Olympus E-M1 III vs Sony NEX-5

Lets look more closely at the Olympus E-M1 III and Sony NEX-5, former being a Pro Mirrorless while the latter is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by manufacturers Olympus and Sony. There exists a considerable gap between the resolutions of the E-M1 III (20MP) and NEX-5 (14MP) and the E-M1 III (Four Thirds) and NEX-5 (APS-C) posses totally different sensor size.

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The E-M1 III was revealed 9 years later than the NEX-5 and that is quite a large difference as far as technology is concerned. The two cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-M1 III being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Sony NEX-5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before we go right into a thorough comparison, here is a brief overview of how the E-M1 III grades against the NEX-5 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Here is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III & Sony Alpha NEX-5. The full galleries are provided at Olympus E-M1 III Gallery & Sony NEX-5 Gallery.

For those who are aiming to lug around your camera often, you have to factor in its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-M1 III comes with external measurements of 134mm x 91mm x 69mm (5.3" x 3.6" x 2.7") accompanied by a weight of 580 grams (1.28 lbs) while the Sony NEX-5 has measurements of 111mm x 59mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.3" x 1.5") accompanied by a weight of 287 grams (0.63 lbs).

Look at the Olympus E-M1 III and Sony NEX-5 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you choose at that moment. The following is a front view over all size comparison of the E-M1 III compared to the NEX-5.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-M1 III and NEX-5 is 67 and 89 respectively.

Normally, it is very tough to visualise the gap between sensor measurements simply by going over specs. The graphic underneath might offer you a better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-M1 III and NEX-5.

All in all, both of those cameras come with different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The E-M1 III with its tinier sensor will make getting shallower depth of field more challenging and the Olympus E-M1 III will offer greater detail because of its extra 6MP. Higher resolution will make it easier to crop photographs a good deal more aggressively. The newer E-M1 III will have an edge when it comes to sensor innovation.