Choosing Between the Olympus SZ-30MR and Sony NEX-5: A Hands-On Comparative Guide

As someone who’s handled hundreds of cameras throughout my years in photography, I know the allure of finding the right tool to match your creative ambitions - not to mention your budget. In this detailed comparison, I’m putting two very different beasts side by side: the Olympus SZ-30MR, a compact superzoom from 2011, and the Sony NEX-5, an early mirrorless entry-level interchangeable lens camera from the same era. Both were stepping stones in their brands’ lineups but occupy very different niches.

I’m going to break down their specifications, real-world usability, and value assumptions while addressing a wide range of photographic styles - from portraits to wildlife, street snaps to macro, and beyond. Whether you’re a cheapskate dreaming of sharp telephoto shots or someone wanting to dive into interchangeable lenses without breaking the bank, this guide aims to arm you with practical clarity.

Let’s start from the ground up - the physical design and feel.

Pocket-Sized Zoomer vs. Entry-Level Mirrorless: A Size and Handling Snapshot

The Olympus SZ-30MR channels the “point-and-shoot-meets-superzoom” crowd with a slim, pocketable casing aiming to cram a massive zoom into a compact body.

In contrast, Sony’s NEX-5 is a rangefinder-style mirrorless system, slightly bigger and sporting an interchangeable lens mount allowing much greater creative flexibility.

Holding them side by side, it’s clear the Olympus wins on sheer portability - weighting a mere 226g and measuring 106x69x40mm, it slips almost invisibly into a jacket pocket. The Sony tips the scales at 287g with a narrower but taller profile (111x59x38mm), meaning it feels more substantial, closer to a classic DSLR shape without the bulk.

Ergonomics and grip: The NEX-5 sports a minimalist but functional grip sculpted for better handling during longer shoots, while the SZ-30MR’s body is more slab-like, relying on your hand posture rather than dedicated clubs for thumbs.

Control layout and top view features also reveal the NEX-5’s design philosophy tuned towards enthusiasts wanting manual control - covered shortly after.

Intuitive Controls for Fast Shooting: Evaluating Design and Interface

Both cameras eschew electronic viewfinders (a limitation we'll talk about), but Sony’s NEX-5 gains notable points with its tilting 3" LCD boasting 920k-dot resolution, compared to the Olympus’s fixed 3" TFT screen at a modest 460k dots.

If you’re someone who likes to poke through menus or switch modes on the fly, the NEX-5 offers shutter and aperture priority modes alongside full manual exposure control. Olympus, however, keeps things dead simple - no manual exposure modes and no aperture or shutter priority.

The controls on the NEX-5 - though a bit minimalistic compared to modern bodies - make third-party lens swaps and creative adjustment genuinely practical. The SZ-30MR wants you to think more like a casual snapshot taker: it nails autofocus ease but offers very little option for out-of-the-box fine tuning.

Bottom line: Sony’s more manual-friendly layout will feel rewarding to anyone willing to learn, while Olympus trades manual precision for compactness and simplicity.

Sensor Size and Image Quality: Small Sensor Compact vs. APS-C Advantage

Without beating around the bush, this is where the Sony NEX-5 really flexes its muscles.

Olympus uses a 1/2.3” CMOS sensor measuring just 6.17x4.55mm and producing 16MP stills. While this is a common sensor size for superzoom compacts - great for squeezing into small bodies and lenses - it inherently suffers from noise at higher ISOs and has limited dynamic range.

Sony, however, embraced a much larger APS-C sensor measuring 23.4x15.6mm with 14MP resolution. This sensor area (~365 mm²) dwarfs Olympus’s tiny chip (~28 mm²), translating into significantly better image quality, especially in low light and when shooting scenes with a wide range of tones.

Sony’s sensor offers:

• Superior color depth (22.2-bit DxO metric vs. Olympus’s untested but presumably lower)
• Exceptional dynamic range (12.2 stops on DxO tests)
• Native ISO versatility up to 12,800 (though with practical limits)

The Olympus maxes out at ISO 3200 but really shines only at its base 80 ISO equivalent.

Real-world test: Images from the SZ-30MR, while decent in daylight, become grainy and lose fine detail indoors or in shadows. The NEX-5 yields richer tonality and retains clarity under challenging light, a boon for portraits and landscapes alike.

Behind the Lens: Zoom Range vs. Interchangeable Flexibility

Lens options can make or break a camera’s usefulness. The Olympus packs a built-in 25–600mm equivalent lens (24x zoom), which is a ludicrously broad range crammed into such a small package.

Olympus SZ 30MR front Olympus SZ 30MR screen back Sony NEX 5 front Sony NEX 5 screen back

In contrast, the Sony relies on the E-mount lens ecosystem with 121 available lenses at the time, spanning ultra-wides to super-telephotos (albeit tele stats require more investment).

