec sheet. The image here will provide you a much better sense of the sensor sizing in the E-510 and a5000.

As you can see, both of the cameras have got different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The E-510 because of its tinier sensor is going to make achieving shallow depth of field more challenging and the Sony a5000 will give you greater detail due to its extra 10MP. Greater resolution will also help you crop images much more aggressively. The more aged E-510 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor tech.