Olympus 6000 vs Sony NEX-5N

Following is a extensive overview of the Olympus 6000 and Sony NEX-5N, one is a Small Sensor Compact and the other is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by rivals Olympus and Sony. There is a big difference among the resolutions of the 6000 (10MP) and NEX-5N (16MP) and the 6000 (1/2.3") and NEX-5N (APS-C) boast different sensor sizes.

Photography Glossary

The 6000 was revealed 3 years earlier than the NEX-5N which is a fairly big gap as far as camera tech is concerned. Both of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus 6000 being a Compact camera and the Sony NEX-5N being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before diving into a detailed comparison, here is a brief summation of how the 6000 matches up vs the NEX-5N in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Here is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus Stylus Tough 6000 and Sony Alpha NEX-5N. The full galleries are available at Olympus 6000 Gallery and Sony NEX-5N Gallery.

For those who are intending to carry around your camera frequently, you are going to need to factor its weight and measurements. The Olympus 6000 comes with outer measurements of 95mm x 63mm x 22mm (3.7" x 2.5" x 0.9") accompanied by a weight of 179 grams (0.39 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).

Check out the Olympus 6000 and Sony NEX-5N in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ based on the lens you have attached during that time. Below is a front view physical size comparison of the 6000 vs the NEX-5N.

Considering size and weight, the portability rating of the 6000 and NEX-5N is 94 and 89 respectively.

Generally, it is difficult to picture the contrast in sensor sizes only by looking through specs. The picture below should give you a far better sense of the sensor measurements in the 6000 and NEX-5N.

As you can plainly see, the two cameras provide different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The 6000 with its smaller sensor is going to make achieving shallow depth of field trickier and the Sony NEX-5N will render greater detail because of its extra 6 Megapixels. Greater resolution will make it easier to crop images more aggressively. The more aged 6000 will be behind when it comes to sensor innovation.