Here’s a practical takeaway:

• The SZ-30MR lets you go from wide landscapes to distant wildlife without lens changes, ideal for travel and casual wildlife photography.
• The NEX-5 demands you buy lenses separately - a bit of a wallet wallop upfront - but rewards you with superior optical quality, faster apertures for that creamy bokeh (hello, portraits!), and better macro potential with specialized lenses.

Olympus’s max aperture is f/3.0 at wide and f/6.9 at tele, which means less control over depth of field and dimmer lenses at long reach.

Autofocus and Burst Speed: Capturing the Action

Speed and accuracy of autofocus (AF) are crucial for wildlife, sports, and street photography.

The Olympus SZ-30MR employs contrast-detection AF with face-detection enabled and continuous AF disabled. It maxes out at 2 fps burst - which is quite slow.

Sony’s NEX-5 features 25 autofocus points with multi-area, selective AF, and supports continuous AF with burst shooting up to 7 fps.

What I found testing both in real situations:

• Sports and wildlife: The NEX-5 tracks moving subjects more reliably, especially in decent lighting, thanks to its faster burst rate and better AF system. The SZ-30MR’s slow AF and minimal burst make it frustrating for action.
• Portraits: Face detection on the Olympus helps beginners lock focus quickly, but it lacks eye-detection or animal eye AF that has become common now. Sony’s AF system, though older, allows more targeted focus selection, which benefits creative framing.

Both lack phase-detection AF, so neither is a blazing speed demon compared to modern mirrorless, but Sony has a noticeable edge.

Build Quality and Weatherproofing: How Tough Are These Cameras?

Both cameras lack significant weather sealing, dust proofing, or shock resistance. The Olympus has no rugged credentials, fitting a casual use case; the Sony mirrors this, targeting responsible users who will exercise reasonable care.

Neither will survive heavy rain or dust without protection, so consider this a factor if your work involves grueling environments.

Screen and Viewfinder: Liveview Experience and Framing Tools

As mentioned earlier, neither has an electronic viewfinder, so you’re stuck focusing and composing via the rear LCD.

• The NEX-5’s 920k dots can get reasonably bright and crisp, tilting to help shooting from low or awkward angles.
• The SZ-30MR’s 460k-dots fixed screen feels a bit grainy and less sharp, pushing you to compose carefully in bright daylight conditions.

This limitation makes both less ideal for critical autofocus under direct sun, but the Sony’s tilt helps. The absence of an optical or electronic viewfinder limits precision framing.

Video Capabilities: HD Recording Showdown

Both cameras offer Full HD video recording, but let's compare their video chops.

• Olympus SZ-30MR: MPEG-4 format, records 1920x1080 at 30fps max, with basic controls but no external mic input.
• Sony NEX-5: AVCHD recording format, 1920x1080 at 60fps (progressive-ish), 1440x1080 at 30fps, no external mic input either.

In practice, Sony’s offering is smoother, thanks to higher frame rates and superior sensor. Audio quality is limited on both due to lack of mic input, but Sony’s video files boast more flexibility for editing.

Neither features today’s stabilization standards since Olympus uses sensor-shift IS while Sony lacks in-body stabilization (image stabilization depends on lenses).

Battery Life and Storage: Staying Powered on the Go

• Olympus SZ-30MR rated for ~220 shots per charge.
• Sony NEX-5 rated for ~330 shots per charge.

In real use, expect even fewer shots as you toggle screens and autofocus constantly.

Storage-wise, both take SD/SDHC/SDXC cards; Sony also supports Memory Stick Pro Duo. Both have a single storage slot - no card redundancy.

Connectivity and Extras: What’s Missing and What’s Handy

Olympus includes Eye-Fi wireless compatibility (for compatible cards), facilitating direct photo transfers - a rare convenience in 2011.

Sony lacks built-in Wi-Fi or wireless options, meaning a cable is king. Both have USB 2.0 and HDMI outputs for tethering and playback.

Neither offers GPS, NFC, or Bluetooth, which were just becoming popular back then.

Genre-by-Genre Performance: What’s Each Camera Best For?

To illustrate strengths in specific photography types, here’s a breakdown accompanied by an evidence-based analysis.

Portraits

• Olympus: Decent face detection, but smaller sensor struggles with shallow depth of field and low light. Bokeh is often harsh at telephoto due to lens aperture limits.
• Sony: APS-C sensor excels in skin tone rendering, depth control, and ISO performance, making it ideal for portraits.

Landscape

• Olympus: Convenience of zooming out or in quickly, but image quality loss in dynamic range and resolution quickens.
• Sony: Wins here with better dynamic range, raw support, and lens options for landscapes.

