Olympus E-M5 II vs Sony NEX-5R

On this page, we will be contrasting the Olympus E-M5 II versus Sony NEX-5R, former being a Advanced Mirrorless while the latter is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by manufacturers Olympus and Sony. The resolution of the E-M5 II (16MP) and the NEX-5R (16MP) is pretty close but the E-M5 II (Four Thirds) and NEX-5R (APS-C) have totally different sensor size.

Photography Glossary

The E-M5 II was launched 2 years later than the NEX-5R and that is a fairly big difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-M5 II being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Sony NEX-5R being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before we go into a more detailed comparison, here is a quick synopsis of how the E-M5 II grades vs the NEX-5R in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

The following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus OM-D E-M5 II & Sony Alpha NEX-5R. The complete galleries are provided at Olympus E-M5 II Gallery & Sony NEX-5R Gallery.

In case you're intending to lug around your camera frequently, you'll need to take into account its weight and size. The Olympus E-M5 II comes with outside dimensions of 124mm x 85mm x 45mm (4.9" x 3.3" x 1.8") with a weight of 469 grams (1.03 lbs) whilst the Sony NEX-5R has specifications of 111mm x 59mm x 39mm (4.4" x 2.3" x 1.5") accompanied by a weight of 276 grams (0.61 lbs).

Compare the Olympus E-M5 II versus Sony NEX-5R in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you select at that time. Following is a front view measurement comparison of the E-M5 II against the NEX-5R.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-M5 II and NEX-5R is 80 and 89 respectively.

Quite often, it is difficult to visualise the gap in sensor measurements simply by researching specifications. The graphic below will offer you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-M5 II and NEX-5R.

To sum up, both of those cameras have the same megapixel count albeit not the same sensor measurements. The E-M5 II provides the smaller sensor which is going to make getting shallower DOF more difficult. The newer E-M5 II will have a benefit in sensor innovation.