Olympus E-M1 II vs Sony NEX-5T

Its time to look a little more closely at the Olympus E-M1 II and Sony NEX-5T, former being a Pro Mirrorless while the other is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by competitors Olympus and Sony. There exists a noticeable gap between the sensor resolutions of the E-M1 II (20MP) and NEX-5T (16MP) and the E-M1 II (Four Thirds) and NEX-5T (APS-C) provide different sensor sizing.

Photography Glossary

The E-M1 II was introduced 3 years later than the NEX-5T and that is quite a sizable difference as far as technology is concerned. Each of these cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-M1 II being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Sony NEX-5T being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before diving into a complete comparison, here is a brief summation of how the E-M1 II scores versus the NEX-5T with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

The following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II & Sony Alpha NEX-5T. The whole galleries are provided at Olympus E-M1 II Gallery & Sony NEX-5T Gallery.

If you are intending to carry your camera, you will need to factor in its weight and volume. The Olympus E-M1 II comes with exterior dimensions of 134mm x 91mm x 67mm (5.3" x 3.6" x 2.6") accompanied by a weight of 574 grams (1.27 lbs) while the Sony NEX-5T has sizing of 111mm x 59mm x 39mm (4.4" x 2.3" x 1.5") having a weight of 276 grams (0.61 lbs).

Compare the Olympus E-M1 II 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 chosen at the time. The following is a front view sizing comparison of the E-M1 II compared to the NEX-5T.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-M1 II and NEX-5T is 68 and 89 respectively.

Normally, it is very difficult to imagine the difference between sensor sizing just by checking technical specs. The visual here should give you a clearer sense of the sensor sizes in the E-M1 II and NEX-5T.

As you can tell, the 2 cameras feature different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The E-M1 II using its tinier sensor is going to make getting shallower depth of field harder and the Olympus E-M1 II will give you greater detail using its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution will allow you to crop pics way more aggressively. The fresher E-M1 II should have an advantage when it comes to sensor tech.