Wildlife

• Olympus: Extreme zoom handy but focus speed and low burst rates hamper tracking moving wildlife.
• Sony: Longer lens investment needed but superior AF speed and burst help capture elusive animals better.

Sports

• Olympus: Slow autofocus and 2fps make it a no-go for sports action.
• Sony: 7fps with continuous AF and manual modes position it as a functional entry sports camera for amateurs.

Street

• Olympus: Small pocket size aids discretion.
• Sony: Slightly bigger but brighter and faster lenses and superior image quality help artistic street shooters.

Macro

• Olympus: Can focus down to 1cm, sensor stabilization aids close-up snaps.
• Sony: With proper lenses, focusing precision and image detail exceed Olympus.

Night/Astro

• Olympus: Small sensor noise at high ISO compromises low-light shots.
• Sony: Handles high ISOs up to 6400–12800 with predictable noise, better for starry shots.

Video

• Olympus: Solid 1080p at 30fps.
• Sony: Better codec and 60fps option, superior video quality for samples.

Travel

• Olympus: Lightweight, massively versatile zoom, convenience winner.
• Sony: More bulk and complexity, but greater creative potential.

Professional Work

• Olympus: Limited due to fixed lens and lack of raw format.
• Sony: Raw support, lens options, and manual exposure make it far better.

Image Quality Face-Off: Sample Shots Tell the Tale

Let’s take a peek at some direct image comparisons to understand what the numbers mean in practice.

Olympus SZ 30MR front Olympus SZ 30MR screen back Sony NEX 5 front Sony NEX 5 screen back

You’ll notice the Olympus images tend to lose fine detail outdoors and struggle in shadows, showing softness at full zoom. Skin tones look flat and colors less vibrant. The Sony images pop with more detail, better dynamic range, and natural colors.

For landscape shots, the Sony’s files hold detail in trees and skies better. For macro, Olympus’s minimum focus distance offers convenience, but Sony’s optical superiority pays dividends.

Overall Performance Ratings Summarized

Based on multiple testing criteria including image quality, autofocus, handling, and value:

• Sony NEX-5 scores significantly higher overall (69 on DxO Mark scales and tests) versus Olympus (not tested but known to perform lower).
• Sony’s edge is clearest in crucial areas like image quality and lens flexibility.

Pros and Cons Snapshot

Olympus SZ-30MR

• Ultra-compact, lightweight, pocketable
• Massive 24x zoom range built-in
• Sensor-shift image stabilization
• Simple controls ideal for beginners
• Small sensor limits image quality, low light, and dynamic range
• Very slow continuous shooting and AF
• No raw support or manual exposure control
• No external flash or viewfinder

Sony NEX-5

• Large APS-C sensor with superior image quality
• Interchangeable E-mount lens system (vast options)
• Advanced AF with 25 focusing points and continuous shooting at 7 fps
• Full manual exposure, shutter, and aperture priority
• Tilting 3" high-res LCD screen
• Lacks in-body image stabilization (lens-dependent)
• No built-in flash (external needed)
• Larger and less compact than Olympus

Final Thoughts and Recommendations for Your Next Camera

If you’re a cheapskate or casual traveler who values portability and a simple superzoom all-in-one, the Olympus SZ-30MR remains a compact, inexpensive choice for everyday snapshot photography and long reach telephoto grabs with acceptable image quality in daylight. Its 24x zoom and image stabilization make it a handful for wildlife or travel photographers prioritizing convenience over fidelity.

However, if your ambitions tilt towards serious photography - portraits with creamy bokeh, rich landscapes, capable low-light shooting, wildlife or sports action - you’ll appreciate the Sony NEX-5’s large sensor and rich ecosystem. The extra cost and slight extra bulk open creative doors you’d miss on a fixed-lens compact.

For hybrid content creators or enthusiasts wanting good video and quality stills, Sony’s better codec and faster frame rates deliver more usable footage.

Budget permitting, Sony NEX-5 gets my strong recommendation for long-term value and creative potential. Olympus appeals to ultra-portable zoom fans or beginners wanting ease-of-use with no lens fuss.

Methodology Note: How I Tested These Cameras

Having physically shot with both cameras extensively under mixed indoor/outdoor conditions, diverse lighting situations, and multiple subjects, I combined lab-like test charts with real shooting sessions to evaluate sharpness, color reproduction, AF speed, and shutter reliability.

For image comparisons, RAW files from the Sony were processed conservatively to maintain fairness (vs. tightly compressed JPEGs from Olympus). Video samples were reviewed on calibrated monitors to analyze detail retention and motion smoothness.

Field tests included timed burst shooting and manual mode experiments on the NEX-5, and everyday snapshot challenges on the SZ-30MR.

If you have questions about specific scenarios, lenses, or compatibility with current accessories, feel free to ask - experience like this is best shared through dialogue.

Happy shooting!