Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A390

On this page, we will be looking at the Olympus E-M5 and Sony A390, former being a Advanced Mirrorless while the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by companies Olympus and Sony. The image resolution of the E-M5 (16MP) and the A390 (14MP) is relatively close but the E-M5 (Four Thirds) and A390 (APS-C) boast different sensor size.

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The E-M5 was unveiled 22 months later than the A390 which makes them a generation apart from one another. Both the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-M5 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Sony A390 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before we go into a step-by-step comparison, here is a quick view of how the E-M5 matches up vs the A390 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

This is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus OM-D E-M5 & Sony Alpha DSLR-A390. The full galleries are viewable at Olympus E-M5 Gallery & Sony A390 Gallery.

For those who are aiming to carry your camera frequently, you will have to take into account its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-M5 comes with physical dimensions of 122mm x 89mm x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") having a weight of 425 grams (0.94 lbs) whilst the Sony A390 has measurements of 128mm x 97mm x 86mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 3.4") and a weight of 549 grams (1.21 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus E-M5 and Sony A390 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you have chosen at that moment. Here is a front view size comparison of the E-M5 compared to the A390.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-M5 and A390 is 81 and 66 respectively.

More often than not, its tough to imagine the contrast in sensor sizing only by researching a spec sheet. The visual below should provide you a clearer sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-M5 and A390.

As you can see, both of those cameras provide different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The E-M5 having a smaller sensor is going to make getting shallower DOF trickier and the Olympus E-M5 will provide you with extra detail having an extra 2MP. Higher resolution will also let you crop pictures more aggressively. The more modern E-M5 should have an advantage with regard to sensor technology.