Olympus E-510 vs Sony A77

Lets look a little more in depth at the Olympus E-510 vs Sony A77, both Advanced DSLR cameras by manufacturers Olympus and Sony. There is a considerable difference among the image resolutions of the E-510 (10MP) and A77 (24MP) and the E-510 (Four Thirds) and A77 (APS-C) possess totally different sensor sizing.

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The E-510 was manufactured 4 years prior to the A77 and that is a fairly large difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Both the cameras come with the identical body type (Mid-size SLR).

Before going through a full comparison, below is a short summation of how the E-510 scores vs the A77 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus E-510 & Sony SLT-A77. The entire galleries are viewable at Olympus E-510 Gallery & Sony A77 Gallery.

For those who are going to lug around your camera frequently, you will need to factor its weight and size. The Olympus E-510 features external dimensions of 136mm x 92mm x 68mm (5.4" x 3.6" x 2.7") along with a weight of 490 grams (1.08 lbs) and the Sony A77 has specifications of 143mm x 104mm x 81mm (5.6" x 4.1" x 3.2") accompanied by a weight of 732 grams (1.61 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus E-510 vs Sony A77 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you are utilising during that time. Below is the front view dimensions comparison of the E-510 and the A77.

Considering size and weight, the portability grade of the E-510 and A77 is 69 and 59 respectively.

Oftentimes, it's difficult to see the contrast in sensor measurements just by seeing a spec sheet. The visual here may provide you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-510 and A77.

As you can see, both the cameras have got different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The E-510 featuring a smaller sensor will make shooting shallower DOF trickier and the Sony A77 will produce extra detail due to its extra 14MP. Greater resolution can also allow you to crop images much more aggressively. The older E-510 will be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor tech.