Olympus FE-4000 vs Sony NEX-5

Let's look a little more in depth at the Olympus FE-4000 vs Sony NEX-5, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the other is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by companies Olympus and Sony. The sensor resolution of the FE-4000 (12MP) and the NEX-5 (14MP) is fairly comparable but the FE-4000 (1/2.3") and NEX-5 (APS-C) feature different sensor sizes.

Photography Glossary

The FE-4000 was released 10 months earlier than the NEX-5 which means that they are both of a similar age. Both cameras offer different body type with the Olympus FE-4000 being a Compact camera and the Sony NEX-5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before we go through a in depth comparison, below is a simple overview of how the FE-4000 matches up vs the NEX-5 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus FE-4000 & Sony Alpha NEX-5. The complete galleries are viewable at Olympus FE-4000 Gallery & Sony NEX-5 Gallery.

For anybody who is aiming to carry your camera, you should take into account its weight and size. The Olympus FE-4000 enjoys outer dimensions of 95mm x 57mm x 22mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.9") having a weight of 136 grams (0.30 lbs) while the Sony NEX-5 has specifications of 111mm x 59mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.3" x 1.5") with a weight of 287 grams (0.63 lbs).

Compare the Olympus FE-4000 vs Sony NEX-5 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you have attached at that time. The following is the front view dimension comparison of the FE-4000 vs the NEX-5.

Factoring in size and weight, the portability grade of the FE-4000 and NEX-5 is 95 and 89 respectively.

In many cases, it is very difficult to imagine the gap in sensor sizing simply by seeing technical specs. The visual here will give you a better sense of the sensor sizes in the FE-4000 and NEX-5.

As you can tell, each of these cameras enjoy different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The FE-4000 featuring a smaller sensor is going to make getting shallower DOF more difficult and the Sony NEX-5 will show greater detail as a result of its extra 2 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also enable you to crop images far more aggressively. The older FE-4000 will be behind in sensor innovation.