Olympus E-520 vs Sony NEX-5T

In this write-up, we will be evaluating the Olympus E-520 and Sony NEX-5T, former is a Entry-Level DSLR while the latter is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by competitors Olympus and Sony. There is a noticeable difference between the image resolutions of the E-520 (10MP) and NEX-5T (16MP) and the E-520 (Four Thirds) and NEX-5T (APS-C) feature different sensor measurements.

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The E-520 was brought out 6 years prior to the NEX-5T which is quite a sizable difference as far as tech is concerned. Each of these cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-520 being a Compact SLR camera and the Sony NEX-5T being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before we go in to a in-depth comparison, below is a quick overview of how the E-520 matches up vs the NEX-5T with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Below is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus E-520 & Sony Alpha NEX-5T. The entire galleries are provided at Olympus E-520 Gallery & Sony NEX-5T Gallery.

For anybody who is aiming to travel with your camera often, you are going to need to take into account its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-520 features external measurements of 136mm x 92mm x 68mm (5.4" x 3.6" x 2.7") accompanied by a weight of 552 grams (1.22 lbs) whilst the Sony NEX-5T has dimensions of 111mm x 59mm x 39mm (4.4" x 2.3" x 1.5") with a weight of 276 grams (0.61 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus E-520 and Sony NEX-5T in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you have at that moment. Here is the front view over all size comparison of the E-520 compared to the NEX-5T.

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

Usually, it's difficult to picture the gap between sensor dimensions simply by reading through specs. The picture here might provide you a much better sense of the sensor sizing in the E-520 and NEX-5T.

As you can plainly see, each of these cameras enjoy different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The E-520 due to its tinier sensor is going to make getting bokeh trickier and the Sony NEX-5T will give more detail having its extra 6MP. Higher resolution will also enable you to crop pictures far more aggressively. The more aged E-520 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor innovation.