Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A380

Here is a thorough assessment of the Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A380, one being a Advanced Mirrorless and the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by rivals Olympus and Sony. The resolution of the E-M5 (16MP) and the A380 (14MP) is relatively well matched but the E-M5 (Four Thirds) and A380 (APS-C) come with totally different sensor dimensions.

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The E-M5 was announced 2 years later than the A380 and that is quite a serious gap as far as technology is concerned. Both of these cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-M5 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Sony A380 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before going through a step-by-step comparison, below is a brief view of how the E-M5 grades vs the A380 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Here is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus OM-D E-M5 and Sony Alpha DSLR-A380. The whole galleries are provided at Olympus E-M5 Gallery and Sony A380 Gallery.

When you are intending to carry your camera often, you'll have to factor in its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-M5 enjoys outside measurements of 122mm x 89mm x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") accompanied by a weight of 425 grams (0.94 lbs) while the Sony A380 has proportions of 128mm x 97mm x 71mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 2.8") accompanied by a weight of 519 grams (1.14 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A380 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change depending on the lens you have at that moment. Here is the front view proportions comparison of the E-M5 versus the A380.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-M5 and A380 is 81 and 68 respectively.

Sometimes, it can be tough to visualise the contrast between sensor sizing purely by checking specs. The graphic underneath should provide you a far better sense of the sensor sizing in the E-M5 and A380.

As you can plainly see, both of these cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The E-M5 having a tinier sensor will make shooting shallow depth of field tougher and the Olympus E-M5 will give you extra detail with its extra 2 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also enable you to crop pictures somewhat more aggressively. The younger E-M5 is going to have a benefit with regard to sensor innovation.