Olympus E-PL2 vs Sony NEX-5N

Its time to look more closely at the Olympus E-PL2 vs Sony NEX-5N, both Entry-Level Mirrorless digital cameras by companies Olympus and Sony. There exists a sizable gap between the resolutions of the E-PL2 (12MP) and NEX-5N (16MP) and the E-PL2 (Four Thirds) and NEX-5N (APS-C) posses totally different sensor sizing.

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The E-PL2 was announced 7 months before the NEX-5N so they are of a similar age. Both of the cameras have the same body design (Rangefinder-style mirrorless).

Before diving right into a detailed comparison, here is a brief summary of how the E-PL2 grades vs the NEX-5N with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Here is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus PEN E-PL2 & Sony Alpha NEX-5N. The whole galleries are viewable at Olympus E-PL2 Gallery & Sony NEX-5N Gallery.

If you are intending to travel with your camera often, you will need to think about its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-PL2 has external measurements of 114mm x 72mm x 42mm (4.5" x 2.8" x 1.7") accompanied by a weight of 362 grams (0.80 lbs) whilst the Sony NEX-5N has proportions of 111mm x 59mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.3" x 1.5") with a weight of 269 grams (0.59 lbs).

See the Olympus E-PL2 vs Sony NEX-5N in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you are utilising during that time. Here is a front view overall size comparison of the E-PL2 vs the NEX-5N.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-PL2 and NEX-5N is 85 and 89 respectively.

More often than not, it's hard to see the difference between sensor dimensions only by going over specifications. The pic below should offer you a much better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-PL2 and NEX-5N.

Plainly, both of the cameras provide different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The E-PL2 with its tinier sensor will make getting shallow depth of field harder and the Sony NEX-5N will deliver more detail with its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also make it easier to crop photographs more aggressively. The more aged E-PL2 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor tech.