Olympus E-520 vs Sony NEX-5

In this article, we will be evaluating the Olympus E-520 and Sony NEX-5, one being a Entry-Level DSLR and the latter is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by rivals Olympus and Sony. There exists a huge gap among the resolutions of the E-520 (10MP) and NEX-5 (14MP) and the E-520 (Four Thirds) and NEX-5 (APS-C) come with different sensor measurements.

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The E-520 was manufactured 21 months before the NEX-5 which makes the cameras a generation apart from one another. Each of these cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-520 being a Compact SLR camera and the Sony NEX-5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before delving through a thorough comparison, below is a concise view of how the E-520 matches up against the NEX-5 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Below is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus E-520 and Sony Alpha NEX-5. The entire galleries are available at Olympus E-520 Gallery and Sony NEX-5 Gallery.

In case you're intending to lug around your camera often, you'll have to factor in its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-520 provides physical measurements of 136mm x 92mm x 68mm (5.4" x 3.6" x 2.7") with a weight of 552 grams (1.22 lbs) while the Sony NEX-5 has measurements of 111mm x 59mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.3" x 1.5") and a weight of 287 grams (0.63 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-520 and Sony NEX-5 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change based on the lens you use during that time. Below is the front view over all size comparison of the E-520 against the NEX-5.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-520 and NEX-5 is 68 and 89 respectively.

More often than not, its tough to picture the difference in sensor measurements just by going through technical specs. The graphic underneath will provide you a much better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-520 and NEX-5.

As you can tell, the two cameras enjoy different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The E-520 due to its smaller sensor is going to make shooting bokeh harder and the Sony NEX-5 will show more detail due to its extra 4MP. Higher resolution can also let you crop photographs far more aggressively. The older E-520 will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor innovation.