Olympus E-PL5 vs Sony A850

Below, we are comparing the Olympus E-PL5 and Sony A850, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Advanced DSLR by manufacturers Olympus and Sony. There exists a substantial gap between the resolutions of the E-PL5 (16MP) and A850 (25MP) and the E-PL5 (Four Thirds) and A850 (Full frame) use different sensor measurements.

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The E-PL5 was unveiled 2 years later than the A850 and that is quite a big difference as far as technology is concerned. Each of these cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-PL5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony A850 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before going in to a more detailed comparison, below is a brief overview of how the E-PL5 scores versus the A850 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Here is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus PEN E-PL5 & Sony Alpha DSLR-A850. The full galleries are provided at Olympus E-PL5 Gallery & Sony A850 Gallery.

When you are aiming to carry your camera often, you will want to consider its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-PL5 features external measurements of 111mm x 64mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.5") accompanied by a weight of 325 grams (0.72 lbs) while the Sony A850 has measurements of 156mm x 117mm x 82mm (6.1" x 4.6" x 3.2") and a weight of 895 grams (1.97 lbs).

Look at the Olympus E-PL5 and Sony A850 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you have attached at that moment. Below is the front view measurement comparison of the E-PL5 vs the A850.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-PL5 and A850 is 88 and 54 respectively.

More often than not, it is very difficult to visualize the difference between sensor sizing purely by checking specifications. The photograph underneath will help offer you a much better sense of the sensor sizing in the E-PL5 and A850.

To sum up, both cameras posses different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The E-PL5 using its tinier sensor is going to make shooting shallower DOF tougher and the Sony A850 will resolve more detail having an extra 9 Megapixels. Greater resolution will make it easier to crop pics somewhat more aggressively. The younger E-PL5 should have a benefit when it comes to sensor technology.