Olympus PEN-F vs Sony NEX-5

Lets look a little more closely at the Olympus PEN-F versus Sony NEX-5, former being a Advanced Mirrorless while the other is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by rivals Olympus and Sony. There is a considerable difference between the image resolutions of the PEN-F (20MP) and NEX-5 (14MP) and the PEN-F (Four Thirds) and NEX-5 (APS-C) possess different sensor sizing.

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The PEN-F was announced 5 years later than the NEX-5 and that is quite a large difference as far as tech is concerned. Both of the cameras come with the identical body type (Rangefinder-style mirrorless).

Before we go straight into a detailed comparison, below is a quick summary of how the PEN-F matches up versus the NEX-5 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

This is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus PEN-F & Sony Alpha NEX-5. The whole galleries are viewable at Olympus PEN-F Gallery & Sony NEX-5 Gallery.

When you are intending to carry your camera, you have to take into account its weight and proportions. The Olympus PEN-F offers outer dimensions of 125mm x 72mm x 37mm (4.9" x 2.8" x 1.5") having a weight of 427 grams (0.94 lbs) while the Sony NEX-5 has measurements of 111mm x 59mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.3" x 1.5") along with a weight of 287 grams (0.63 lbs).

Examine the Olympus PEN-F versus Sony NEX-5 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you choose at the time. Here is the front view overall size comparison of the PEN-F compared to the NEX-5.

Factoring in size and weight, the portability rating of the PEN-F and NEX-5 is 84 and 89 respectively.

Often, it's difficult to picture the gap between sensor sizing merely by checking technical specs. The graphic underneath may offer you a greater sense of the sensor sizes in the PEN-F and NEX-5.

As you can tell, each of these cameras have got different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The PEN-F with its tinier sensor is going to make achieving bokeh harder and the Olympus PEN-F will give you greater detail with its extra 6 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also help you crop images much more aggressively. The younger PEN-F provides an advantage when it comes to sensor tech.