Olympus FE-25 vs Sony NEX-5

Following is a thorough assessment of the Olympus FE-25 vs Sony NEX-5, former is a Ultracompact while the other is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by competitors Olympus and Sony. There exists a considerable gap between the sensor resolutions of the FE-25 (10MP) and NEX-5 (14MP) and the FE-25 (1/2.3") and NEX-5 (APS-C) boast totally different sensor sizing.

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The FE-25 was unveiled 17 months prior to the NEX-5 making them a generation away from one another. Both of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus FE-25 being a Ultracompact camera and the Sony NEX-5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before delving straight to a thorough comparison, here is a brief summary of how the FE-25 matches up against the NEX-5 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

The following is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus FE-25 & Sony Alpha NEX-5. The full galleries are available at Olympus FE-25 Gallery & Sony NEX-5 Gallery.

In case you're intending to carry around your camera often, you're going to have to think about its weight and size. The Olympus FE-25 offers outside measurements of 93mm x 62mm x 24mm (3.7" x 2.4" x 0.9") with a weight of n/a grams (0.00 lbs) while the Sony NEX-5 has specifications of 111mm x 59mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.3" x 1.5") accompanied by a weight of 287 grams (0.63 lbs).

Examine the Olympus FE-25 vs Sony NEX-5 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you are employing at that moment. Following is a front view physical size comparison of the FE-25 and the NEX-5.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability score of the FE-25 and NEX-5 is 98 and 89 respectively.

Quite often, it can be difficult to visualise the contrast between sensor sizes purely by checking a spec sheet. The picture here should give you a clearer sense of the sensor measurements in the FE-25 and NEX-5.

Clearly, both of those cameras provide different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The FE-25 with its tinier sensor will make shooting shallower DOF trickier and the Sony NEX-5 will give more detail having an extra 4MP. Greater resolution will also enable you to crop images more aggressively. The more aged FE-25 is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor technology.