Olympus E-520 vs Sony NEX-5R

Following is a in depth assessment of the Olympus E-520 vs Sony NEX-5R, one is a Entry-Level DSLR and the other is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by companies Olympus and Sony. There is a huge difference between the sensor resolutions of the E-520 (10MP) and NEX-5R (16MP) and the E-520 (Four Thirds) and NEX-5R (APS-C) provide totally different sensor sizes.

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The E-520 was released 5 years earlier than the NEX-5R which is quite a significant gap as far as tech is concerned. Each of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-520 being a Compact SLR camera and the Sony NEX-5R being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before diving right into a comprehensive comparison, here is a brief highlight of how the E-520 grades against the NEX-5R when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

This is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus E-520 and Sony Alpha NEX-5R. The complete galleries are provided at Olympus E-520 Gallery and Sony NEX-5R Gallery.

If you're looking to carry around your camera, you will have to take into account its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-520 has outer dimensions of 136mm x 92mm x 68mm (5.4" x 3.6" x 2.7") and a weight of 552 grams (1.22 lbs) and the Sony NEX-5R has dimensions of 111mm x 59mm x 39mm (4.4" x 2.3" x 1.5") having a weight of 276 grams (0.61 lbs).

Look at the Olympus E-520 vs Sony NEX-5R in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change dependant on the lens you are using at that moment. Here is a front view size comparison of the E-520 versus the NEX-5R.

Factoring in size and weight, the portability rating of the E-520 and NEX-5R is 68 and 89 respectively.

In many cases, it can be hard to envision the gap between sensor sizes only by looking at specs. The image below will offer you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-520 and NEX-5R.

As you can plainly see, the 2 cameras provide different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The E-520 because of its tinier sensor will make shooting shallower depth of field trickier and the Sony NEX-5R will give more detail as a result of its extra 6MP. Greater resolution will also enable you to crop photos more aggressively. The more aged E-520 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor innovation.